Five hundred years ago, a highly educated person consumed about 74 GB of data throughout their life. Today, we consume that much in one day, according to a study published in Frontiers, a Swiss research publisher.
With so much information running through our heads on a daily basis, it can be hard to differentiate between what is true and what isn’t. Generally, we tend to believe everything we see or hear because most of what we’re exposed to is true, Stephan Lewandowsky, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Bristol told the Washington Post. At the same time, repetition makes these things stick in our minds.
“Repeated messages tend to be stickier than things you only see once,” Dr. Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Daily Cardinal. “Seeing the same kind of misinformation over and over, is more likely to have a sustained effect on somebody's attitudes.”
Misinformation withstands correction, according to a Northwestern University study. On average, correction did not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation, but was more successful when coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview and delivered by the source of the misinformation, the study found.
As November’s presidential election approaches, misinformation and conspiracy theories have circulated from social media users and presidential candidates alike. Experts told the Cardinal misinformation can be dangerous, affecting individuals’ views and whether they vote.
How misinformation spreads
Misinformation spreads over a multitude of platforms, including through word of mouth, television and social media, but the most prominent source in 2020 was email, according to Wagner.
“People are forwarding things that aren’t true to others,” Wagner said.
People with a high degree of political knowledge but a low degree of trust in institutions tend to be more susceptible to misinformation. People who think they don’t need to follow the news, but “if it’s important, it’ll find them,” are the most likely to engage in a conspiratorial pattern of thinking, according to Wagner.
“Research about misinformation has largely found that there's a whole lot of it out there — especially on social media,” Wagner said. “But it tends to be seen the most by a relatively small number of people.”
This misinformation confirms people’s worldviews, which makes them less open to change and accurate information. People also retain more information as screens get larger, so a post on social media is less sticky than from a laptop or television, Wagner said.
How misinformation affects voters
Misinformation shows up at the ballot box, Dr. Ray Aldag, UW-Madison professor emeritus and expert on decision making, told the Cardinal.
If a person accepts a lie as truth, they’re more likely to vote for the candidate that said it. Misinformation from political candidates can also affect voting turnout, Aldag said.
“It depends on what the person is telling them,” Aldag said. “Some politicians have said don't early vote, don't vote by these means, and that often prevents people from actually voting on time.”
Bonds formed with politicians can also affect how a person votes. If a voter identifies with a politician and shares their values or beliefs, they are more likely to vote for them, Aldag said.
“We’re not just bonding with them, we’re bonding with their entire support structure,” Aldag said. “We want to believe what we belong to.”
Demographics that consider themselves outsiders are less inclined to vote because they feel their vote doesn’t make a difference in their lives. Historically, Black Americans voted for the Democratic Party because they were “more understanding” of their views.
But with changing times — and misinformation about President Joe Biden calling Black Americans “super-predators” being spread by former President Donald Trump — this could change, Aldag said.
“If people feel powerless, they may just opt out of voting again,” Aldag said. “Until you feel that you’re not marginalized, that you can make a difference, you're probably going to feel impotent.”
What to watch out for
With so much misinformation running rampant, it’s hard to differentiate what’s real and what isn’t. But there are warning signs to look out for, Wagner said.
Wagner recommends being wary of emotion laden headlines and claims that “you can’t find anywhere else.” A claim being put out by only one media source or political view is a reason to be skeptical.
“Fact checkers want to try to tamp down the effects of viral misinformation claims,” Wagner said. “So if you see something and it sounds pretty fantastic or pretty terrible you might see if a fact checking organization has weighed in with a fact check about the claim so you can understand whether that it holds up to scrutiny.”
Seeking out disconfirming beliefs is also helpful, Aldag said.
“I just think we have to have a healthy, healthy skepticism,” Aldag said.
But it’s also important not to continue the spread of misinformation, Wagner said.
“The most important thing people can do is to not share something until they've seen it verified somewhere,” Wagner said. “We have lots of really strong national newspapers where reporters can lose their jobs if they report things that are false. I would always start by trusting those sources.”
As election season approaches, and conspiracy theories spread about the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, Wagner said it’s important to pay attention to official reports and remember that it doesn’t take much for misinformation to swirl.
“One reason misinformation researchers worry about misinformation is that it doesn't take much,” Wagner said. “Even if most false claims don’t matter much most of the time, if one really does, that’s still a negative. That’s bad for democracy.”
Tomer Ronen is the Features Editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, state politics, sports and more. Follow him on Twitter at @TRonen22.
