Fake News: Here's Why People Believe Them, According To Science

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 20 January 2022, 09:01 am

Fake news is everywhere on the web. It's on social media sites, chat rooms, forums, and any other place you can think of. At times, it can be harmless. But during these days, when the world is in the grip of a pandemic, online misinformation can actually be a death sentence to the unaware.

But despite the very clear dangers that it possesses, false information still spreads and is still believed by so many people. Fortunately, science has a way to explain all that, and it is surprisingly simple to grasp.

Personal Biases Play A Massive Part

According to the American Psychological Association, it basically ends and begins with a person's own worldview. They call this "motivated reasoning," or the idea that the way a person thinks tends to be biased with things that conform to their own beliefs.

They cite an example between liberal voters and conservative ones to illustrate the situation. A liberal is more inclined to believe negative rumors about a politician from the competing party, while it's the other way around for a conservative.

An Ability To Think Before Reacting

Another potential explanation is a person's analytical reasoning skills, as per a study conducted by behavioral science researchers from the University of Regina in Canada.

The researchers measured the levels of analytical reasoning in over 3,400 American participants in a survey. As per their results, people who tallied higher reasoning scores were more able to identify fake news from real ones. It was also revealed that their personal biases didn't even play a part in their decisions.

In simpler terms, these people exhibited a habit of thinking first before acting, which was not affected by their own personal worldview. Furthermore, the researchers concluded that people are more likely to believe fake news with their "lazy thinking," and not even a subconscious desire to conform to their own beliefs.

On Fake News And Social Media: The Current Situation

There have been numerous attempts to curb the spread of online misinformation, and most of them rely on simply banning the offending individuals. This is even more pronounced now that the world is dealing with the coronavirus since there are heaps of fake scientific claims making the rounds lately.

Social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter seem to be the most affected. However, arguments are saying that merely banning the individuals that share false information isn't helping much, as per an article by Gizmodo.

This claim comes from fellows at The Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of sciences. After conducting workshops, literature reviews, and roundtables with fact-checking organizations and academics, the society basically concluded that while online misinformation might be rampant, its overall influence could be a little overblown.

At least when asking people in the United Kingdom, the society found out that the vast majority still believes that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, 5G is not bad for your health, and climate change is due to human interference.

For now, maybe you should do your part in curbing the spread of fake news so that you can help further lessen its effects.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce