Based in lack of trust that is often fanned by politicians, the media, and others, misinformation has not only caused arguments but arguably has also cost many lives.
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COVID Fear Opens You up To Misinformation
Fear in response to COVID-19 causes people to think more rigidly and makes it harder for them to recognize misinformation and more likely to spread it, according to new research.
The greater effect coronavirus fears had on an individual, the more likely they were to:
accept unverified information and share it, regardless of accuracy; and
believe untrue existential statements to be profound.
Fear in response to COVID-19 causes people to think more rigidly and makes it harder for them to recognize misinformation and more likely to spread it, according to new research.
In the binational study conducted during the early months of the pandemic, researchers examined the influence of fear of COVID-19 on several social and cognitive factors among 565 adults living in Italy and the US.
The greater effect coronavirus fears had on an individual, the more likely they were to:
accept unverified information and share it, regardless of accuracy; and
believe untrue existential statements to be profound.
The researchers also analyzed participants’ propensity for polarized or “black-or-white” thinking and xenophobia, among other factors. The study showed that fear of the coronavirus influenced participants to engage in such rigid forms of thinking, and individuals who scored high on the polarization scale were less likely to detect misinformation and more likely to have poor p