This study calls into question the work of journalists.

It finds that when liberals and conservatives consume misinformation, it intensifies their feelings about an issue. Hardly earth-shaking.

But when people are presented with refutations of the misinformation they become more convinced than ever. That is, they're more apt to really, really believe the misinformation, rather than change their minds.

Political scientists Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler provided two groups of volunteers with the Bush administration's prewar claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. One group was given a refutation -- the comprehensive 2004 Duelfer report that concluded that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction before the United States invaded in 2003. Thirty-four percent of conservatives told only about the Bush administration's claims thought Iraq had hidden or destroyed its weapons before the U.S. invasion, but 64 percent of conservatives who heard both claim and refutation thought that Iraq really did have the weapons.

1. How do you explain this?

2. Why should journalists bother with the facts?

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