Not a lot of surprises, but an interesting piece.
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For the most part, fact-checks work, but the impact they have in studies was really small, compared with that of partisan identity. [Some of] the time, [fact-checking] actually seemed to backfire. People got more entrenched mostly if something got fact-checked by the other side, and people who had this backfire effect really identified with a particular group. People who drive around in a pickup with five Trump flags or a car with stickers all over it with every single liberal cause they support are more susceptible to this kind of entrenchment. People who don’t make it an essential part of their identity seem to be less susceptible to getting entrenched.
I think that this is going to be a big issue. It’s not going away; it’s only getting bigger. And it’s not just the issue of individuals needing to be more savvy. It’s that we are embedded in systems that are rewarding misinformation spreaders with economic things. Alex Jones is a good test case. He is making so much every year selling conspiracy theories to his audience. People don’t like being manipulated and need a greater understanding of the fact that they are being manipulated by people profiting off of these lies.
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