Party officials uniquely positioned to rebut conspiracism instead acquiesce for electoral survival
Evidence
The partisan penumbra means that Republican officials have a presumptive advantage in comparison to Democrats or nonpartisan civil servants in refuting conspiracist claims. Their corrections are more likely to elicit trust from conservatives and Republicans in the electorate. But what we see today are elected Republican officials who, instead of speaking truth, calculate that their own electoral survival and the success of their favored policies are better ensured by acquiescing to conspiracism. There is a virtually united front of elected officials, donors, and partisan activists. And so, representatives placate, avoid questions, refrain from comment, utter platitudes, and remain silent. Some affirm conspiracist claims themselves. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 329
Categorization
- DEEPTHINKING: Falsifiable and counterintuitive: the very people whose corrections would carry most trust choose silence because the incentives cut the other way; the structural claim that partisan corrections would be most trusted, yet are withheld, is worth sitting with.
- XREF: connects to: Elected officials know better yet dignify debunked conspiracy claims — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 235; Reelection fears make silence on conspiracy the safer posture for officials. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 239; Elite reticence about conspiracism erodes public trust in whether representatives mean what they say — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 331 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Fear of primaries drives officials’ conspiracist equivocation
#expands(0.85) - Elite reticence about conspiracism erodes public trust in whether representatives mean what they say
#expands(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 331 - Elected partisans are the effective channel for speaking truth to conspiracy.
#qualifies(0.80)