# Tolerance for democratic norm violations increases when sincerity replaces accuracy as a marker of honesty

## TL;DR

People are more likely to accept political norm violations when they value sincerity over factual accuracy in honesty.

## Contribution

This study experimentally shows that shifting the perception of honesty from accuracy to sincerity increases tolerance for democratic norm violations.

## Key findings

- Participants who emphasized sincerity over accuracy were more tolerant of political norm violations.
- Tolerance decreased when politicians were presented as dishonest rather than truthful.
- The study highlights how changing conceptions of honesty influence democratic behavior.

## Abstract

People’s subjective conceptions of truth and honesty have undergone significant changes in recent decades. Parts of society increasingly favour the sincere expression of personal belief, however inaccurate, as a marker of honesty over verifiable facts. At the same time, political elites in many democracies have been increasingly violating democratic norms. Those violations have been identified as a major contributor to democratic backsliding, highlighting the need for a thorough examination of the nexus between democratic norm violations and conceptions of honesty. We present a series of four preregistered experiments (total n = 1537) that examined the conditions under which people acquiesce to democratic norm violations and politicians’ dishonesty. We find that when participants are asked to take a perspective of honesty that emphasises sincerity over accuracy, which we call “belief-speaking”, they are more willing to accept norm violations by politicians than if participants take a perspective that emphasizes accuracy as a criterion for honesty, which we call “fact-speaking”. When a fictitious politician is presented as telling untruths, tolerance of norm violations is reduced compared to when the politician is presented as truthful. The findings highlight the need to develop a better understanding of how individuals interpret and respond to political leaders’ behaviours, especially in a context of widespread democratic backsliding.

Democratic backsliding is exacerbated by elite norm violations. In four experimental studies we find that asking people to favour sincerity, rather than accuracy, as a marker of honesty makes them more tolerant of norm violations.