Adam J. Berinsky

Adam J. Berinsky is the Mitsui Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Berinsky received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1992 and his PhD from the University of Michigan in 2000. He is a specialist in the fields of political behavior and public opinion with over 25 years of experience in survey design and analysis. For the last decade, Berinsky has been studying political rumors and misinformation.

Berinsky is the author of Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America (Princeton University Press, 2004), In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq (University of Chicago Press, 2009), and Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It (Princeton University Press, 2023). He has also published articles in many academic journals.

Berinsky has won several scholarly awards, is the recipient of multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He is also the founding director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab.

Misinformation can erode trust in government and spur political violence. Berinsky’s project, “Fostering an Accurate Information Ecosystem to Mitigate Polarization in the United States,” aims to reduce the spread of misinformation in the United States by building on existing and novel strategies to unlock their combined potential. Through partnerships with policymakers and social media platforms, Berinsky aims to enhance public discernment of inaccurate content, fostering the shared factual reality essential for democratic stability.