Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds
The following is adapted from Surfing Rogue Waves.
Do you have an “Auntie Karen”? You know, the aunt (or uncle, or sister, or friend, or brother-in-law, or any other friend or family member) that insists on posting things that just aren’t true on social media? Most of us do, and it’s frustrating, because no matter how much you tell Auntie Karen that her facts are wrong, she won’t stop posting crazy things.
How do we deal with the misinformation that Auntie Karen regularly posts on social media? And why won’t Auntie Karen listen to the facts? Turns out, it all comes down to one thing: confirmation bias. Once you understand that, you can deal much better with the Auntie Karens of the world...and maybe stop yourself from becoming one too.
Processes Aren’t the Problem
When we see misinformation, we want to correct it—this is the deficit model. The next step assumes a rational person will consider new information and change their beliefs depending on the presented strength and accuracy. This is where our saying of “knowledge is power” comes from. But the processes aren’t the problem—people are. If we could simply correct misinformation with facts, fake news and propaganda would go away.
Research from George Mason University suggests that in some cases, correcting falsehoods on social media about some topics can be effective. The effectiveness of these corrections come from algorithms that suggest related links around the issue or from a personal connection. The research showed how “information from friends might have a greater impact because we trust those closest to us.”
However, just because you trust someone doesn’t make their beliefs correct. The researchers explain that “if you are somebody who is willing to believe in conspiracies, then you are not affected by corrective information.” These individuals, right or wrong, buy into the misinformation wholesale.
Cultural Values Trump Rationality
The deficit model fails when it comes to misinformation because it assumes we are all rational and our beliefs are correct. Research out of Yale suggests that scientific knowledge is not as important as conforming to cultural values, something we call “cultural cognition.”
Often, individuals who share and spread untrue facts and stories associate strongly with a partisan position or narrative. Through misrepresentation of information, fake news aligns with how they see both themselves and the world. When they open their social media feeds and see an individual sharing a post of fake political news, their confirmation bias blinds them as they attempt to reinforce their existing perspective.
When you fact-check Aunt Karen, even with the best of intentions, she sees it as an attack on the core of her identity. To her, you're not presenting facts and data but asking her to change how she sees herself as a person. By fact-checking Aunt Karen, you start a deeply personal fight, not taking part in an objective debate.
Aunt Karen is basing her real-world decisions and actions on her beliefs, and your challenge presents an emotional argument that challenges and threatens the very meaning of who she believes she is. And by the way, this happens to everyone, not just the Karens of the world.
What Can You Do?
Given all this, what can you do? Do you invest time and resources to correct the false beliefs, or do you simply ignore and “unfollow” your Karens as a means of blocking them from influencing our rational beliefs?
Well, here’s the bad news. As of right now, there does not seem to be a clear answer. That being said, the answer certainly isn’t to throw up your hands in disgust. There is something you can do: make sure you aren’t a Karen. Also, take heart in the fact that new research in cognitive psychology from the University of Western Australia found that corrections on social media can change individuals’ minds regarding some of the fake news.
While this does not seem to have a lasting effect, it is worth considering when you’re deciding whether or not to fact-check. If you can do it in a way that doesn’t cause the other person to shut down, and you’re willing to be persistent about it, you may be able to help your Karens understand the facts, at least for a little while.
Misinformation is Dangerous
While it’s true that you’re fighting an uphill battle trying to get Auntie Karen to make decisions based on facts, you have to remember that misinformation is dangerous.
Fact-checking Aunt Karen for her posts on how we should charge our smartphones in the microwave to prevent the 5G standard for broadband cellular networks responsible for spreading COVID, a disease invented by Bill Gates, is one thing. Yes, microwaving her smartphone becomes an embarrassing, expensive, and explosive experience for her. Still, she’ll probably remain unfazed because, obviously, all corporations and mainstream media are part of the conspiracy and out to get her.
The real problem is that through complexity, human biases and wrong beliefs get much worse. Aunt Karen blowing up her smartphone in her home can seem funny, but some deep drivers are still at work. The same drivers that convince extremists and nationalists to share bomb-making manuals online or racist conspiracy theories justify systematic failure of the past or terrorism designed to take advantage of weak people and create homicidal tendencies in them.
Misinformation in our complex age provides a foundation ripe for disaster. Be aware of that, and even more importantly, be aware of cognitive biases, both in yourself and in the people around you.
For more advice on how to overcome cognitive biases, you can find Surfing Rogue Waves on Amazon.
Eric Pilon-Bignell is a pragmatic futurist focused on addressing disruption by increasing the creative capacity of individuals, teams, and organizations to ignite change, innovation, and foster continuous growth. Eric has an undergraduate degree in engineering, an MBA in Information Systems, and a Ph.D. in Global Leadership. His doctoral work primarily explored complexity sciences centered on executive cognition and their use of intuitive improvisation, decision-making, artificial intelligence, and data-based decision models. When he is not working with clients, researching, or writing, he can be found in the mountains or on the water. He founded PROJECT7 to raise awareness and money for research on brain-related illnesses. Eric is currently working and living with his wife in Chicago, Illinois. To connect or learn more about this book, Eric, or PROJECT7, please visit www.ericpb.me.