[Day 5] The Era of Fake News - The science behind it.

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This article is part of 7 day challenge.

In the previous post, we discussed how fake news is powered by advancement in technology and AI. Today let us analyze how people fall for fake news and is there really science behind all of these. Psychology plays a bigger role in this.

Curiosity or awareness

Why do people follow news ? This is a simple question but there are different answers from different people. We read/listen to news to equip ourself about what is happening around us in the world, to be aware. We follow news based on our interest and sometime out of curiosity - like sports updates etc. Since different people have different interest the news category itself is broadly divided into local news, international, share market, sports, art & culture(including movies) and sports. Anyone can find such segmentation in any newspaper too.

Psychologist point out that, the 'curiosity' level of people increases when there is something their mind can easily perceive and believe(be it relevant or irrelevant), they tend to fall for 'fake news' easily. The so called news when it is amplified and repeated again & again then everyone else start to believe it as true though it is fake news.

'Curiosity' plays a major role for fake news.

Familiarity

Another psychological trait is 'familiarity heuristic'.

Humans like to think of themselves as rational creatures, but much of the time we are guided by emotional and irrational thinking. Psychologists have shown this through the study of cognitive shortcuts known as 'heuristics'.

It’s hard to imagine getting through so much as a trip to the supermarket without these helpful time-savers. “You don’t and can’t take the time and energy to examine and compare every brand of yogurt,” says Wray Herbert, author of On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind’s Hard-Wired Habits. So we might instead rely on what is known as the familiarity heuristic, our tendency to assume that if something is familiar, it must be good and safe.

Our tendency to assume that if something is familiar, it must be good and safe.

Problem of many

In today’s media environment, the channels are multiple, and the messages are often simultaneous and contradictory. It becomes easier to cling to a simple fiction than a complicated reality. One such thing is about the Kashmir problem between India and Pakistan. Media channels in India & Pak have their own version of history and people tend to rally behind it without even understanding the root-cause of the problem.

It becomes easier to cling to a simple fiction than a complicated reality.

Call to action | Points to remember

• 'Critical Thinking' is important, it has to be developed from childhood. In simple words, ask 'why'. Do not fall for fake news.
• Cultivate open mind, being skeptical is fine and learn to read between the lines(it comes with experience).
• Train your brain, it is possible.
• What's trending might not be true always and it can be other way round too. Be cautious and safeguard others too.

A glimpse of what is coming up in this 7 day writing challenge:

You can also read my previous posts on the same topic, by clicking on the links below.

Day 0 - Announcement - Plan - Prizes
Day 1 - Social media
Day 2 - Going back in time
Day 3 - AI to build fake stories
Day 4 - Exploiting technology to fuel
Day 5 - The science behind it
Day 6 - Financial impact
Day 7 - The future