Why do we fall for fake news?

 DANGERS OF SPREADING FAKE NEWS

Fake News is a false narrative published & promoted as if it were true. As is evident through the past, propaganda is spread through this. It is usually spread by those in power to create a certain belief or support a certain position even it was completely false. This really has serious consequences on the entire world.

Social media has now created an environment where anyone with an agenda can publish falsehoods as if they were truths. People can be paid to post fake news on behalf of someone else or automated programs, often called bots, can publish auto-generated fake news. Take this meme as an example: 

It is usually created to change people’s beliefs, attitudes, or perceptions, the ultimate goal is to change their behaviour. If you fall for fake news, then someone else drives your beliefs and decisions.

Stories that are untrue and that intentionally mislead readers have caused growing mistrust among people. In some cases, this mistrust results in incivility, protest over imaginary events, or even violence. 

Importance of verifying the news before sharing

Many studies have found that most people do not verify whether a new piece of information is accurate or fake before sharing it on social media, regardless of age, social class or gender. Individuals who encounter false information on social media may actively spread it further, by sharing or otherwise engaging with it. Much of the spread of disinformation can thus be attributed to human action.

Once disinformation has initially been seeded online by its creators, one of the ways how it spreads is through the actions of individual social media users. Ordinary people may propagate the material to their own social networks through deliberate sharing–a core function of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Other interactions with it, such as ‘liking’, also trigger the algorithms of social media platforms to display it to other users.

One way to check and verify data is Lateral Reading. This video is a vivid representation of the process of Lateral Reading. Lateral reading helps you determine an author’s credibility, intent and biases by searching for articles on the same topic by other writers (to see how they are covering it) and for other articles by the author you’re checking on. That’s what professional fact-checkers do. This meme is best used here : 

How do biases affect our interpretation of the news?

1. Confirmation Bias : 

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out or interpret information that already agrees with our pre-conceived beliefs or values. People display this bias when they are dealing with the information they have a lot of emotional attachment with. They ignore or misinterpret the contrary information so that it doesn't clash with their preconceived beliefs.

In social media, confirmation bias is amplified by the use of filter bubbles, or "algorithmic editing", which displays to individuals only information they are likely to agree with while excluding opposing views. Source: Wikipedia

This creates a sort of bubble, in which people are not privy to different opinions and constructive criticism, which stuns individual growth.

2. Authority Bias : 

Authority bias is the tendency to attribute greater value to a piece of information coming from an authority figure, irrespective of the nature of the information. People have been experimentally proved to believe information more if the source of the information is an authority figure. 

The reason for authority bias is the human need to comply with a position of power. Some scientists explain this behaviour as people believing that those in power deserve their authority and this leads to acceptance and obedience. 

For example, the field in which authority bias is taken advantage of is advertising. Brands use highly influential people to sway public opinion through authority bias.

3. False Consensus

In psychology, the false consensus effect or consensus bias is the tendency to overestimate how much other people agree with us. It causes an individual to see their behaviour as fairly common and socially appropriate, given the circumstances. False consensus stems from self-esteem and the desire to be socially accepted. When faced with an opinion that is against public belief, an individual may discard that opinion as a result of false consensus.

As always, thank you for supporting our blog!