The Invented State

In The Invented State, Emily Thorson argues that a problematic and understudied aspect of misinformation is public misperception about what the government does. Because much of public policy is invisible to the public, there is fertile ground for false beliefs to flourish, leading to what Thorson terms the "invented state": systematic misperceptions about public policy. Contrary to pundits' assumptions of a public who is largely indifferent to policy, there is a deep public desire to learn basic facts about how the government works. Thorson meets that desire with analysis on how the news media can identify and effectively correct substantive policy misperceptions.

Emily Thorson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University. Her research focuses on how people learn about the political world. She is particularly interested in understanding what people get wrong about politics and policy, and how correcting these misperceptions changes their attitudes and behavior. She received a dual Ph.D in communications and political science at the Annenberg School and at the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chapter 1. Introduction: Misperceptions That Matter
Chapter 2. The Contours of the Invented State
Chapter 3: The Policy Gap in the Information Environment
Chapter 4: The Construction of Beliefs About Policy
Chapter 5: How People Respond to Policy Information
Chapter 6: Policy Misperceptions and Competence
Chapter 7: Dismantling the Invented State
Chapter 8: Conclusion: What Comes Next?
References
Index