Educational orientation, actively open-minded thinking, and democratic ideals in the assessment of news credibility

Highlights: - Democratic knowledge and perspectives correlate with misinformation discernment (MD). - Higher education in all academic orientations correlates positively with MD. - Low dogmatism and low fact-resistance correlate positively with MD. - Self-rated information literacy aligns with objective performance in MD. - Disciplinary differences are associated with different democratic ideals. Purpose: This study examines how educational orientation, actively open-minded thinking (AOT), and democratic ideals relate to misinformation discernment in an era of misleading media content. Methodology: Using an online survey, nationally representative adults (n=3060) and university students (n=1097) completed measures assessing misinformation discernment, AOT, democratic ideals, and information literacy. Findings: Higher education improves misinformation discernment, though no differences emerged across academic disciplines. AOT, especially low dogmatism and fact resistance, strongly predicts misinformation resilience. Democratic ideals, emphasising representation and expertise, enhance discernment, while participatory ideals show weaker links. Self-rated information literacy correlates with better discernment, yet advanced techniques like lateral reading and reverse image search remain rare. Political orientation influences outcomes, with Green-voting individuals performing better and right-wing Sweden Democrats performing worse. Implications: The findings emphasise the need to integrate critical thinking, democratic education, and digital fact-checking skills into curricula across disciplines, actively promoting AOT and fostering nuanced democratic perspectives.