Election Denial as a News Coverage Dilemma: A Survey Experiment with Local Journalists

In 2022 Republican candidates across the country contested the legitimacy of the prior Presidential election. How journalists cover this topic has important implications for the political information environment and democracy itself. We survey local news reporters covering congressional campaigns and find election denial poses a dilemma for them. Journalists support efforts to increase the public’s trust in elections, but also feel compelled to let election deniers explain their views in the news. Using a survey experiment, we show exposure to information about an alternative democracy-framed way of covering this topic changes how journalists approach it by decreasing the appeal of stories that address election denial as an electoral strategy or recirculate rhetoric casting doubt on the legitimacy of elections. Our study shows why the erosion of democratic norms poses a challenge for journalists while also revealing openness to alternative coverage approaches.