Rumors, misinformation, and conspiracies pollute the political landscape. They engender polarized thinking, division, and hate. But if we can’t agree on what’s true and what isn’t, how can we communicate with one another about important, complex issues we disagree about? In this talk, Adam Berinsky will examine: why unsubstantiated political rumors and misinformation exist and persist long after they’re refuted; how our identities play into this and shape our perceptions; who is most likely to skip the “mis” in misinformation; and practical skills for arriving at common ground.

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Accessible seating, live captioning viewable from your personal device, and ASL interpreting will be available during the lecture. If you need any alternate accommodations, please contact events-www@mit.edu.

About the speaker

Adam Berinsky is the Mitsui Professor of Political Science at MIT and serves as the director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab (PERL). He is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). Berinsky received his PhD from the University of Michigan in 2000. He is the author of "Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It" (Princeton University Press, 2023), "In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq" (University of Chicago Press, 2009), and "Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America" (Princeton University Press, 2004). He has published articles in many journals and is currently the co-editor of the Chicago Studies in American Politics book series at the University of Chicago Press. He is the recipient of multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Berinsky was appointed a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow to study how political rumors spread and how they can be effectively debunked.

This event is sponsored by the offices of the Chancellor, Provost, and MIT ICEO.