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Why People Share Conspiracy Theories Even When They Know They Are Untrue
Link to tweet
Tweet text:
Jay Van Bavel
@jayvanbavel
40% of people admitted they would be willing to share conspiracy theories that they know to be untrue.
Why?
Because they want to share information that will boost their social engagement. You can’t fix misinformation if you ignore social motives.
Why People Share Conspiracy Theories Even When They Know They Are Untrue
Social motives for sharing conspiracy theories.
psychologytoday.com
8:01 AM · Sep 25, 2021
Jay Van Bavel
@jayvanbavel
40% of people admitted they would be willing to share conspiracy theories that they know to be untrue.
Why?
Because they want to share information that will boost their social engagement. You can’t fix misinformation if you ignore social motives.
Why People Share Conspiracy Theories Even When They Know They Are Untrue
Social motives for sharing conspiracy theories.
psychologytoday.com
8:01 AM · Sep 25, 2021
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/norms-and-behavior-change/202109/why-people-share-conspiracy-theories-even-when-they-know-they
Social media often confronts users with difficult choices: sharing unverified content that would generate social engagement, or sharing content that they know is more likely to be true but is less likely to be “liked.” Put differently, the decision to share conspiracy theories for many people reflects a calculated trade-off.
The spread of conspiracy theories has significantly limited our ability to deal with crises, from addressing climate change to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 70 million Americans who are eligible for a vaccine have chosen not to get one and approximately half of these people have misinformed beliefs, such as the belief that the government is using vaccine injections to insert microchips into people.
Beyond Beliefs
A growing body of work has begun to advance our understanding of why people believe in conspiracy theories. This work has found that people who feel like they lack control over events, and who dislike uncertainty and ambiguity are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories.
Many questions remain, however, with respect to why people share conspiracy theories. Although early work presumed that people on social media share content that they believe, our new research reveals that people are often willing to share conspiracy theories that they know to be false. In fact, we found that 40 percent of participants admitted that they would be willing to share conspiracy theories that they know to be untrue.
Why?
*snip*
44 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
borders on the exploitative, and it's well-documented.
https://publicdelivery.org/roger-ballen-twins/
To this day, the artist has never revealed the real identity of the twins, where they stay currently (if they are even still alive). However, Roger Ballen only explained how he came to meet the twins.
He said:
But the family reported a different account of the events. According to the family, the twins’ mother never met with Roger Ballen, nor did she give him permission to take his sons’ photograph. The family reported that the mother of the two boys was hurt and saddened by how her sons were portrayed in the book that was seen by an entire world.
It is hard to understand which side speaks the truth. The twins, however, are said to be happy all the time, perhaps not knowing that they became a center of attention in the entire world.
(snip)
The twins, only identified as Casie and Driesie, were put in a home for mentally challenged individuals in a small center in North West South Africa. Casie and Driesie were born in a place called Outjo, present-day Namibia, but moved to Wolmaransstad alongside their mother. They later returned to Namibia after their mother died and stayed with their brother and his wife. Then they were put in the nursing home because their relatives could not provide proper attention as the twins needed special care.
He said:
I was staying on a game farm with my wife and children. I drove to the town to buy something and saw Casie working in a garden. I got out of the car and greeted him. I didn’t know how much he understood. He couldn’t talk too well, so I asked his mother for permission and got him to stand against a wall so I could photograph him. Suddenly, I became aware of a shadow. I turned and saw his brother. It was amazing, such a strong figure.
But the family reported a different account of the events. According to the family, the twins’ mother never met with Roger Ballen, nor did she give him permission to take his sons’ photograph. The family reported that the mother of the two boys was hurt and saddened by how her sons were portrayed in the book that was seen by an entire world.
It is hard to understand which side speaks the truth. The twins, however, are said to be happy all the time, perhaps not knowing that they became a center of attention in the entire world.
(snip)
The twins, only identified as Casie and Driesie, were put in a home for mentally challenged individuals in a small center in North West South Africa. Casie and Driesie were born in a place called Outjo, present-day Namibia, but moved to Wolmaransstad alongside their mother. They later returned to Namibia after their mother died and stayed with their brother and his wife. Then they were put in the nursing home because their relatives could not provide proper attention as the twins needed special care.
Here they are in 2011, as documented by Herman Verwey:
These are people used as a punchline all over the internet and it's heartbreaking.
It's been a few years coming, anyway, and worth the Bombay.
