Why look something up when you already know the answer? So long as you make the average person confident enough in their own ability to discern the truth - which isn’t hard, given most people’s desire to feel smart - you can get them to accept an enormous amount of misinformation at face value.
I think you’re right, just a small point because you seem to be conflating misinformation and disinformation. It doesn’t matter here because your answer works for both, but they are not the same thing:
Disinformation: the person spreading it knows it’s not true, is spread for a specific purpose
Misinformation: the person spreading it thinks it’s true, is spread because people honestly believe it
Disinformation becomes misinformation as it spreads if successful, as the people hearing it believe it and repeat it.
Why is the general public so vulnerable to disinformation when it’s so easy to look things up?
Why look something up when you already know the answer? So long as you make the average person confident enough in their own ability to discern the truth - which isn’t hard, given most people’s desire to feel smart - you can get them to accept an enormous amount of misinformation at face value.
I think you’re right, just a small point because you seem to be conflating misinformation and disinformation. It doesn’t matter here because your answer works for both, but they are not the same thing:
Disinformation: the person spreading it knows it’s not true, is spread for a specific purpose
Misinformation: the person spreading it thinks it’s true, is spread because people honestly believe it
Disinformation becomes misinformation as it spreads if successful, as the people hearing it believe it and repeat it.
Oh, good to know! I hadn’t made that distinction in my mind, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for setting me straight!
$7.25/hr, kids, 2-3 jobs, no healthcare, FB reshares are convincing