A recent study reveals that social media can help breed a shared identity towards conspiracy theory radicalization by acting as an echo chamber for such beliefs. The core characteristics of social media include the ability to spread false information, such as calling the pandemic a hoax or suggesting it’s a secret bioweapon designed to cause global chaos. Psychological research examines individual differences in demographic, personality, and other traits of those more likely to believe misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Computational social scientists have studied how conspiracy theories are spread across Facebook and why some people are more susceptible to conspiracy. YouTube is taking steps to stop recommending conspiracy theory videos and demonetizing some medical misinformation to limit the spread of conspiracy theories. However, the spread of conspiracy theories will not be stopped by simply giving younger generations the right training to engage in fact-checking or collect evidence-based information.
Conspiration theory beliefs and misinformation can have harmful real-world consequences, including spreading disinformation, propaganda, and even sparking violence. Breaking news moves fast online, making it difficult to distinguish between real and purposefully misleading or fake news. Media literacy skills can significantly impact people’s ability to identify and debunk misinformation. Since the pandemic began, the spread of misinformation has seemed more contagious than COVID-19.
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Can you please enable Closed Captions on your articles? Auto caption, if nothing else. Most people are visual learners, and we’d get more out of your articles if we could read the words that are in the audio. Personally, I have allergies and haven’t been to my Allergist yet this year, and can’t hear very well. Thanks.