Misinformation and Fake News

The US intelligence agencies tend to create disinformation campaigns, but the Soviet/Russian intelligence agencies deemphasize misinformation and instead focus on infiltrating with human spies.

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If a message contradicts people's preexisting beliefs, people will generally change their minds only if

• they hear the new ideas from a trusted source

• they feel they are alone in their beliefs and everyone feels differently from them

• they are presented with the evidence

The most common source of people's distrust of authorities and science is fake news.

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Studies show that people are often skeptical of information they encounter. What's problematic is that they are skiptical even when it's from trustworthy sources. People tend to mistrust these sources if

• the information contradicts their intuitions and prejudices

• the information is delivered by government workers

• those sources are rooted in science

• all of the other answers

Most people consume

• a significant amount of misinformation

• relatively little misinformation

• the answer depends on the definition of misinformation

When people believe wrong ideas, it is often not because they have been duped but because their belief promotes their interests.

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To better serve their corporate shareholders, X (formerly Twitter) has focused on figuring out which users are real people and which users are bots.

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Pizzagate is a modern type of conspiracy theory that's very different from the older types of conspiracy theories promoted during the Cold War.

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