Why do hoaxes spread so fast on Facebook? 5 things to know – By Don Sweeney And Kaitlyn Alanis (star-telegram.com) / Oct 7 2018
How do social media hoaxes, such as bogus Facebook warnings about clone accounts, spread so quickly? Human nature, mostly, experts say.
That’s right – while bots that auto-post fake news or other bogus stories on Twitter, in particular, contribute to the problem, it’s chiefly our own fault, according to a study published in Science.
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, robots accelerated the spread of true and false news at the same rate, implying that false news spreads more than the truth because humans, not robots, are more likely to spread it,” according to the Science study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
1. Fake stories reach people quicker than the truth
People are more quick to share lies and false information than the truth on social media, according to the 2018 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“It took the truth about six times as long as falsehood to reach 1,500 people,” Sinan Aral with MIT wrote in the study, according to NBC news. And that may be because false information is more surprising than the truth.
“We found that false news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information,” the researchers wrote in the abstract. “Whereas false stories inspired fear, disgust, and surprise in replies, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy, and trust.”
2. People don’t check before sharing
A 2016 study discovered that 59 percent of all links shared on social networks aren’t clicked before being reposted, reported Forbes.
Attention spans are at an all-time low, so people often share stories based on first impressions – basically, the headlines, according to Forbes.
It’s also easier to share an article than to actually read it, plus sharing confers benefits, such as attention and praise, that you can’t get from just reading a story.
3. Confirmation bias
Our brains are wired to buy into information that we already believe, according to Psychology Today. That’s called confirmation bias.
“Once we have formed a view, we embrace information that confirms that view while ignoring, or rejecting, information that casts doubt on it,” Shahram Heshmat wrote for Psychology Today. “Confirmation bias suggests that we don’t perceive circumstances objectively.”
So, if someone already believes that Facebook post is real, that person is less likely to double check that it really is true.
When a fake photo mocking Christine Ford began making the rounds on Facebook, those who already believed she was lying about the alleged sexual assault may have been more inclined to share the post without confirming the photo was of her.
The photo, though, was actually a meme that had been around since 2012, according to the Raleigh News & Observer, and had been re-shared by a Republican chairman.
4. The more we see something, the more we believe it
It may not make any sense, but it’s human nature – the more times we see something, the more likely we are to believe it’s true, according to The Washington Post.
More precisely, we’re inclined to believe that groups are accurate in their perceptions of objective reality, reported the publication.
In a world where online hoaxes can fill Facebook and Twitter feeds seemingly in an instant, that makes it easier to believe a post may be true – after all, why would so many people be posting it if it’s not?
5. Information overload handcuffs fact-checking
A study published in the Nature Human Behavior journal suggests we’re bombarded by so much information on social media that we just can’t make sense of it all.
Researchers wrote that social media users struggle “to cope with the information overload caused by the messages that flood our screens” and, consequently, don’t stop to question sourcing or look for verification.
“We’re so time poor,” said social media strategist Kylie Bartlett, according to news.com.au. “We’re turning to social media for a quick fix and we’re not evaluating whether information we read is true.”
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article204278509.html In a warning about IRS scam call season, the Midland Police Department in Texas shared a video on Facebook of Officer Stief’s 30 minute-phone call with “six different ‘IRS’ representatives.” By Midland Police Department
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article219638545.html
