New study shows Americans struggle to distinguish fact from opinion

There’s been a lot of talk lately about misinformation, and a lot of research into how misinformation spreads and what makes people susceptible to it. But a new study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has uncovered a disturbing trend: Many people – before they get to the stage of labeling something misinformation – struggle to tell the difference between a statement of fact and a statement of opinion. 

Mondak, a political science professor, and Mettler, a graduate student in political science, discuss the recent study -- explaining the distinction between fact and opinion, the types of statements that most often confuse people, and the insights that can be drawn from these findings, and what's next for their research.

GUESTS:

Jeff Mondak

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Matthew Mettler

PhD student, Department of Political Sciencem University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign