Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, found that relatively simple corrections could reduce some misperceptions by as much as 20 percentage points or more.

"Now, Russia’s World Cup has come and gone, but stability has given way to stagnation," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science and author of The Code of Putinism.

"My sense is that [Ayatollah] Khamenei is throwing [President] Rouhani under the bus, in a number of ways,” says Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science and expert on Iranian politics.