The role of misperceptions in attitudes to immigration

Immigration has attracted heightened public attention in recent years, amid increases in applications for international protection and rises in violent protests, racially motivated hate crimes and the spread of online misinformation. While overall attitudes to immigration remain comparatively positive, these developments highlight the need to understand how the public think about immigration.

This webinar will launch a new ESRI report titled The role of misperceptions in attitudes to immigration. The report presents new evidence on how accurately the public perceives key immigration facts, such as population size, reasons for migration, and migrant characteristics, and examines how these perceptions relate to attitudes toward immigration.