Memory For Fact, Fiction, and Misinformation: The Iraq War 2003
Abstract
Media coverage of the 2003 Iraq War frequently contained corrections and retractions of earlier information. For example, claims that Iraqi forces executed allied POW’s after surrendering were retracted the day after their presentation. Similarly, tentative initial reports about the discovery of Weapons of Mass Destruction were all later disconfirmed. We investigated the effects of these retractions and disconfirmations on people’s memory and beliefs for war-related events in two coalition countries (Australia and the U.S.) and one that opposed the war (Germany). Participants were queried about (a) true events, (b) events initially presented as fact but subsequently retracted, and (c) fictional events. Participants in the U.S. did not show sensitivity to the correction of misinformation whereas participants in Australia and Germany discounted corrected misinformation. In line with previous findings, we show that the differences between samples reflect the public’s greater suspicion in Australia and Germany about the motives underlying the war.