[RC] Top Secrets for Spreading Misinformation

[BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community]

Newton's Blog
 
 
How to Spread Misinformation
Posted by _Ross  Pomeroy_ 
(http://www.realclearscience.com/authors/ross_pomeroy/)  September 26, 2014


 
With the advent of the Internet and social media, the average person is  
afforded unprecedented power to consume and spread information. But with great 
 power, comes great responsibilities -- to be skeptical, to seek out facts 
and  evidence, to restrict, or at least not aid, the spread of rumors. Of 
course, one  also has the ability to completely ignore all those 
responsibilities. When that  happens, you may discover that you're a purveyor 
of 
misinformation. 
And if you're going to spread misinformation, you might as well do it 
right.  To all the devout Natural News readers, anti-vaxxers, and alternative  
medicine scam artists out there, this guide's for you! If truth and logic is  
your thing, feel free to read these tips as well, then forget them, or 
better  yet, do the exact opposite. 
Embrace your biases. Whatever you're into, chances are you  can find an 
advocacy group, corporation, or political party whose tweets and  Facebook 
posts you can pass on without question! _We humans have a tendency to favor 
information that confirms our  beliefs_ 
(http://www.realclearscience.com/lists/10_problems_with_how_humans_think/confirmation_bias.html)
  -- give in to it! 
Seek out sources that share your stances and  like-minded individuals to 
revel with. Turn your life into a sounding board. 
Don't stop. Don't think. _According to psychologists_ 
(http://sitemaker.umich.edu/norbert.schwarz/files/lewandowsky_et_al_misinformation_pspi_ip.pdf)
 , 
assessing the veracity of a piece  of information requires both motivation 
and brain power. You certainly don't  want to waste either of those precious 
resources. Better to stick to your  carefully tailored and guarded mindset. 
Avoid visiting pesky websites like _Snopes_ (http://snopes.com/)  or 
_TruthOrFiction_ (http://www.truthorfiction.com/) . Don't  bother searching out 
conflicting sources or reading the entire article. Let the  mass media be your 
guide: if you want to be the most popular, you have to share  the 
information first! 
Repeat, repeat, repeat! Your friends, family, and followers  need to know 
that juicy bit of information or controversial discovery! So what  if all the 
"facts" don't line up? _Facts don't change minds_ 
(http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/03/say-it-like-you-mean-it-how-lies-can-easily-trump-facts.
html) ! Opinions are formed and molded by a  barrage of information. 
Whether that information is true or not doesn't  matter. 
Ignore the Fallout. Who cares if vaccine-preventable  diseases like 
measles, mumps, and whooping cough are _on the rise_ 
(http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01/25/265750719/how-vaccine-fears-fueled-the-resurgence-of-preventabl
e-diseases)  because you've convinced everyone that vaccines are  evil? So 
what if you blindly _shared a fake story_ 
(http://www.cnet.com/news/cnn-posts-asteroid-to-hit-earth-article-people-take-it-seriously/)
  that an asteroid 
was set to wipe out all  life on Earth? Who cares if you _fueled a fire of 
false allegations_ 
(http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/20/lord-mcalpine-false-twitter-allegations)
  that nearly destroyed  somebody's life? If 
you do start to feel guilty, just take a look at that insane  photo that's too 
unbelievable to be true... then hit "share." 
Whatever you do, don't read these: "_Digital Wildfires in a Hyperconnected 
World_ 
(http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2013/view/risk-case-1/digital-wildfires-in-a-hyperconnected-world/#/view/fn-10)
 ." World Economic  
Forum. 2013 
Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Colleen M. Seifert, Norbert  
Schwarz, and John Cook. "_Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued 
Influence 
and  Successful Debiasing_ 
(http://psi.sagepub.com/content/13/3/106.full.pdf+html?ijkey=FNCpLYuivUOHE&keytype=ref&siteid=sppsi)
 ." Psychological 
Science in the Public Interest  December 2012 vol. 13 no. 3 106-131 
"_I Don't Want to Be Right._ 
(http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/i-dont-want-to-be-right) " 
Maria Konnikova. The New Yorker. May  2014.

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