Tag: Misinformation

Why Are ‘Boomers’ So Gullible?

I am a ‘Baby Boomer’ born in 1947 and I grew up in a time that history, if it is allowed to be taught in the future, will tell the tale of a country coming to terms with itself.

Across the board people seem to be losing their confidence in Donny with the exception of one group…..Boomers.

A new poll shows a slight uptick in President Donald Trump‘s approval rating among Baby Boomers following a significant dip earlier this summer.

What Happened: The InsiderAdvantage polling data revealed that Trump’s approval rating among voters aged 65 and above was at 45% in May and fell to 38% in June. However, the August survey indicates a slight recovery, with his approval rating climbing back to 40%.

The poll analysis notes that Boomers were instrumental in Trump’s 2024 election win, with 51% of voters in this age group casting their votes for him.

The recent uptick in approval seems to align with Trump’s attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Despite these efforts, Trump’s approval ratings on foreign policy have seen a dip in several recent polls. However, his net approval rating on foreign policy among baby boomers has remained relatively stable.

https://www.benzinga.com/news/politics/25/08/47297826/trumps-approval-rating-rises-among-baby-boomers-after-dip-in-june

The very people that being hurt the most by Donny’s tragic decisions still support what he is doing…..why is that?

A couple of years ago with all the chaos in our politics I wrote an apology for my generation….

Apologies From A Boomer

As I stated many of the people I know that are my age voted for Donny and I still have a hard time grasping what made Boomers turn against the very things that made us a great generation.

They all seem to believe all the misinformation that is spread by MSM and all those social media sites….but why has this come about?

We will have to do one of my favorite things….take a look at history….

Boomers seem to not be capable of fact checking the outrageous BS spread by politicians….why is that?

They never had to learn to fact check, thanks to the Mayflower and Fairness Doctrine. Not only did they not need to fact check news sources, they didn’t have to critically think about the information that was presented to them when it came from places of authority. This isn’t because they were blindly trusting. It’s because the information provided by news stations or radio broadcasts no matter how controversial were not allowed to contain any bias or misinformation. They could literally trust everything a newscaster said.

That type of fair and unbiased news reporting was the result of an FCC ruling called the Mayflower Decision (also known as the Mayflower Doctrine) that preceded the Fairness Doctrine. In 1938 a former Yankee’s employee Lawrence J. Flynn accused two radio stations of airing one-sided political views, editorials and attacks against politicians the owner of the network didn’t like.

According to the 1948 Columbia Law Review, due to this kerfuffle, the FCC announced a rule in 1941 that “the radio broadcaster and his station should be allowed neither to editorialize nor take a stand on any controversial matter. This policy appeared as a concomitant to the previously announced position of the Commission that whenever controversial issues were presented they were to be treated impartially and objectively.”

In 1949, three years after the first boomers were born, The Fairness Doctrine was passed building from the FCC’s guidance on the Mayflower Doctrine. This legislation was meant to break up the monopoly of audience control by ABC, NBC, and CBS with concerns that the news stations could promote extreme bias. It required news outlets, which included radio stations, to provide equal airtime to opposing views. The information needed to be factual in nature without editorializing.

Doesn’t that sound lovely? In a world where every other headline is written to scare the bejesus out of you and news pieces feel more editorialized than factual, having policy in place to tamper it would probably be beneficial. So what happened? Boomers spent all of their childhood, teen years and early adult years never having to question the factuality rating of their news. Then after more than 40 years of television and radio stations having guardrails in place, Ronald Reagan’s administration started rolling it back.

https://www.upworthy.com/why-boomers-are-easy-misinformation-targets

So we can blame Reagan for the beginning of the laziness in politics.

Then it became more lazy with Bubba Clinton….and his Telecommunications Act of 1996….which allowed corporations to own the news….and the stage is set for the dolt in the White House today.

The negative impact of the law cannot be overstated. The law, which was the first major reform of telecommunications policy since 1934, according to media scholar Robert McChesney, “is widely considered to be one of the three or four most important federal laws of this generation.” The act dramatically reduced important Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross ownership, and allowed giant corporations to buy up thousands of media outlets across the country, increasing their monopoly on the flow of information in the United States and around the world.

Democracy in Peril: Twenty Years of Media Consolidation Under the Telecommunications Act

I can say without flinching that I have held true to my ideals from the 1960s….I have not wavered and I am sorry that my generation is leading the pack on the destruction of a system that worked well for years.

I am ashamed and embarrassed of my generation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–09Apr24

I hope everyone that participated in the viewing of the eclipse used protection….if not then you will have a hard time reading this post.

There some things that have been proven to be true and yet there is a portion of the population that refuses to believe…..(you gotta love misinformation….proponents have done a helluva job)

Here are a few of the facts that some still refuse to believe….

Scientific discoveries are being made all the time, and things that may once have been thought of as fanciful have now been proven to be real. Although debate still rages about things like whether the Earth is flat or round and whether the moon landings happened, there are some things that science has proven beyond doubt, but some people still won’t believe.

An online community discusses scientific findings that still split public opinion and have those who refuse to accept.

https://wealthynickel.com/15-things-that-are-scientific-fact-but-public-opinion-wont-accept-0424/

Some good stuff in that article.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

This Is Your Brain On Misinformation

Many of us bloggers have been trying to explain why people think the way they do….the hatred, the racism, the conspiratorial bull crap…..and in doing so have made a few enemies here and there.

With an general election looming in the shadows as I write it seems the misinformation is ramping up.

A couple of years ago I attempted to try and explain this phenom….it did not go so well…..

How Did Misinformation Become So Believable?

And yet I still struggle with trying to understand and attempt to explain just what the Hell is going on with us.

I mean even some of the ‘well versed’ individuals spout misinformation as fact….and never look beyond what their favorite news source tells them.

But why is it such a big deal….you might ask.

Why do people believe some politicians’ lies even when they have been proven false? And why do so many of the same people peddle conspiracy theories?

Lying and conspiratorial thinking might seem to be two different problems, but they turn out to be related. I study political rhetoric and have tried to understand how populist politicians use language to develop a cult-like following, divide nations, create culture wars and instill hatred. This pattern goes back to antiquity and is seen today in leaders including former President Donald Trump, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. These leaders are capable of using words and speeches to whip people into such an emotional tempest that they will do things like march on the seat of Congress or invade a neighboring country.

What makes this kind of speech worrying is that it is not just emotions like aggression they can manipulate; politicians can also use rhetoric to influence the public’s thoughts and beliefs, and spread lies and conspiracy theories. Those lies and conspiracy theories are stubbornly resistant to countervailing facts and can sow divisions that destabilize their own societies.

My research analyzes real speeches made by politicians past and present, including those of Trump, Orbán and Putin, using cognitive linguistics — a branch of linguistics that examines the relationship between language and the mind. What I have found is that throughout history, speeches by dictators and autocrats have one thing in common: they use dehumanizing metaphors to instill and propagate hatred of others.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/30/the-connection-between-political-lies-and-conspiracy-theories-00108378

Actually this will be very little help if you have a closed, uncomprehending mind….but I try.

Can you explain it?

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Truth And Lies

That seems to be the way of things these days…..we have truth and we have lies and it is up to the individual to ascertain which is which…..and there in lies the problem…..thanx to social media and the media itself have blurred the lines…..

This first story was written in 2020…..but it still helps the understanding….

Many of us are familiar with the quotation, “Repeat a lie often enough and people will eventually come to believe it.”

Not ironically, the adage — often attributed to the infamous Nazi Joseph Goebbels — is true and has been validated by decades of research on what psychology calls the “illusory truth effect.” First described in a 1977 study by Temple University psychologist Dr. Lynn Hasher and her colleagues, the illusory truth effect occurs when repeating a statement increases the belief that it’s true even when the statement is actually false.[1]

Subsequent research has expanded what we know about the illusory truth effect. For example, the effect doesn’t only occur through repetition but can happen through any process that increases familiarity with a statement or the ease by which it’s processed by the brain (what psychologists in this context refer to as a statement’s “fluency”). For example, the perceived truth of written statements can be increased by presenting them in bold, high-contrast fonts[2] or when aphorisms are expressed as a rhyme.[3]

According to a 2010 meta-analytic review of the truth effect (which applies to both true and false statements),[4] while the perceived credibility of a statement’s source increases perceptions of truth as we might expect, the truth effect persists even when sources are thought to be unreliable and especially when the source of the statement is unclear. In other words, while we typically evaluate a statement’s truth based on the trustworthiness of the source, repeated exposure to both information and misinformation increases the sense that it’s true, regardless of the source’s credibility.

The illusory truth effect tends to be strongest when statements are related to a subject about which we believe ourselves to be knowledgeable,[5] and when statements are ambiguous such that they aren’t obviously true or false at first glance.[4] It can also occur with statements (and newspaper headlines) that are framed as questions (e.g. “Is President Obama a Muslim?”), something called the “innuendo effect.”[6]

View at Medium.com

Now this report on the mass media and its part at spreading the manure….

A recent case rightly illustrates the confounding way truth and lies spread in mass media. On June 15, 2017, The New York Post published this headline: “Breatharian Couple Survives on the Universe’s Energy Instead of Food.” Now, The New York Post is a big paper—the sixth largest, by circulation, in the United States—and it’s an old paper, established in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton. But headlines like this show that even the mainstream media can sometimes stretch the truth, or just ignore it completely.

In skimming the New York Post article, it’s not just the headline, but the whole article is silly. And this was not an April Fool’s joke. The article says “Husband and wife Akahi Ricardo and Camila Castello believe that food and water aren’t necessary and humans can be sustained solely by the energy of the universe.” They’ve eaten, we’re told, just three times a week since 2008, and even then only a piece of fruit or vegetable broth. Furthermore, the couple didn’t eat a single thing for three years. Ms. Castello didn’t eat during her first pregnancy, either, because as she declared, “I knew my son would be nourished enough by my love.” 

For the record, people can’t survive without nourishment, and we are required to get our nourishment from food. These facts should not be controversial. But the New York Post article presented the story of this so-called Breatharian couple as fact. There wasn’t a word of skepticism, or an iota of fact-checking, or even a hint that this story wasn’t literally true.

Truth and Lies in Mass Media

On a side note….did the AP strike a deal with Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes…..you knew that eventually I was going to interject some history….

Even the Associated Press has its secrets.

A recent report, declassified by the AP itself, discloses information about the news outlet’s coverage of WWII, and the role that Nazi soldiers may have had in it. According to the internal report released Wednesday, the AP made a deal to exchange photos with Nazi soldiers. The photos were run in American newspapers, without crediting their origins. In turn, AP photos were used by Nazi soldiers for Nazi propaganda.

An investigation was open into the long-secret arrangement after German historian Harriet Scharnberg published an article in March of 2016 accusing the AP of Nazi cooperation. Scharnberg’s research pointed out that pictures supplied by the AP were being published in propaganda publications, such as “Der Untermensch” (The Subhuman). Scharnberg also stated that by submitting to “Schriftleitergesetz“ or editors law, the AP relinquished control of the content that they released to German publications. Therefore, the AP’s content fell under instruction not to print any material “calculated to weaken the strength of the Reich abroad or at home.”

https://www.salon.com/2017/05/11/the-associated-press-reveals-secret-propaganda-deal-with-nazis/

Media spreading manure goes back a ways…..

Who do you trust?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–18Oct22

Social media has given us a wealth of bullsh*t that enters into our political system…..some are outrageous to the point of being moronic.

This is one of those ‘myths’ that social media has given us and that was picked up in our political discourse.

It seems that there is a rally around litter boxes in schools…..

You read that correctly….litter boxes…..

At a luncheon for Republican women in Mesa County, Colorado, last week, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., warned that educators “are putting litter boxes in schools for people who identify as cats.”

To a person not steeped in the culture war battles over gender identity that have engulfed school districts nationwide, it’s the kind of claim that would sound bizarre and confusing — and, from high-profile GOP members, authoritative.

The week before, on Sept. 29, Minnesota GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Jensen asked during a campaign stop, “Why do we have litter boxes in some of the school districts so kids can pee in them, because they identify as a furry?” 

And during a legislative hearing last month in Tennessee, two Republican state lawmakers discussed the “growing crisis” of public schools providing litter boxes for children who identify as cats, and claimed it’s happening across the state. 

At least 20 conservative candidates and elected officials have claimed this year that K-12 schools are placing litter boxes on campus or making other accommodations for students who identify as cats, according to an NBC News review of public statements.

Every school district that has been named by those 20 politicians said either to NBC News or in public statements that these claims are untrue. There is no evidence that any school has deployed litter boxes for students to use because they identify as cats.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/urban-myth-litter-boxes-schools-became-gop-talking-point-rcna51439

Seriously?  Litter boxes in schools?

Just how far can these morons take total bullsh*t?

Worse yet there are those mental midgets that will believe this stuff….and will vote accordingly.

What kind of mental midget believes this crap?

Social media is ruining this country and our political process…..at what point is enough enough?

This puts those that believe this crap into the “Can’t Fix Stupid Files”

I weep for their stupidity.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What Is A “Spin Doctor”?

I am sure this ought get some interesting comments….that is if the post is read….most times the title alone gets the juices flowing for some.

We hear the term ‘spin’ daily….every issue that we think is important has a group that will make you believe their spin (propaganda)…..

But what is a ‘spin doctor’…..a spokesperson employed to give a favorable interpretation of events to the media, especially on behalf of a political party.

But let’s look at the idea…..

Ever since the ideological mastermind of modern public relations – Edward Bernays – suggested to modernize the word “propaganda” by calling it public relations, PR and Spin (a form of propaganda) had been with us. And, today, our world is overflowing with ideas that are shaping “professional” spin doctors.

The top ten firms employing rafts of spin-doctors are companies, for which most of us have probably never heard of, namely: Edelman, Weber Shandwick, BCW, FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Brunswick, MSL, BlueFocus, Real Chemistry, (and my personal favorite) Hill+Knowlton. They are ready to give the pathologies of capitalism a nice face.

These propaganda companies – euphemistically re-labeled “PR firms” – employ thousands of communication experts. These firms seek to achieve what PR’s Godfather, the aforementioned Edward Bernays, had set out for them to do when he said:

“the significant revolution of modern times is not industrial or economic or political but the revolution which is taking place in the art of creating consent among the governed.”

Creating consent among “the governed” (as he called us) to have a positive, if not supportive, attitude to capitalism, is the job of public relations. Its spin is a form of propaganda. This is achieved, for example, through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event. Unsurprisingly, this also includes corporate campaigning to influence public opinion – creating a positive image – about companies, corporations, and ultimately – capitalism.

What Spin Doctors Do

There is no better example of ‘spin’ than the current situation in Ukraine…..the media with the help of ‘spin doctors’ have the American people oozing with admiration for Ukraine’s leader…..they helped turn chicken manure into sirloin for the defense industry and in turn created a ‘hero’.

I admit that I have been leery of the Zelensky admiration society….there is something more there…..more than the orchestrated appearances and speeches.

It must be understood that escalation takes us in the wrong direction, because a war against a nuclear armed power can’t be won. Without this crucial realization the most impossible things become possible, like a hero saving the world. Of course it’s essential to have inspiration and motivation in trying times, but it’s also essential to be practical.

The reason why we should not admire Zelensky is because he doesn’t seem very committed to de-escalating the war. He has said that acquiring more weapons will definitely make him win the war; a powerful argument on its own, but when one considers that only a negotiated settlement can end the war, it dissolves into an impossible promise.

Zelensky’s seeming intransigence makes the possible solutions to the war even more bewildering. If a noble goal is to prevent a nuclear war, shouldn’t there be more emphasis on diplomacy? Yet Zelensky relentlessly implores the world for more and more weapons. Without any appearance of alternatives it’s very easy to assume that more weapons are the answer to ending the war and bringing peace.

Why We Should Not Admire Zelensky

I am not saying that we should totally abandon Ukraine….all I am saying is that there is always two sides and so far our cracker jack media gives one side and one side only….they seldom do what they were trained to do….look beyond and beneath every story.

‘Spin’ is just a more acceptable term for propaganda…the problem is few bother to check the stories out as a complete report of one side of the coin.

Where does your opinion come from….?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine And Social Media

I have bitched about the media coverage of the Ukraine/Russia conflict…..the lack of actual action footage just regurgitation of stock vids and photos….then there is social media which seems to have better coverage of the armed conflict….but then the question should be asked if their reporting is accurate or just propaganda.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already fueled some nascent misinformation tactics, including the spread of realistic video game footage and the use of TikTok to create fake war zone livestreams.

The content highlights how misinformation on the internet tends to constantly evolve, with some older forms of misleading content remaining relevant (many users continue to share older videos mislabeled as coming from the ongoing conflict). 

And while TikTok has in recent years vowed to crack down on misinformation, its relatively recent entry into the mainstream as a major social media platform, along with some of its unique features, have made it ripe for misleading content.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/war-ukraine-sparks-new-wave-misinformation-rcna17779

Maybe we should not believe everything we see on social media…..maybe we should look deeper for what the real story is…..just a thought…..

Amid the alarming images of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past few days, millions of people have also seen misleading, manipulated or false information about the conflict on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram.

One example is this video of military jets posted to TikTok, which is historical footage but captioned as live video of the situation in Ukraine.

Visuals, because of their persuasive potential and attention-grabbing nature, are an especially potent choice for those seeking to mislead. Where creating, editing or sharing inauthentic visual content isn’t satire or art, it is usually politically or economically motivated.

Disinformation campaigns aim to distract, confuse, manipulate and sow division, discord, and uncertainty in the community. This is a common strategy for highly polarised nations where socioeconomic inequalities, disenfranchisement and propaganda are prevalent.

How is this fake content created and spread, what’s being done to debunk it, and how can you ensure you don’t fall for it yourself?

https://theconversation.com/fake-viral-footage-is-spreading-alongside-the-real-horror-in-ukraine-here-are-5-ways-to-spot-it-177921

This article gives the reader that truly wants to know what is happening in Ukraine and not buying into the hype then the 5 ways to spot bad info is perfect (if only people will do what is needed)

But that assumes that the reader wants to know or just follow the lies that fit what they want to believe.

So far I have seen nothing in the media that they are trying to debunk the spread of misinformation on their part…..they just keep spreading the manure of hearsay.

People are dying at least we could do is ask hard questions and find out why this is happening.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–20Jan22

The stupidity has started already around the upcoming 2024 elections….right wing moronic ideas have lit a match for the 2024 elections….

Some of the more sillier ideas these slugs are promoting…..

A Biden-Trump rematch seems like a plausible bet for the 2024 race. And while a Trump candidacy isn’t a sure thing, headlines have surfaced recently suggesting that just as much uncertainty dogs the Democratic side. Examples:

  • Clinton again? An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal lays out a scenario in which Hillary Clinton would once again run for president. “Several circumstances—President Biden’s low approval rating, doubts over his capacity to run for re-election at 82, Vice President Kamala Harris’ unpopularity, and the absence of another strong Democrat to lead the ticket in 2024—have created a leadership vacuum in the party, which Mrs. Clinton viably could fill,” write Douglas E. Schoen and Andrew Stein.
  • No Harris? In the New York Times, Thomas Friedman makes the case for what would be another startling Democratic ticket: Biden-Cheney. As in, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. Friedman argues that we’re in dire political times and in need of unprecedented action, and he draws a parallel to what recently happened in Israel. He quotes political scientist Steven Levitsky: “We should be ready to talk about Liz Cheney as part of a blow-your-mind Israeli-style fusion coalition with Democrats. It is a coalition that says: ‘There is only one overriding goal right now—that is saving our democratic system.'”
  • Um, no: At CNN, Chris Cillizza runs through the idea of Clinton running in 2024 and offers a point-by-point rebuttal. For example, the op-ed authors argue that Clinton has the perfect experience for the job, but “isn’t that what voters chose the current president for?” he asks. “Yes, yes it is. And while Clinton and Biden are not carbon copies of one another, their relevant experience is remarkably similar—long careers in the public policy space in Washington.” He points out that Clinton already has lost twice even with her long resume, and he doesn’t buy the idea that she’s sending signals that she’d be willing to run.
  • Um, no, II: At the Intelligencer blog, Ed Kiglore throws similar cold water on the Cheney idea. “Democrats are very likely to say thanks, but no thanks, to Friedman for the idea of submitting their party to some sort of unwieldy and unnatural coalition of national salvation, so long as there is the slightest hope of beating Trump the old-fashioned way,” he writes. Cheney does indeed deserve “great respect” for how she has defied Trump, and maybe something like an ambassadorship is a fitting reward should Biden win again. “But she has no business being at the top of the line of succession to a Democratic president.”
  • Or maybe … As long as people are tossing out wild ideas, the Fix blog of the Washington Post pitches some “far-fetched sleeper tickets” of its own. Some examples: Biden and Mary Trump, Michelle and Barack Obama, Biden and Dick Cheney, or Biden with Republican Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, or Phil Scott of Vermont.

I am sure this is not the total extent of the stupidity that will be spread….but it had to start somewhere…..and here it is.

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Closing Thought–16Jun21

The abortion battle has been going on for decades and in all that time misinformation has been circulating and my governor, Tater Twat Reeves, has once again illustrate just how damn ignorant their lies are…..

I a recent interview he shows how far these liars will go to misinform….

Mississippi GOP Governor Tate Reeves appeared on Jake Tapper’s “State of The Union” to discuss his hopes and dreams for his state’s law banning abortion after 15 weeks. It should come as no surprise that his hope is that it will lead to the overturning or at least the erosion of Roe v. Wade. But what Reeves wanted to make most clear to Tapper and to CNN audience was that he wanted it overturned not just because of his personal beliefs about abortion, but because he believes the science has changed, therefore the law must keep up with that.

Here, however, appears to be Governor Reeves’s best guess on what “the science” says. It is very different from what “the science” actually says.

He said:

REEVES: For people such as myself that are pro-life, I believe that the Supreme Court made a mistake in the 1970s. But that’s not the issue at stake that is before the court, hopefully when the arguments are heard sometime in the fall.

The question that is before the court, and this is something you mentioned earlier, and that’s with respect to understanding and appreciating and respecting science.

The fact is, we know so much more in America today about the formation of young children in the womb than we did when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. We know so much more even than we knew when Casey was decided in 1992, that was 30 years ago. It is not unusual for the court to review cases from the past. And what we know now, Jake, is that we know that the heart has partially formed at 15 weeks. We know that the baby in the womb is practicing breathing. We know that most internal organs have started to form and we believe that child is viable outside the womb.

As it turns out, “we” know exactly none of those things, because Tate Reeves just made them all up as he went along.

https://www.wonkette.com/mississippi-gov-has-some-real-wild-ideas-about-human-gestation-periods

This just illustrates how far these GOP dullards will go to spread their crap and prevent the individual’s rights….something they pretend that they support.

This as usual is a pathetic lie that the idiots in my state will believe…..(I am shaking my head at the stupidity)……

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Did Misinformation Become So Believable?

This world is awash in misinformation and the people lick it all up as fact and true……

The question is just how did this happen?

I blame the availability of social media and the ease that it (misinformation) can spread like a wildfire.

But there are other reasons for the popularity of crap…..

Bad information isn’t new. Propagandists and scam artists have been selling their brand of proverbial snake oil for ages, all to bend people’s thinking to their goals. What’s different today is that the digital world flings information faster and farther than ever before.

Our brains can’t always keep up.

That’s because we often rely on quick estimates to figure out whether something is true. These shortcuts, called heuristics, are often based on very simple patterns (SN: 9/20/14, p. 24). For instance, most information we come across in our daily lives is true. So when forced to guess, we often err on the side of believing.

Other shortcuts exist that encourage information — true or false — to find its way into our minds, research on human psychology shows. We take notice of information that is new, that fires up our emotions, that supports what we already believe and that we hear over and over.

A few simple tricks make fake news stories stick in the brain

Sadly it appears that Repubs fall for bullshit more often than not…..but most Americans cannot spot fake news…..

A new study revealed Monday indicates that 3 in 4 Americans have overinflated views of their ability to spot fake news — and that the worse they are at spotting fake news, the more likely they are to share it, CNN reported.

“The study of surveys involving 8,200 people, which published in in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also showed Republicans are more likely to fall for fake news than Democrats are,” reported Ryan Prior. “The team, led by Ben Lyons, a professor of communications at the University of Utah, showed study volunteers headlines presented in the format of how news articles would look if they appeared in a Facebook feed. They were also asked to rate their ability to determine whether stories were true.”

In the surveys, 90 percent of Americans rated themselves proficient at spotting fake news — but most of them weren’t.

https://www.rawstory.com/republicans-fake-news/

Armed with a little knowledge can help one browse through crap and get to the rest of the story….

But will we?

My guess is NO.

We will believe whatever reinforces our erroneous thinking….we choose to not look beyond the manure for the truth.

How sad for a once great country…dumbing down the population is destroying what is left of our country as it was envisioned by the Founders.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”