Can you tell the difference between real and fake Democrats and Republicans?
You’re about to see 10 statements that people wrote based one of two prompts: “I’m a democrat because…” or “I’m a republican because…”.
We randomly assigned each person to one prompt or the other, so they didn’t get to choose. (We offered them a bonus if their statement sounded convincing.)
That means some of these statements are real — the person is explaining why they belong to their actual political party. Some of these statements are fake — the person is pretending to belong to the opposite political party.
real statements: Democrats claiming to be Democrats, or Republicans claiming to be Republicans.
fake statements: Democrats claiming to be Republicans, or Republicans claiming to be Democrats.
Your job is to judge whether each statement is real or fake.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Democrat because…”
I was born and raised in Detroit. My dad worked his whole life in the steel mills and was a union member. I married young but had to work because we have 4 children. Unlike my dad, I found a job at Michigan Bell but we were also unionized and I've been working there for 32 years so far. We were so glad when Obama was elected president because we felt we finally had somebody in the white house who could help us as a whole. He did somewhat but I wish he could have done more before his 8 years were up. I love Detroit and the new things being built here. It's really helping our city come alive after the last 50 years of major problems with industry.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Republican because…”
""I am a REPUBLICAN because I believe in conservative values..I think the government is too big and should be reduced. This would give more power back to the people. I think we need to close our borders to those who wish to enter them. We need to put America first. Furthermore, even though our president is racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and whatever other adjective you would like to use to describe him, we still need to support him without question. That's what good Americans do. I believe in our right to bear arms and nobody should be trying to take our guns.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Republican because…”
I am a republican because I believe in limited government, lower taxes, and more freedom. I believe Ronald Reagan was the greatest modern president, and we should strive to emulate him. I am pro-life, a Christian, and believe that America is the greatest Christian nation on Earth. I believe Democrats hurt America by raising taxes, being weak towards our enemies, and violating the Constitution. I believe immigration has gone too far and put too many Americans out of work. I am a strong supporter of Donald Trump and strive to defend him from the liberal media. All these reasons are why I am a Republican.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Democrat because…”
I am a Democrat because the Democratic party stands for many of the same things that I believe in strongly. I believe strongly that we as a country should be taking care of each other. We should welcome in those who need the prosperity that this country offers with open arms. It is important to me that all people should have an equal chance to live a happy life without worry about crushing student loans or not being able to get the medical care that they need. America needs to do better and I think the Democratic party is going in the right direction.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Republican because…”
I am a Republican because I believe in American values. My family is important to me, and I want to make sure my country is safe for them. I want to uphold the words of the constitution and support what our founding fathers wrote. The right to bear arms is in our constitution and should be the right of an individual. Anyone should have the right to self-defence. We need national security and immigration laws should be limited. We need to fight the war on terror and drugs to make sure our home country is safe. I want to keep America great.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Republican because…”
I am a Republican because I believe in the old way of doing things. I believe in family values, honesty, integrity. I believe that if you are born a woman, you are a woman. If you are born a man, you are a man. I believe that marriage means one man and one woman. I believe you should spank your kids when they disobey, you should teach them respect for their elders. I feel that every American should work for what he has and not be so dependent on government handouts and being supported by hard working american taxpayers. I believe you should only get what you have worked for.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Democrat because…”
I am a Democat because I support universal healthcare and science. I support higher education and public services. I support combatting racism. I prefer and equal and just society where everyone is treated with respect and given the proper tools to rise above poverty. I think workers should have strong rights and the ability to unionize. I support immigrants and think they strengthen our country with diverse perspectives and bringing new ideas. I support combatting climate change and supporting renewable energy. We must do our part to ensure that it our environment is preserved and protected for the future in the world
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Democrat because…”
America isn't meant to just be the greatest place on earth for just a few people, it's meant to be the greatest place on earth for everyone. For too long, the people in power have done everything in their power to stay in power and keep themselves and their rich friends at the top of the food chain while holding everyone else down. While everyone may not ever have true equality, we should do everything possible to try and make it happen. Every American deserves an equal opportunity to achieve greatness. No political party is perfect, but the Democratic party is the one that has the highest ideals that we should all strive for.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Democrat because…”
I am a democrat because I believe that the working class deserves far more than we have currently. Democrats authentically care about the daily struggles the average citizen faces, including but not limited to healthcare and education. Democrats understand that collectively if we have compassion for one another's backgrounds, we can help lift one another up. This is especially important during current times, where the upper class continues to grow richer and kick the lower classes while we're already down. Republicans say ""pick yourself up by your bootstraps"", but democrats understand that the context of an individual's background determines whether or not that citizen even has boots to begin with.
The following statement was written based on the prompt: “I’m a Republican because…”
I am a REPUBLICAN because I believe in smaller government. I also believe in smaller taxes and less government spending on social programs. Basically the Republican party is conservative and feels the government should have limited intervention in business and economy. We are known as the GOP (Grand Old Party) and our party opposed slavery in the new territories all the way up to complete abolition. Now guess who was the first Republican President? Abraham Lincoln but it is strange because before Lincoln the two political parties were united and called the ""Democratic Republicans."" We Republicans also have had more Presidents elected than the Democrats did. (19 Republicans - 13 Democrats.)
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