BLUF
In 2019, a Yale University study found that people would believe a single source of misinformation if it was repeated across many channels—but the University of NSW (UNSW) decided to see if this was true.Summary
This article by Diane Nazaroff, writing for UNSW Newsroom, makes the following points:
- Yale University researchers found that people would give more credence to advice if that advice were repeated across media and social media sources.
- The critical factor was that people thought a consensus had been reached.
- UNSW, researchers thought that the Yale finding was over-simplistic.
- People needed more information about the source of information.
- No matter how often a claim was repeated if the source lacked credibility, people became more sceptical about what was being claimed.
- A classic case is where 80% of climate change denier blogs repeated information that polar bear numbers were declining based on one source: see the following article:
References
Recent Runway Posts related to this topic (0-2 only, MH is 0-6):
- We need more philosophy to create cognitive herd immunity | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- Fake news, fact-checking, and bias: How to check for facts, bias, and fake news | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
References from the Web (2-4, MH 4-8):
- FEB 2022 We all have a duty to combat misinformation—The Age
- FEB 2022 Misinformation About Misinformation--Bloomberg
Source Information: University of NSW (UNSW)
- Article Source: University of NSW (UNSW)
- Media Check: UNSW Newsroom homepage (no Media Bias fact-check available)
- LEARNING OUTCOMES—RUNWAY | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
