Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41942710›Full record

ArticleNature human behaviour2026

How deceptive online networks reached millions in the US 2020 elections.

Ruth E Appel, Young Mie Kim, Jennifer Pan, Yiqing Xu, Ben Nimmo, Daniel Robert Thomas, Hunt Allcott, Pablo Barberá, Taylor Brown, Adriana Crespo-Tenorio and 22 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature human behaviour, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Ruth E AppelDepartment of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2344-2023
Young Mie KimSchool of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Jennifer PanDepartment of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. jp1@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4818-0122
Yiqing XuDepartment of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ben NimmoMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Daniel Robert ThomasMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Hunt AllcottStanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Pablo BarberáMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Taylor BrownMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5284-338X
Adriana Crespo-TenorioMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Drew DimmeryMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9602-6325
Deen FreelonAnnenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Matthew GentzkowDepartment of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7758-8656
Sandra González-BailónAnnenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8372-798X
Andrew M GuessDepartment of Politics and School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2974-7848
Shanto IyengarDepartment of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
David LazerNetwork Science Institute and Department of Political Science and Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7991-9110
Neil MalhotraGraduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4477-6049
Devra MoehlerMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3631-8630
Brendan NyhanDepartment of Government, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7497-1799
Jaime SettleDepartment of Government, William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
Emily ThorsonDepartment of Political Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6514-801X
Rebekah TrombleDepartment of Political Science and Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Carlos Velasco RiveraMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Arjun WilkinsMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Magdalena WojcieszakDepartment of Communication, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5456-4483
Beixian XiongMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Chad Kiewiet de JongeMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Annie FrancoMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Winter MasonMeta, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
Natalie Jomini StroudMoody College of Communication and Center for Media Engagement, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3528-9986
Joshua A TuckerWilf Family Department of Politics and Center for Social Media, AI and Politics, New York University, New York, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1321-8650

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Deceptive online networks are coordinated efforts that use identity deception to pursue strategic political or financial goals. During the US 2020 elections, these networks reached at least 37 million Facebook and 3 million Instagram users, representing 15% and 2% of the platforms' active US adult users, respectively. Only 3 networks out of 49-1 network with explicitly political aims and 2 that appeared to use politics as a lure for profit-were responsible for over 70% of users reached. Notably, accounts unaffiliated with the networks played an important role in facilitating this reach by resharing content the three networks produced. Deceptive networks, regardless of whether their goals were political or financial, reached users who were older, more conservative, more frequently exposed to content from untrustworthy sources, and spent more time on Facebook.

Indexed as

DeceptionOnline Social NetworkingPoliticsSocial MediaVotingDigital MediaHumansUnited States

Identifiers

PMID41942710

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.