The Invented State: Policy Misperceptions in the American Public

In The Invented State, Emily Thorson argues that a problematic and understudied aspect of political misinformation reflects widespread public misperception about what the government does. Because much of public policy is invisible to the public, there is fertile ground for false beliefs to flourish, leading to the creation of what Thorson terms the "invented state": systematic misperceptions about public policy. However, people get the facts wrong not because they are lazy, stupid, or blind...