Combating fake news involves more than simply checking facts; it requires careful consideration of when correction is helpful and when it is counterproductive. Due to the illusory truth effect, people often remember the core of a message, while the nuances fade.
When you scroll through social media, it seems as if everyone is speaking at once, loudly and often contradicting each other. You often don’t have to scroll far to come across news that sows seeds of doubt. A misleading claim can spread in no time and take on a life of its own. This means that people are sometimes unaware of the potential danger that fake news can pose.
Just think of the coronavirus pandemic. Reports circulated that vaccines cause autism, even though this had long been scientifically disproved. And yet it was still not easy to refute such claims. This is despite the fact that news editors are doing a lot to help eliminate fake news.
Words sometimes don’t stick with young people, so graphs, illustrations and infographics are useful. People often remember an image better than an entire text that corrects the claim.
Journalists and fact checkers devote a great deal of attention to verifying news and debunking falsehoods. Yet misleading claims do not disappear so easily. Why is that? A large part of the public mainly remembers the original claim, while the nuance of a correction fades away. It is somewhat of a paradox. By uncovering or correcting the lie, it receives even more attention.
The Illusory Truth Effect
Psychologists call this the Illusory Truth Effect. Simply put, our brains are quicker to remember the core of a message than its nuances or context. When a lie is repeated, or even in an attempt to correct the lie, the claim can actually stick more firmly in people’s memories. The more often someone hears something, the more likely it is to feel “true”, even if the lie has been corrected.
Fortunately, not all fake news claims have the same impact. Some claims are harmless or trivial, such as celebrity gossip that you sometimes encounter in the daily news. With these types of claims, repeated corrections can cause more damage than dispelling the claim. The claim receives more attention, so it sticks in the public’s mind.
Of course, remaining silent is not always an option. Consider, for example, medical falsehoods or political disinformation. Remaining silent about these issues can have serious consequences. Balance is key. Show the truth without giving the lie extra power.
Prebunking as a solution
A problem exists to be solved. A good way to solve the problem of giving extra attention to a lie is prebunking. By informing people in advance about how misinformation works and what techniques are used, we can better assess new claims before they are spread everywhere on social media.
This makes the public more resilient without drawing extra attention to the claim itself. Let’s take an example. In the case of vaccination campaigns, you can show people how many people have been safely vaccinated and how the scientific procedures work, without repeating the myth.
Words sometimes don’t stick with young people, so graphs, illustrations and infographics are useful. People often remember an image better than an entire text that corrects the claim. This shifts the focus from the lie to the facts, and the message of truth gains more traction than the fake news. Social media can therefore not only be a way to spread fake news, but also a way to solve it.
It is about strategic communication: knowing when to correct and when silence is more effective.
It is clear that combating fake news involves more than simply checking facts. It is a mental exercise that you have to do. When does a correction reinforce a lie, when is the risk of silence too great? For journalists and fact checkers, this means that they not only have to find out and assess the truth, but also have to think about the impact of their message.
Providing context is very important. By presenting facts in an understandable and well- founded context, attention can shift from the lie to the truth. Reliable sources remain crucial today. In the world of AI, fake news may spread even faster. This is because AI does not know everything and is not yet perfected. That is why we must continue to rely on expert, verified information.
Conclusion
Combating fake news requires more than just fact-checking. It is about strategic communication: knowing when to correct and when silence is more effective. By providing context, using reliable sources and arming the public in advance through prebunking, we can shift attention from the lie to the truth. Because in a world full of noise, it is not the loudest voice that counts, but the most substantiated one.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE © Senne Vandenberghe
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