--- title: "3. Concerns about made-up election news are high, and both parties think it is mostly intended to hurt their side" description: "After an election season where viral online misinformation was rampant, six-in-ten Americans say that made-up news and information had a “major impact” on the presidential election, about on par with the portion who say the same of news media coverage. More than half in both parties say this, with 54% of Democrats and independents who […]" date: "2020-12-15" authors: - name: "Amy Mitchell" job_title: "Former Director, Journalism Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/amy-mitchell/" - name: "Mark Jurkowitz" job_title: "Senior Writer" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/mark-jurkowitz/" - name: "J. Baxter Oliphant" job_title: "Senior Researcher " link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/baxter-oliphant/" - name: "Elisa Shearer" job_title: "Senior Researcher" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/elisa-shearer/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/12/15/concerns-about-made-up-election-news-are-high-and-both-parties-think-it-is-mostly-intended-to-hurt-their-side/" categories: - "Election 2020" - "Social Media" - "Tech Companies" datasets: - name: "American Trends Panel Wave 79" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/american-trends-panel-wave-79/" --- # 3. Concerns about made-up election news are high, and both parties think it is mostly intended to hurt their side [![Most Americans say made-up news had a major impact on the election; Republicans slightly more likely to say this](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-01.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84515) After an election season where [viral online misinformation was rampant](https://www.politifact.com/elections/), six-in-ten Americans say that made-up news and information had a “major impact” on the presidential election, about on par with the portion who say the same of news media coverage. More than half in both parties say this, with 54% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic and 69% of Republicans and Republican leaners saying that made-up news intended to mislead the public had a major impact on the election. Fewer Americans say social media companies’ decisions about election content and campaign advertisements had a major impact (48% and 32%, respectively). But the sharpest divide between the parties concerns the impact of decisions by social media companies about election content on their platforms: A solid majority of Republicans (62%) say those decisions had a major impact, compared with a much smaller percentage of Democrats (37%). It is possible that some of this response by Republicans reflects anger over Twitter and other social media platforms’ [decisions to flag some of President Trump’s posts as misleading](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-pennsylvania-trump-twitt/twitter-facebook-flag-trump-posts-on-u-s-election-eve-idUSKBN27J051). [![Democrats far more approving of social media companies flagging political content they judge to be inaccurate](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-02.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84516) In addition to thinking that actions by social media companies had a major impact on the election, Republicans also are far more likely to disapprove of these actions. Nearly eight-in-ten Republicans (78%) disapprove of social media companies blocking or flagging news that they judge to be inaccurate or misleading – with over half (57%) saying they strongly disapprove. Democrats have the inverse view, with 78% saying they approve of social media companies flagging or blocking this type of content (including 46% who strongly approve). [![Most Americans say made-up information had a major impact on confidence in the election](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-03.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84517) The survey also asked a few specific questions about the impact of made-up news on the election. Most Americans (63%) say made-up news had a major impact on people’s confidence in the results, while about half (53%) say it had a major impact on which candidate people decided to vote for. Fewer (44%) feel made-up news had a major impact on people’s decisions about whether to vote at all. Somewhat more Republicans than Democrats say made-up news had a major impact on these questions. The gap is widest over whether this misinformation had a major impact on which candidate voters supported: 61% of Republicans say it did versus 47% of Democrats. [![Partisans on both sides say that made-up election news was mainly intended to hurt their own party](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-04.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84518) When asked *which party* election misinformation was mostly intended to hurt, however, both Democrats and Republicans see it as targeting their own side. About seven-in-ten Republicans (69%) say that made-up election news was mostly intended to hurt the Republican Party, and 63% of Democrats say that it was intended to hurt the Democratic Party. Some in each party (19% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats) say that it was intended to hurt both sides equally. But very few on either side of the partisan divide (6% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats) say that made-up news was mainly intended to hurt the opposing party. These patterns are largely similar to those expressed [in late 2019](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/02/11/democrats-republicans-each-expect-made-up-news-to-target-their-own-party-more-than-the-other-in-2020/), when respondents were asked which party they expected to be the target of misinformation in the 2020 election. [![Most Americans say they saw at least some made-up election news … but far fewer say they saw misinformation targeted at them specifically](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-05.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84519) Most Americans (72%) say they saw at least “some” news about the election that seemed completely made up, including 28% who say they saw “a lot.” And in an election where there was evidence of some voters [being specifically targeted by made-up news](https://www.npr.org/2020/10/30/929248146/black-and-latino-voters-flooded-with-disinformation-in-elections-final-days), a small portion (18%) say they saw made-up news that seemed targeted at them. [![Conservative Republicans most likely to say they saw made-up news targeted at them](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/12/PJ_2020.12.15_Trump-post-election_3-06.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/?attachment_id=84520) And some groups are slightly more likely than others to say they felt specifically targeted by misinformation. For instance, a quarter of conservative Republicans (25%) say they feel this way, compared with 14% of liberal Democrats. Hispanic Americans and men also are slightly more likely to say they saw made-up news targeted specifically at them. --- **Next:** [4. Americans’ attention to news about the coronavirus pandemic remains steady in November as cases surge](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/12/15/americans-attention-to-news-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-remains-steady-in-november-as-cases-surge.md)