Explaining beliefs in electoral misinformation in the 2022 Brazilian election: The role of ideology, political trust, social media, and messaging apps

Abstract

The 2022 elections in Brazil have demonstrated that disinformation can have violent consequences, particularly when it comes from the top, raising concerns around democratic backsliding. This study leverages a two-wave survey to investigate individual-level predictors of holding electoral misinformation beliefs and the role of trust and information habits during the 2022 Brazilian elections. Our findings demonstrate that susceptibility to electoral misinformation is affected by factors such as political ideology, trust in the electoral process and democratic institutions, and information consumption, with those who participate in political groups in messaging apps being more likely to believe in electoral misinformation.