Unintended Consequences? Russian Disinformation and Public Opinion

A free, open media is requisite for well-functioning democracy. Whether the modern media environment fulfills this function is, however, debatable. Disinformation -- the deliberate provision of false or misleading narratives with harmful intent -- is a particular concern. This concern is particularly acute in Central Europe, where disinformation intends to undermine support for Euro-Atlanticism by stoking identity-related grievances amongst socioculturally conservative individuals. Yet, we lack causal evidence concerning whether and to what extent this disinformation impacts attitudes. Using the critical case of Slovakia, this article identifies predictors of disinformation readership and trust, as well as disinformation's effects on anti-European Union, prejudiced, and xenophobic attitudes. Disinformation exposure leads to a backlash effect: false news headlines shift opinion in a pro-Europe, less prejudiced direction. Heterogeneous effects amongst ideological subgroups underscore how directionally motivated information processing conditions individual reactions. This analysis shows that the impact of disinformation depends on the ideological convictions of the target audience

How to head count ethnic minorities: validity of census surveys versus other identification strategies

Censuses ask individuals to identify their own ethnicity. Minorities, however, may be reluctant to self-identify; and thus, censuses may underreport minority populations, raising concerns about measurement validity. We identify and measure the extent of this concern by matching census data on Romas in Romania against a nationwide survey of 2800 municipality experts (SocioRoMap). While not perfect, we find considerable overlap between the two strategies. In the cases where the two measures do not match, the density of community networks is the driver for likelihood of non-congruence – but demographics factors and socioeconomic conditions account for the level, i.e. the magnitude of difference between the two estimation strategies. Given the systemic discrimination of Romas, these results are cautiously reassuring. As most countries head into a census-collecting year, this paper offers an empirical strategy for assessing the validity of self-identified numbers. If governments are concerned about measurement, random samples of expert assessments can help validate. Alternatively, policymakers can focus where miscounts are most likely: urban, ethnically diverse, and poor localities

The economic effects of the territoriality principle : Evidence from Transylvania, Romania

The territoriality principle stipulates that minority communities in a given territory should be linguistically accommodated. What are the economic effects of this principle? In this paper, we argue that the recognition of multiple languages confers respect on the minority group; it allows people to engage and participate meaningfully in society – thereby facilitating economic well-being. There is, however, a caveat: When recognition happens in areas where the minority is the overwhelming majority, there is a risk that the near-exclusive use of the minority language cuts the community off from the larger national state, which in turn stunts development. To test this, we focus on Transylvania, Romania. We leverage a legal stipulation that recognizes minority languages in areas where the minority constitutes more than 20% of the population. Using data at the municipal level, we find that recognition increases economic well-being in general – but not in areas where the minority are numerically dominant. Our results are normatively welcoming, but they also caution governments to not simply recognize minority languages but to also protect them adequately

Comparison of Cerebral Blood Flow in Computed Tomographic Hypodense Areas of the Brain in Head-injured Patients

Abstract OBJECTIVE Hypodense lesions identified on computed tomographic (CT) scans are often assumed to indicate ischemia. The purpose of this study was to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in hypodense areas of the brain after severe traumatic brain injury. METHODS CBF was measured by stable xenon-enhanced CT scans. Hypodense areas were identified, and rCBF values as well as CT density were averaged for the region. RESULTS Thirty (60%) of the 50 patients had a total of 45 hypodense regions, which were associated with either contusion (n = 30) or areas of infarction (n = 15). rCBF in the hypodense regions was variable, ranging from a low of 3.3 to a high of 72.5 ml/100 g/min. The cause of the lesion was the major factor associated with the level of rCBF. Although the average decrease in CT density was similar for the two types of lesions, the average rCBF was significantly lower and the difference in rCBF between the lesion and the contralateral side was greater when the hypodense lesion was associated with a contusion. A critical reduction in rCBF (<20 ml/100 g/min) was found in 19 (63%) of the hypodense regions associated with contusions but in only 4 (27%) of those from areas of infarction. CONCLUSION Hypodensity on plain CT scans does not always indicate reduction in CBF. This association was found more commonly when the low-density area was associated with a contusion. In hypodense areas associated with infarction, rCBF was variable and not commonly in the ischemic range at the time the CBF measurement was obtained

Framing Effects, Social Norm Perception, and Tolerance of Lesbian and Gay Individuals: Experimental Evidence from Slovakia

Perceptions of social norms can have downstream consequences for attitudes and behaviors, especially when it comes to the acceptance of marginalized groups. While interventions focusing on social norms may boost tolerance, few studies test whether variations in norm communication affect individuals’ perceptions. Thus, in this paper, we test the effectiveness of three communicative aspects—valence framing (Experiments 1–3), point of view (Experiment 1), and group centrism (Experiment 3)—in shifting perceptions of social norms. Specifically, we investigate whether manipulating these aspects affects perceptions of tolerance of lesbian and gay individuals in Slovakia, where LGBTQ+ acceptance is among the lowest in Europe. We found that while positively valenced messages shifted perceptions toward tolerance, manipulating point of view and group-centrism did not. We believe that these findings can inform interventions intended to shift perceptions of social norms in hostile contexts, an important first step in changing prejudiced attitudes and behaviors

Humanization and policy support: A replication-extension on group-composition framing

Evaluations of beneficiary groups matter for individual levels of policy support. A variety of cues and heuristics shape evaluations. One particularly consequential heuristic concerns the beneficiary’s perceived level of humanity. Recent work shows that individuals, individuals within groups (group compositions), and unitary groups evoke different levels of perceived humanity, and that these differences have downstream effects on sympathy and willingness to help. We replicate these findings, and then extend them to government policy support. We find that individuals and group compositions evoke higher levels of support than groups, and that perceived humanity explains this effect. We focus on the Roma, a tough, critical test given pervasive dehumanization and anti-Roma prejudice. Finally, we demonstrate the value of cross-disciplinary extension-replications