One of the arguments against censorship of misinformation and fake news is that 'sunlight disinfects' and that 'truth will out' in the end. Our recent experiences with this philosophy in online content have shown that this is very often not the case. Falsehoods sometimes need sunlight to grow. "Misinformation is often resistant to correction—in particular if a correction challenges a person's worldview." What the authors of this study found was that methods that "first elaborate on the general effects of worldview on the acceptance of evidence" are more likely to have an impact on the a subject's acceptance of misinformation than mere presentation of scientific fact to the contrary. From 2017 but relevant today.dd
Today: 5 Total: 84 [Direct link] [Share]
