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The moral psychology of misinformation: Why we excuse dishonesty in a post-truth world.
- Source :
-
Current opinion in psychology [Curr Opin Psychol] 2022 Oct; Vol. 47, pp. 101375. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 May 30. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Commentators say we have entered a "post-truth" era. As political lies and "fake news" flourish, citizens appear not only to believe misinformation, but also to condone misinformation they do not believe. The present article reviews recent research on three psychological factors that encourage people to condone misinformation: partisanship, imagination, and repetition. Each factor relates to a hallmark of "post-truth" society: political polarization, leaders who push "alterative facts," and technology that amplifies disinformation. By lowering moral standards, convincing people that a lie's "gist" is true, or dulling affective reactions, these factors not only reduce moral condemnation of misinformation, but can also amplify partisan disagreement. We discuss implications for reducing the spread of misinformation.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Humans
Communication
Morals
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2352-2518
- Volume :
- 47
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Current opinion in psychology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 35777230
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101375