Misinformation Finds Them : Hybrid Media and Radicalization in Rural America

In this groundbreaking study, Misinformation Finds Them unearths how the perceived threat of misinformation effects on other people is just as potent –if not more so – than the actual impact that hybrid media systems have on democracy and community in the heartland. Here, it is not that rural Americans are particularly vulnerable to misinformation; they are highly active media consumers, but they generally rely on news to "find me" rather than actively critically engaging with a diverse set of sources. This passive News Finds Me approach to media engagement, coupled with their belief that others are more susceptible to receiving and spreading misleading or false narratives, gives rise to distrust and polarization.

The Misinformation Finds Them (MFT) perception is particularly potent as algorithms and AI are increasingly embedded in news distribution systems that seek to maximize user engagement with personalized content. The perceived threat of misinformation can exacerbate polarization, but the notion that misinformation radicalizes rural populations simply is not accurate, and rural Americans show no meaningful differences to their more urban counterparts in terms of knowledge and media use.

"Vogts and Groshek offer fascinating insights into the polarized media ecosystem of rural America, an under-researched area that is meticulously addressed in this innovative book. It empirically provides an understanding of the way many rural Americans in Kansas distrustfully view media, and the impact of social networks on them, especially their beliefs in misinformation itself. The authors cleverly attempt to go beyond the standard discussion of misinformation, offering a more nuanced view with their origination of the "Misinformation Finds Them" concept. It is a must read for any citizen or scholar interested in better understanding the contemporary media environment of rural America."

– Ahmed al-Rawi, Associate Professor Simon Fraser University

"A timely, unflinching investigation into how misinformation quietly radicalizes rural America. Misinformation Finds Them doesn’t just expose echo chambers. It humanizes them. Vogts and Groshek’s essential read challenges stereotypes, connects hybrid media, bonding social capital, news finds me perception, and other media theories to real lives, and urges us to rethink how truth, identity, and democracy intersect in USA’s heartland."

– Homero Gil de Zúñiga, Distinguished Professor

University of Salamanca and Pennsylvania State University