Misinformation is having its moment in 2024 election
UC journalism professor talks to WVXU about how to gauge veracity of campaign claims
WVXU's Cincinnati Edition spoke to a University of Cincinnati journalism professor about ways misinformation is being used to political advantage in the 2024 presidential election.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Jeffrey Blevins said artificial intelligence is helping to spread falsehoods by targeting users who are likely to engage with particular content.
“The algorithm wants to keep you engaged so it puts content in front of you that you will like or comment on. And that tends to be things that push our emotional buttons,” Blevins said.
Blevins also teaches political science in UC's School of Public and International Affairs. He is author of the new book “Social Media and Digital Politics: Networked Reason in an Age of Digital Emotion.”
Blevins was joined on the show by Case Western Reserve University law professor Eric Chaffee. Chaffee said exaggerations, half-truths and whoppers have a storied history in American politics. The news media plays a big role in fact-checking statements, he said.
But Blevins said everyone should greet the messages of political campaigns with at least some skepticism.
Listen to the Cincinnati Edition episode.
Featured image at top: WVXU's Cincinnati Edition took up the question of misinformation in the 2024 election. Photo/Unsplash
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Jeffrey Blevins is co-author of the new book “Social Media and Digital Politics: Networked Reason in an Age of Digital Emotion.” Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
More UC Journalism in the news
A UC professor tracks misinformation in the 2024 election. Photo/Unsplash
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.