Sometimes misinformation feels inevitable. A survey last summer by the nonprofit Pointer Institute for Media Research found that 62% of people regularly notice false or misleading information online. A 2019 poll found that nearly 9 out of 10 people admit to being fooled by fake news. Cambridge University social psychologist Sander van der Linden studies how and why people share such information, and how to stop sharing it. He spoke with Daisy Juhas, editor of Mind His Matters, about the work and his new book. Foolproof: Why Misinformation Affects Our Minds and How to Build Immunityoffers research-backed solutions to stop this proliferation.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
of foolproof, You borrow an analogy from the medical world, claiming that misinformation works like a virus. How did you come to that comparison?
I was looking through journals and came across epidemiological and public health models used to understand how information propagates throughout systems. Instead of spreading viruses, information pathogens exist. Someone shares something with you and you spread it to others.
So the question was, if it’s true that disinformation spreads like a virus, is it possible to inoculate people? I came across Bill McGuire’s work in the 1960s. Bill McGuire is a psychologist who has studied how people protect themselves from being “brainwashed.” He had a very similar idea. That connection led to this entire research programme.
[Read more about scientifically backed strategies to fight misinformation]
How do you get “infected”?
Viruses attack by exploiting weaknesses in our cells and hijacking parts of their machinery. In many ways it is the same for the mind. There are certain cognitive biases that can be exploited by misinformation. Misinformation infects our memories and affects our decision making.
One example is the illusory truth bias. This is the idea that just hearing something over and over makes it seem more true, even if you know it’s wrong. These learned automatic associations are part of how the brain works.
In your research, you extended the viral metaphor to claim that you can vaccinate yourself against misinformation through a technique called “pre-banking.” how does that work?
There are two parts to pre-banking. The first is an advance warning that jump-starts our psychological immune system because we sleep most of the time.
The second part of the prebank is similar to providing people with a weakened dose of the virus in a vaccine. For example, in some cases, you get just a little bit of misinformation and tips to refute it. This helps people be more resilient to misinformation.
In addition, we discovered that there are general techniques used to manipulate the spread of misinformation in various environments.Our research found that if we could help people find these broader technologies, we could protect them from all sorts of misinformation. did [Bad News] It helps us understand the tactics used to spread fake news. This improved our ability to find various unreliable information by about 20-25%.
Therefore, by drawing attention to the techniques people use to manipulate others, we help people recognize and resist widespread incoming disinformation.
of course. We worked with Google to create a series of videos to educate people on YouTube navigation techniques. One is a false dichotomy, or false dilemma. This is a common tactic that our partners at Google have brought to their attention as it appears in many radical videos.
In a false dichotomy, someone falsely claims that there is only one of two options. For example, “Either you are not a good Muslim or you have to join ISIS.” Politicians also use this approach. In the U.S. political context, an example might be “We have to solve the homeless problem in San Francisco before we can start talking about immigration.”
In our study, we introduced people to this concept using a video explaining the false dichotomy in a non-political scenario.We use popular culture to family guy and Star WarsPeople love it and it’s proven to be a really good ride.
So in our false dichotomy video, Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker tells Obi-Wan Kenobi, “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy,” to which Obi-Wan replies, “Only the Sith deal with absolutes.” The video cuts to explain Anakin’s use of a false dichotomy.
After watching a video like this, you realize that someone might be trying to manipulate you the next time you are presented with just two options.
Published survey of over 20,000 people in August view these videosevoked techniques such as fake dilemmas, scapegoating, and emotionally manipulative language.
What we have found is that using these videos, people are better able to recognize the misinformation that we were later shown both in the lab and on social media. We’ve included a live test on the YouTube platform. In that setting, the environment is less controlled and people get more distracted, making it a more rigorous test.
These videos were part of a Google advertising campaign that received millions of views. Based on this research, Google now publishes a video targeting misinformation about Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in Europe. They are especially helpful in helping people find scapegoat techniques.
In this book you point out that many people who think they are immune to misinformation are not. For example, in one survey, nearly 50% of respondents believed they could spot fake news, but only 4 percent Succeeded. Even as a “digital native” be fooled by fake content. Can this happen to anyone?
Many people think they are immune. But there are ground rules that expose us all. For example, there is an evolutionary argument called truth bias that is very important here. In most environments, people are not actively fooled, so by default they accept things to be true. You can’t get through the day if you have to critically question everything. But when you’re in an environment like social media where the rate of misinformation is much higher, things can go wrong.
In addition to prejudices, the book highlights how certain social behaviors and contexts, including online echo chambers, distort what we see. With so many forces working against us, how can we remain optimistic?
We have prejudices that can be exploited by the creators of misinformation. It’s not easy to keep track of what people trust given all the new information we’re constantly exposed to. Pre-banking is not a panacea, but it is a good first line of defense and can be as helpful as de-banking and fact-checking. We can help people stay accurate and vigilant.
Are you a scientist specializing in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology, and have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper you’d like to contribute to Mind Matters? Send your suggestions to Scientific Americanby Mind Matters Editor Daisy Juhas pitchmindmatters@gmail.com.
This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily Scientific American.
