Does Misinformation On Social Media Change what You Believe?

For years, social media companies have faced pressure from users and government watchdogs to stop misinformation, from distorting elections, deepening political divisions and undermining Americans’ trust in institutions. But what if dramatically reducing people’s exposure to unreliable sources that frequently spread misinformation doesn’t actually change what they believe? Reducing Social Media, Facebook and Instagram users’ exposure to untrustworthy sources by about 70% during the 2020 election successfully changed what people saw but produced no measurable shifts in their political beliefs or attitudes. Exposure to misinformation was highly concentrated: a small minority of users (23% on Facebook, 11% on Instagram) accounted…