Familiarity breeds consent

REALITY CHECK

- STEPHEN DAVIS

What is it about the workings of our brain that make us likely to believe fake news? Researchers all over the world are attempting to answer that question as alarm grows about the damage to society of misinformation and disinformation.

I have been looking at these studies for a University of Otago project. There is not yet a consensus, as in other areas of brain research, but it is fair to say some of the findings are depressing.

Meet X, an ordinary citizen. He's using Twitter and has just seen a link to a news article. He doesn't know it, but the article contains false information in the form of fake news.

What does X think of fake news? According to a survey by US think tank the Pew Research Centre, it is likely that X has multiple concerns about the impact of fake news on his life and has taken steps to reduce his exposure. He may have limited his total news intake or stopped using a particular outlet or source.