the illusory truth effect
As a former history teacher I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the effects of propaganda on us. I don't just mean us as in Tumblrinas, or reddit refugees, or former tik-tokers or however you identify, but the world, in general. We are exposed to a large amount of information daily and it is becoming increasingly clear that we can't trust large swathes of the people we follow on the internet. It is too easy now to go viral with a ridiculous claim and many of those claims are at best mildly exaggerated and at worst purposefully misleading.
I just think it's so much easier to believe a screen. I know because I've done it. I'm skeptical in real life, I'm disgustingly easily taken in online. I promised myself that when I started back up a tumblr I would resist the rage bait, but it is hard. I've been fooled too many times because like many people, I tend to believe people are telling the truth, and I tend to believe something is true because I've heard it more than once. This is called the illusory truth effect.
The illusory truth effect is how you find yourself believing propaganda or just fake facts. People make something up and it's catchy, so it just keeps getting repeated and repeated until we think it's true. Even if you know it's not, if you're told the opposite long enough, you'll believe the lie. It's why I believed poppy seed muffins would cause a positive drug test when that was only ever a throw away line on Seinfeld. But people heard it, thought it was funny or true, and kept repeating it until it became a 'fact' I knew. (Please give me a break, I was a child in the 90s.)
In the age of 24 hour news and viral content, how many lies do you think are fed to you a day? I'm not saying people are doing it on purpose, though some undoubtedly are, I'm just hoping we can be made more aware.
You are going to hear things over and over and over, until they weasel into your brain. And if you find yourself with a thought that feels completely unlike you, or find yourself saying something and a friend goes wtf, maybe take a second look at it.
Viral content goes viral because it gives our brains something they want, answers to questions that confirm our biases, a funny story with a happy ending, it simplifies something everyone keeps saying is complicated. Most of those things won't be outright lies, but I promise they will be misleading. A universal truth I've learned as I get older is that rarely are there simple answers to any question.
Someone else can add the meme, but let me remind you, none of us are immune to propaganda. Pay attention to what is repeated where and by whom. Ask why the story is being told that way. Consider who gains what from you believing something. I'm not saying become a conspiracy theorist, I'm saying develop a healthy skepticism of anything you read or watch or hear. Cultivate your sources. Be diligent.
It's a bit too late for me to try to teach healthy skepticism to the US, but maybe it's useful to some of you. Maybe you've never heard of the illusory truth effect. Consider the implications of what it means. What you hear most often, what is repeated, becomes truth.
What do you keep hearing?
Who's telling you that?
What do they have to gain?
Questions to consider, I hope.
