Why Retractions of Numerical Misinformation Fail: The Anchoring Effect of Inaccurate Numbers in the News

Abstract

Numbers can convey critical information about political issues, yet statistics are sometimes cited incorrectly by political actors. Drawing on real-world examples of numerical misinformation, the current study provides a first test of the anchoring bias in the context of news consumption. Anchoring describes how evidently wrong and even irrelevant numbers might change people’s judgments. Results of a survey experiment with a sample of N = 413 citizens indicate that even when individuals see a retraction and distrust the presented misinformation, they stay biased toward the initially seen inaccurate number.

The Review on Anchoring Effect

“…But if the data is wrong it can bias individuals to a certain extent towards attitudes (Lewandowsky et al, 2012;Thorson, 2016). Even if we find errors or irrelevant figures in the news, this can lead to bias in our judgments (Furnham & Boo, 2011;Tversky & Kahneman, 1974) [11].…”

Fact-Checking: Journalistic Strategies and Audience Outcomes in Diverse National Contexts

“…Another important challenge we face involves the evaluation and correction of numerical information. Stubenvoll and Matthes (2022) examine the effects of exposure to inaccurate numbers in the news accompanied by a correction. Their experimental design uses prompts containing varying estimates of the illiteracy rate and criminal offenses of refugees in Germany.…”

The psychology of mineral wealth: Empirical evidence from Kazakhstan

“…Through experiments, several psychologists have also shown that the anchoring effect is durable/persistent by varying the time that the anchor was introduced to different sample populations (Mussweiler and Neumann, 2000;Yoon and Fong, 2019). Along these lines, inaccurate numbers in the news can distort one's perception of reality and induce false judgments (Stubenvoll and Matthes, 2021).…”