Wrong Quotes

“Being wrong isn’t about believing factually inaccurate pieces of information, its not even about believing lies people tell us. It’s about our psychological and social needs. Our need to understand our world (comprehension), have agency within it (control), and feel socially connected to people on our team (community). And when endless dimensions of identity all fit together in a little partisan package, this multidimensional political MAGA identity influences all three needs.
We look to comprehend our world in ways that advantage our team. We seek to control our world in ways that benefit our team. And we think and behave in ways that better connect us to our team. When false belief satisfy these needs, we will embrace them, even demand them.”
― Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation

“prior to 1994, voting and political participation were driven by Americans’ positive feelings toward their own party more than they were by negative feelings toward the other party. But today, we participate more because we hate the other side. So, in 1984, someone might wear a button and put up a yard sign because she loves Ronald Reagan. Today, she attends a rally and donates money because she hates Joe Biden.”
― Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation

“In their data-driven account of the 2016 election, Identity Crisis, political scientists John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck conclude that “attitudes concerning race, ethnicity, and religion were more strongly related to how Americans voted in 2016 than in recent elections.”38 They also show that the centrality of racial and ethnic identity and attitudes in the election outcome was not a direct result of demographic changes in the United States or even a result of hugely shifting attitudes on race. Instead, it was about the words and behaviors of the candidates themselves in choosing to highlight certain issues (related to race and ethnicity) over other issues (anything else). By putting race and ethnicity front and center, Trump succeeded in unearthing starkly contrasting racial views among America’s cultural conservatives and cultural liberals.”
― Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation