“If we feel marginalized and isolated from one group but another group welcomes us with open arms, we are far more likely to identify with the more welcoming group.”
This is a statement from page 139 of Matthew Facciani’s book, Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do About It. As I have been reading about misinformation in a lot of places, much of what Facciani wrote in this book was not new to me, but this sentence gets at the heart of what we are dealing with when it comes to vaccine acceptance as well as other societal issues of the day. People need to feel heard and welcomed. Unfortunately, the anti-vaccine rhetoric people find online when they go searching for information often leads with empathy and support. Of course, the groups providing such also have the luxury of being untethered from the truth, but the combination of being able to tell people what they want to hear, making them feel a part of something larger, and being independent from the establishment have convinced some people that their trust is well-placed when they listen to these “outsiders.”
After establishing the situation and significance of misinformation in Chapter 1, Facciani offers a deep dive into the role of identities, describing not only how they position some people to be more susceptible to misinformation, but also how these identities will sometimes override what people know to be incorrect simply because the falsehood is a critical part of an identity from which the individual benefits, such as membership in or acceptance by a particular group. Chapters 3 and 4 delve into political identities and social networks, including a focus on COVID-19 responses in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 is devoted to vaccine misinformation. The chapter explores how vaccine misinformation spreads online and the role of damaged trust in institutions. In a discussion about addressing online misinformation, Facciani describes the benefits and limitations associated with fact-checking, friction and data transparency before finishing with suggested interventions at individual, community and societal levels. Chapter 6 discusses media and information literacy and interventions that have been explored for educating about these topics. The final chapter offers a look ahead, including a brief exploration of some of the coming technological considerations, such as artificial intelligence.
If you are looking for a comprehensive consideration of misinformation, you will appreciate Facciani’s synthesis.
Find out more or get the book.
Contributed by: Charlotte A. Moser, MS
“If we feel marginalized and isolated from one group but another group welcomes us with open arms, we are far more likely to identify with the more welcoming group.”
This is a statement from page 139 of Matthew Facciani’s book, Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do About It. As I have been reading about misinformation in a lot of places, much of what Facciani wrote in this book was not new to me, but this sentence gets at the heart of what we are dealing with when it comes to vaccine acceptance as well as other societal issues of the day. People need to feel heard and welcomed. Unfortunately, the anti-vaccine rhetoric people find online when they go searching for information often leads with empathy and support. Of course, the groups providing such also have the luxury of being untethered from the truth, but the combination of being able to tell people what they want to hear, making them feel a part of something larger, and being independent from the establishment have convinced some people that their trust is well-placed when they listen to these “outsiders.”
After establishing the situation and significance of misinformation in Chapter 1, Facciani offers a deep dive into the role of identities, describing not only how they position some people to be more susceptible to misinformation, but also how these identities will sometimes override what people know to be incorrect simply because the falsehood is a critical part of an identity from which the individual benefits, such as membership in or acceptance by a particular group. Chapters 3 and 4 delve into political identities and social networks, including a focus on COVID-19 responses in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 is devoted to vaccine misinformation. The chapter explores how vaccine misinformation spreads online and the role of damaged trust in institutions. In a discussion about addressing online misinformation, Facciani describes the benefits and limitations associated with fact-checking, friction and data transparency before finishing with suggested interventions at individual, community and societal levels. Chapter 6 discusses media and information literacy and interventions that have been explored for educating about these topics. The final chapter offers a look ahead, including a brief exploration of some of the coming technological considerations, such as artificial intelligence.
If you are looking for a comprehensive consideration of misinformation, you will appreciate Facciani’s synthesis.
Find out more or get the book.
Contributed by: Charlotte A. Moser, MS