Don't we have a bigger issue if ad money can swing an election? Where's the critical thought on the part of the electorate?
For an easy, recent example, look at the Trump tax plan. This is constantly, repeatedly being sold as a "middle class tax cut". And yet it removes the estate tax, which only hits individuals with assets greats than 5.5 million or couples greater than 11 million. Cutting corporate taxes - why would this do anything? Corporate taxes are on profits, and if you're growing your business you aren't getting taxed anyway because you spend it instead - see Amazon and the whole "your margin is my opportunity" idea. How on earth would this lead to more growth? A doubled standard reduction, but other deductions are scrapped, mostly making things a wash; and a removal of the AMT, which hits the wealthy and some upper-middle class folk - none of this seems to really benefit the middle class, and you can pick that up merely by reading the proposal and some of the statements and analysis around it. (Just for good measure, the document itself: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4061905/Read-Pres... ).
And yet, the narrative of "middle class tax cuts" continues unabated. Maybe people don't have time to do the research; maybe they don't care, or maybe they don't feel qualified to contest experts and politicians. But the effect is that people make their decisions based on how they feel, and critical thought is largely non-existent.
The Mercers and Putins of the world do this because it’s cost-effective.
Yes, I see the irony.
An interesting comment if you think about it in the context of your prior paragraph.
Which scientific studies? Interested.