Thread by @matt_motta

Given skepticism about seriousness of #COVID19 on the right, Newt's msg could have persuasive power.

Several #scicomm studies find that ppl holding views at odds with sci. are more likely to change their minds when told to do so by like-minded sources.

Some examples [THREAD]

https://twitter.com/RachelAbramsNY/status/1238963234197180418

This piece from Adam Berinsky finds that politicians who take stances contrary to their partisan interests can convince like-minded partisans to reject misinfo. related to public health.

web.mit.edu/berinsky/www/f…

And this piece from @SalilBenegal & @condorcetsd on how GOP elites who speak out on climate change can decease the partisan gap in climate change acceptance.

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Bolsen, Palm, & Kingsland find a similar pattern of effects with respect to climate change and communication from GOP/military elites:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…

As do @RobertJRalston, @jsspindel, and I in a working paper.

https://twitter.com/matt_motta/status/1232728087990820866

And if these individual studies aren't enough, check out this fantastic review on the nature/origins of misinformation from @d_j_flynn, @BrendanNyhan, & @JasonReifler

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

As well as this one from Jenn Jerit and @yzhao0406

jjerit.com/images/JeritZh…

Public views about #COVID19 have clearly become quite partisan (e.g., see this work from @gelliottmorris).

When Republican elites who sound the alarm on coronavirus, they might help reverse this trend.

economist.com/graphic-detail…