It is this ability of news that tugs at our heartstrings and that ensures it is shared across the platforms even when being completely ‘bogus’
The power of fake news to change the course of history was in ample demonstration during last year’s US Presidential election, but researchers studying the trend say that it is not just the social media that is responsible.
“People are motivated to consume information that matches their political and cultural disposition. They do so in selective ways,” said Dan Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law & Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School. Speaking on the impact of fake news on science communication and addition at the AAAS (American Association for Advancement of Science) conference in Boston, Kahan called fake news a ‘cancer on the body of democracy.’
“People want more information that supports their existing views,” he explained while adding that it was human psychology that needs to be addressed. One of the main reasons people do so, according to him, is because internet memes are increasingly fusing social and political issues with people’s identities.
Dominique Brossard, professor and chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pointed out that fake news has always existed as well as the pressure for the media to resort to sensationalise to increase sales or clicks. She explained why fake news was popular among the masses. “They match our world view, they give us hope, and they are amusing,” Brossard said.
It is this ability of news that tugs at our heartstrings and that ensures it is shared across the platforms even when being completely ‘bogus’.
“These people already wanted to believe in the fake news. If you show them what they are going to disagree with, then they would dismiss it anyway. They were likely to do it electorally too,” added Kahan.
But while the problem is there for everyone to see, Julie Coiro, School of Education, University of Rhode Island believes that educating individuals, especially children between ‘bias’ and ‘bogus’ is the key. “We have to encourage students to find the source of the news and ask them to see if the person making the claim is backing it with evidence,” Coiro said while adding, “What techniques are they using to corroborate their claims?”
With the amount of misleading information floating around in the social media, Brossard said the scientific community had an important role to play. “Scientists should engage in communicating their work and realize it’s not ‘us versus them, the public,” he said.
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