5d87daa9f895ab0012b96232

Data

{
  "abstract": "In 1964, Richard Hofstadter authored The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Fifty-five years later in an era now littered with “fake news” websites and conspiracy theories that can spread rapidly over the Internet, Hofstadter’s work warrants revisiting. In this paper, I draw on the concept of the “paranoid style,” but with a quantitative twist. Psychologists Allan Fenigstein and Peter Vanable (1992) developed a survey instrument to assess paranoid thought. Using data from a survey that combines the Fenigstein and Vanable paranoia instrument with questions about present-day political conspiracies and fake news stories, my research asks: Is there a relationship between paranoia and one’s willingness to accept or deny established political facts? I hypothesize that in today’s sometimes confusing information environment, paranoia plays a significant role in understanding why some Americans are more susceptible than others to believing misinformation popularized through fake news websites. The results confirm my expectations.",
  "abstractViews": 1892,
  "approvedDate": "2019-09-24T13:44:36.626Z",
  "assetFileName": "APSA_2019_Francia_Paranoia.pdf",
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  "assetUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d87daa9f895ab0012b96232/original/the-paranoid-style-and-the-rise-of-fake-news-in-american-politics.pdf",
  "authorIds": [
    "name:peter francia"
  ],
  "categoryIds": [
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  "citations": 0,
  "commentsCount": 0,
  "communityId": "APSA",
  "competingInterestsDeclaration": null,
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  "contentType": "Working Paper",
  "contentTypeId": "5ce663395846762193c9c430",
  "doi": "10.33774/apsa-2019-p6gq5",
  "doiUrl": "https://doi.org/10.33774/apsa-2019-p6gq5",
  "engageUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-details/5d87daa9f895ab0012b96232",
  "eventId": null,
  "funders": [],
  "gainedEthicsApproval": null,
  "hasCompetingInterests": null,
  "isLatestVersion": true,
  "keywords": [
    "fake news",
    "misinformation",
    "paranoia",
    "political knowledge"
  ],
  "licenseId": "5cc9d9bf7d4e0000ac04ef27",
  "publishedDate": "2019-09-24T13:44:36.641Z",
  "status": "PUBLISHED",
  "statusDate": "2019-09-24T13:44:36.641Z",
  "subjectId": "5e68cb1bd1f19d49ce3ac752",
  "submittedDate": "2019-09-23T20:44:17.293Z",
  "supplementaryFiles": [],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d87daa9f895ab0012b96232/mediumThumb/the-paranoid-style-and-the-rise-of-fake-news-in-american-politics.jpg",
  "title": "The Paranoid Style and the Rise of Fake News in American Politics",
  "version": "1",
  "vor": null,
  "webLinks": []
}

History in this collection

1. addedv1.0.0Jun 24, 2026this version