Does false information cause fact resistance? A selective exposure ex...

A central concern in the debate on misinformation is the notion that exposure to inaccurate information can lead not only to misperceptions, but also to resistance to further evidence. Against this background, we conducted a pre-registered experimental study (N = 504) within the Austria national context to test whether exposure to misinformation on climate change can spur resistance against evidence, while exposure to accurate facts might reduce resistance. Our study offers two key contributions to the current literature: First, it gives insights into diverse pathways of resistance against evidence by examining strategies of avoidance, empowerment, contesting, and biased processing. Second, while prior research has mostly addressed the effects of forced exposure to misinformation, this experiment additionally tests whether the presence of misinformation is also influential when individuals can freely choose between different kinds of content. Our study could not confirm that exposure to misinformation, evidence, or a self-selection scenario affect the use of resistance strategies against later evidence. However, analyses revealed a robust effect of prior misperceptions on avoiding evidence, counterarguing evidence, derogating the source of evidence, and the biased recall of evidence. The results point to the importance of investigating drivers of resistance beyond misinformation.