Despite what you may think, anyone — yes, even you — can fall prey to believing and spreading rumors or disinformation. And in an information landscape in which we are flooded with news, rumors, conspiracy theories, and lies, discerning fact from fiction can become overwhelming and seem insurmountable.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute, along with collaborators PEN America and the American Psychological Association, explored what makes us believe the information we hear — and what makes us more likely to spread it — with experts last month. Here’s what we learned.
What disinformation research shows:
- People tend to spread information — or disinformation — that affirms their beliefs or identities. It’s often good news about their “side.” However, research shows that one of the most powerful ways to go viral is to share negative information about the “other” group they’re not aligned with.
- Beliefs are very closely tied to identity within a group or community, and people are more likely to believe misinformation that comes from people within their circles. Traditional fact-checking typically doesn’t change identity-based beliefs.
- An individual’s level of anxiety can magnify the belief in and spread of disinformation. If someone feels uncertain or fearful for reasons completely unrelated to the piece of news, they are more likely to pay attention to and believe that information because it’s consistent with the emotions they feel at the time.
- Anxiety plays a huge role in the phenomenon of selective exposure: anything that introduces a threat to an individual’s identity will instigate them to seek comforting, congenial information as opposed to anything going against ideas they already hold.
- Individuals are equally susceptible to believing disinformation, regardless of political leaning. However, research shows that Republicans are far more likely to share disinformation. Although a small number of people generate most disinformation, it gets distributed widely because it aligns with an individual’s partisan identity, and people want to feel they belong.
“There are a lot of people just spreading misinformation, and they might be doing it unintentionally. They might falsely believe it because they’ve been on a diet of misinformation for so long,” said Jay Van Bavel, director of the Social Identity & Morality Lab at New York University. “So those are people who are probably susceptible. They probably need to be addressed differently from the people who are like, you know, Russia spreading misinformation, disinformation. … There’s a whole other group of people that … just need help getting good information and have been misled.”
Watch the webinar, Why We Believe: Framing the disinformation crisis for journalists: