Right-Wing Media's Neurocognitive and Societal Effects

This book explores the effects of British and American legacy conservative press and far-right websites on political views and behavioral intentions, attributing the 2016 Brexit Referendum and American Presidential election results to the spread of fake news. It argues that traditional conservative media plays a more influential and harmful role, incorporating insights from neurocognitive science, media-communication research, and sociology. It presents primary evidence from experiments examining the effects of candidate-related fake news and immigration coverage from both old and new media right-wing sources on anti-immigrant attitudes and voter preferences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 194 pages
Publication date: 31 July 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the profound impact of British and American legacy conservative press and far-right websites on shaping political views and behavioral intentions. It conducts empirical tests, comparisons, and explanations to unravel the intricate effects of these media outlets on individuals' accordant political orientations and actions. The 2016 Brexit Referendum and American Presidential election results are frequently cited as examples of the spread of fake news through social media, Russian bots, and alt-right news websites. This has sparked widespread concerns about the detrimental impact of digital disinformation on democracy and the rise of nativist parties and movements across the globe.

However, this book challenges the prevailing causal attributions by arguing that they are largely based on unproven assumptions and divert attention from the more influential and harmful role of traditional conservative media. To support this argument, Leyva incorporates insights from diverse fields such as neurocognitive science, media-communication research, cross-cultural psychology, and sociology. Additionally, the book presents primary evidence from a series of rigorous experiments that examined the effects of candidate-related fake news and immigration coverage from both old and new media right-wing sources. These experiments focused on understanding how such content influences anti-immigrant attitudes and voter preferences. By conducting these experiments, the book offers a nuanced and robustly tested theoretical account of how right-wing media impacts political beliefs, sentiments, and practices at the neuronal level, ultimately contributing to the erosion of democratic multicultural societies.

Given its interdisciplinary approach, this book appeals to scholars in the social, behavioral, and cognitive sciences who are interested in exploring media psychology, online misinformation, authoritarian populism, political sociology, new media, and journalism. It provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics between media, politics, and society, shedding light on the urgent need for media literacy, fact-checking, and responsible journalism in our increasingly digital world.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032150451