The Irony of Sophisticated Citizens and Misinformation: Explaining How People with High Need for Cognition Become Politically Cynical

Although prior studies demonstrate that less politically sophisticated citizens tend to fall for “fake news,” it is less clear how high need for cognition citizens who enjoy effortful thinking are influenced by misinformation. To address this gap, the current study analyzes data from a two-wave panel survey collected before and after the 2020 presidential election in the U.S. Our model explains (a) how social media news use increases political cynicism through perceived misinformation exposure and (b) how need for cognition shapes this path to cynicism. Results suggest that the path to political cynicism emerges only among high need for cognition individuals. These supposedly sophisticated citizens grow cynical not only toward politicians and the media, but also toward voters.