The present study examines to what extent the link between authoritarian dispositions and political intolerance is conditioned by selective exposure to the rising tide of easy to access, ideologically slanted news on the Internet. That is, contrary to much extant research, individuals with an authoritarian disposition who consume news about non-conformist groups will become politically intolerant, even in the absence of a prior situational threat. When a unique situational threat is present – such as a terror attack or other event that prompts consideration of one’s own mortality – authoritarians cope with this anxiety by increasing their consumption of non-political news and, hence, dilute the effects of political information. By contrast, non-authoritarians who react to a situational threat with intolerance can be reassured by consuming pro-tolerance viewpoints, thereby returning their attitudes to their pre-threat baseline.
