Rumor and Politics

ScienceBlogs.com by Jonah Lehrer | Jun. 8, 2008 (Opinion)

Humans are exquisitely social animals, and yet we're vulnerable to some pretty stunning flaws in social cognition. Unfortunately, most of these flaws are on full display during a presidential campaign. Consider the false rumor, which can influence our beliefs even when it has been debunked. The most powerful example of this phenomenon, of course, is the swift-boating of John Kerry. It didn't matter that every reputable news source found most of the charges ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

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Subjects: Sci/Tech, Health
Topics: Psychology
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Posted by: Posted by Leo Romero - Jun 8, 2008 - 9:28 AM PDT
Reviewed by: Leo Romero (review), Fabrice Florin (review), Elizabeth Holmes (review)
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Fabrice Florin
3.0
 by Fabrice Florin - Oct. 1, 2008
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Leo Romero
3.5
 by Leo Romero - Oct. 1, 2008
Leo posted this story.
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Elizabeth Holmes
4.2
 by Elizabeth Holmes - Oct. 1, 2008

This article addresses a very important problem ... how easy it is for rumors to gain broad acceptance. This is an issue that can not be over-publicized. It shows how important fact-checking sites are. The article slightly over-simplifies by not addressing the question of the effect of the audiences pre-concepetions and prejudices are on the accepances of the rumor.

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