Way-Too-Easy: "Fake News", Big Fat Hoax, TLDR + Alternative Facts

< Can you read this?
[Just the big print please. Don't sweat the small stuff]
Hmmm. . . not so easy-to-read. Take your time.
Not so easy-to-read even though it's in black-and-white.
If you're still paying attention, here's what two shrinks have to say: "The main factor explaining the acceptance of fake news could be cognitive laziness, especially in the context of social media, where news items are often skimmed or merely glanced at . . . "   Too Long Didn't Read. Stop. Pause.
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The good news:
The good news is that psychologists and other social scientists are working hard to understand what prevents people from seeing through propaganda.
Damn. They are working hard to understand. Get this [or not]
The bad news:
The bad news is that there is not yet a consensus on the answer.
WHY DO PEOPLE FALL FOR FAKE NEWS?

Are they blinded by their political passions?

Or are they just intellectually lazy?

By Gordon Pennycook and David Rand [ Dr. Pennycook and Dr. Rand are psychologists.]

Jan. 19, 2019

What makes people susceptible to fake news and other forms of strategic misinformation? And what, if anything, can be done about it?

These questions have become more urgent in recent years, . . 

This is not just an academic debate; it has real implications for public policy.

Our research suggests that the solution to politically charged misinformation should involve devoting resources to the spread of accurate information and to training or encouraging people to think more critically. You aren’t doomed to be unreasonable, even in highly politicized times. Just remember that this is also true of people you disagree with.

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Gordon Pennycook is an assistant professor at the Hill & Levene Schools of Business at the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan. David Rand is an associate professor at the Sloan School of Management and the department of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 19, 2019, on Page SR12 of the New York edition with the headline: Why Do People Fall for Fake News?.

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