Why do we believe fake news?

We come across fake news in social media and – less and less often, fortunately – in traditional media, pick it up from our friends and loved ones as they share information they have not verified. But why do we believe it? Read the article below and find out why you sometimes (or maybe frequently?) fall prey to fake news!
 

By Piotr Henzler

We may say it is our fault, and sometimes it is. That we have been caught with our guard down, that we would believe anything, that we are too trusting. And sometimes this is true. But the people who make fake news know how to make us believe this information. And they use various methods to build the reliability of unreliable information. Often it truly is difficult to tell if information has been fabricated or distorted.

What methods do they use? For instance, they can use features to make us believe information more readily, harder to recognize as false. What features are these?

1. Statistics. Upon seeing the information that 36% of inhabitants of regional cities eat cabbage stew for lunch, most people will decide this is true. These are statistics, so they are exact. Not many people check where these statistics came from, what the research was, or if it was ever really carried out, and if so, if it was carried out correctly.
2. First and last name, age, place of residence etc. Much as with statistical data, 'describing' the main figure of a story with concrete data, such as name, birthplace, or hobby, builds the credibility of the message. 'No one could make that up’. But indeed, someone has made it up, to make it more believable.
3. Title, function, post. Who would you sooner believe? 'Doctor Nowak' or 'Mr Nowak'? Who is better to lay out the situation of the lumber industry in Poland? 'Mrs Kowalska' or 'lumber mill director Anna Kowalska'? Who is better to resolve a religious issue – 'Jędrzej Katrowski' or 'theology professor Jędrzej Katrowski'? But if these 'doctors', 'directors' and 'professors' really exist – or even if they do exist, whether they said these things – this is another matter.
4. Quotes. Here, for instance, we have a meme that made the rounds of the Internet way back when. A portrait of the President of the USA from the mid nineteenth century and the text: 'Don’t believe everything you find on the Internet'. This is a joke, naturally, but putting words into the mouths of more-or-less famous people is nothing new.

Do you see a quote, statistic or name of a famous or unknown academic in the information you’re reading? If the information concerns something important to you, it involves your health, money, or emotions – make sure you check if it’s true!

What else reinforces our conviction of credibility?

Is that all? Unfortunately not. Other factors affect our perception of the reliability of information; they are not 'elements of the information,' but they do increase our readiness to believe.
This is above all the credibility of the source. If we 'generally' believe a person, a medium, or a social media channel, we will believe even false information they provide more readily.
Social proof of accuracy works on a similar basis – if my acquaintances, people important to me (or important medium/channels) decide it’s true, then I’ll be happy to join them.
The confirmation effect also has a great impact. If we encounter information that fully or largely confirms what we have thought up till now, then we’ll sooner believe it. Especially if some part of it is true.

Should we check everything?

There are many mechanisms that make us succumb to fake news. Does this mean that we ought to verify every piece of information that contains statistics, quotes or comes from a (theoretically) trusted source? This is impossible. We should realise, however, what makes information appear to be real, and if this information is important to us, or it can have an impact on our lives, money or health, then we ought to verify it.

The first step is to realise that there is such a thing as fake news and the principles of producing information that affects its perceived veracity.

The second step is a simple verification process, whose details you will learn if you proceed to the next article, which covers the CRAAP model for critical thinking.