an interesting FYI really, IMHO

Many incorrect beliefs have political foundations. They promote a policy, an ideology, or one candidate over another. People are susceptible to political misinformation because they tend to believe things that favor their side–even if it isn’t grounded in data or science. There are numerous factors at play, from the influence of non-conscious emotions to the need to defend a group that the individual identifies with.


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There’s more we need to understand. It isn’t yet clear why curiosity and attention to the evidence leads to better outcomes, while being knowledgeable and thinking carefully promote bias. Until we sort this out, it’s hard to know exactly what kinds of media literacy skills will help the most.

But in today’s media environment–where news consumers are subjected to a barrage of opinions, data, and misinformation–gut feelings and people’s need for evidence to back those hunches up can play a big role. They might determine whether you fall for a hoax posted on the Onion, help spread Russian disinformation, or believe that the British spy agency MI6 was responsible for princess Diana’s death.

For now, though, when it comes to fighting the scourge of misinformation, there’s a simple strategy that everyone can use. If you are someone who consistently checks your intuition about what is true against the evidence, you are less likely to be misled. It may seem like common sense, but learning to dig into the story behind that shocking headline can help you avoid spreading falsehoods.

So if someone shares something with you that you know is false–especially if it is someone you know–don’t be afraid to disagree. There’s no need for name calling; studies have shown that just providing evidence can make a difference, if not for the person who shared the falsehood, then at least for others who were exposed to it.

In a world where the very idea of “truth” often appears under attack, this is an easy way that individuals can make a difference.

https://qz.com/1124046/why-millions-of-americans-believe-things-that-arent-true/

I have to say I enjoy a good debate when both parties have no idea what is true..you just gotta love both sides debating their true lack of knowledge unknowingly..after all it is the matrix in which we dwell..we take our tid bits that have been widely dispersed through the media and we honestly think we know something..when we don't know anything other than what we ourselves wish to believe..a religion of sorts and religion as well ..I mean after all we read from a book written by people we have never met shuffle ourselves dressed to the nines on sunday and listen to someone spew about it as if they were God himself..as if words from a book bring about his creation and they do for some

If you think about it our whole world is basically based on a lot of everything we know nothing about but does it really matter.We will live,love and we will die and all that we have known will be for naught ..so enjoy the ride through this matrix because it's all we have and you only live once.Our lives are basically insignificant other than the significance we give to it..we may as well be a beetle when it's all said and done.. does it really matter for anything other than the time we live...and those we may help along the way

But we are human for what that's worth in the whole scheme of things and within the universe a fly speck but yet we find ourselves caught up within our miniscule selves embroiled in political debates and discussions over religion when it brings nothing to an overall result for the most.. other than to satisfy our own egos within the time wasted..

So what does all this mean..nothing..and that's my point..

Many are too lazy to dig just beneath the surface to find the facts.
Just take others' word for honest information.

Having the knowledge of history, civics, current events, global dynamics, democracy/socialism/communism, geography and economics is shallow in general.

It especially bothers me with voting. People don't look for factual information about candidates.


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I totally agree.

Has anyone ever asked themselves just what are the facts and where is the truth ..Does anyone really know..For years we' have been told many things only to find out later on down the road we have been lied to..on purpose..but yet at the time we believed they were true ..So just exactly who knows the truth especially when it comes down to those things we don't see for ourselves..

We can do all the research we want but unless we see for ourselves whose words are we suppose to take for the truth..that which better satisfies our own bias or that which we believe are true after we have exhausted all measures..are we trading one false narrative for another in another mind manipulation brought to us by the makers of the matrix ..

In my opinion I have found it best to remain neutral in a lot of things presented and watch others go at it over things neither side knows to be true..it makes for a good show

I first trust my eyes and ears, what I see and hear from a person tells me alot about who they are, what they believe and value as well. I also look at what is documented, raw data, not explanations so much, to form my own conclusion. I also try to approach life with consistency regarding general standards from one situation to another in terms of how similar they are and the results.

I go by the whats good for the goose, if it is incorrect or wrong for one person, it is incorrect or wrong for others in that same circumstance doing or saying that same thing.

We dont know anything is true, but to be human is to experience and try to navigate what we experience. Could we all be a computer simulation believing the truth that has been programmed? In a very honest sense, of course. But we go through with a basic idea of reality as it relates and makes sense in our own existence, and from there we build on reality with 'facts' that do the same.

I think about 90% already are. =.=

THAT is what makes it so easy for them to be manipulated!


it is A LOT harder to manipulate someone who is well informed about things!!

problem is, far too many who base trustworthiness on the WHO instead of the WHAT believe themselves to be well informed.

Great Assessment!


I've found that I had many "Cherished Delusions".

Cherished delusions are the lies and inaccuracies that are perpetuated to us over time by family, friends and society. The things we are told that inspire us to try harder and never give up. Those ideas that promise a reward for hard work, that set one above all others, causes us to imagine that we are somehow important to reality. We are deluded into thinking that we are important to the great scheme of things in the Universe.

We are bombarded with behavior modifiers all our lives. We are lead to believe that life is fair, work hard, learn and make wise decisions. We are told to fight for what we believe, place value in the words and actions of strangers and prepare for the future.

There are very few people that understand themselves, let alone understand others. We think we know a lot but we actually know very little.
Delusion is how people cope with stark reality. Reality is hard to accept for many people. Reality gets substituted with delusions. Those delusions make life easier to endure.

If you live long enough, you will find out that life is nothing more than just existing. Everything else is a delusion we tell ourselves to make life more than what it is. Many people think that if they don't have this or that, they will 'just die'. The reality is, there are few things needed to maintain life and those things are simple in their requirements.
Everything else is a delusion.

Delusions are not always a bad thing. That doesn't make them reality though. One example is a loving relationship. A loving relationship with somebody special to us makes us feel alive and wanted. It gives us a sense of 'life' and when it is removed from us, we feel we will 'just die' if we don't find it again.
Sadly, I know this is not reality. A person can survive completely alone.
The perceived 'quality of life' is diminished but existence persists.
The reality is, if a loving relationship were required to exist, without it, we 'would' die.

When we experience reality we see and hear it but our minds create associations for those perceptions that allows what we see and hear to have meaning to us. We assign our own values to it.
Being a social species, when others assign similar values to what they see and hear and tell us how they see and hear it, we form a bond with them thru common association. The more people that agree with our assessments, the more validity our assessments have.

An example of this could be like this:
You see a series of objects streaking across the night skies one night.
You assess what you see and hear to be an alien invasion.
Other people also see and hear the same thing. They too assess it to be an alien invasion. It is an alien invasion according to social agreement.
If left alone, it will always be an alien invasion.
If one person in 1,000 assesses it to be a meteor shower, that person will be wrong, even tho they are accurate in their assessment. That person will have to provide proof that it was not an alien invasion or none will agree with their assessment.
Even if they do provide proof, most people will ignore the reality and substitute their own assessment of the proof to reinforce their delusion.
They are so sure that their assessment can't be wrong, they fabricate conditions to justify their own assessment. Then, they will seek out other people to agree with them, as if that agreement validates their opinion.

Then you have the few people that see the sky and the streaks and just say..."Pretty" and leave it at that. They realize that it doesn't matter what they think and put absolutely no significance on the event. They watch others debating and arguing and carrying on and are amused. They require an alien ship to land in front of them or a meteorite to strike in front of them for it to have any significance. They assess reality as reality.

Generally I don't trust any of the news networks anymore. NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN tend to be pro-democrat. FOX tends to be pro-republican. The citizen is left trying to figure out what the real story(s) are.

The sad part is what the news is about. Stormy Daniels and trash drama. Democrats are so caught up in it. The issues our country is facing is on the back burner. Back during the Kennedy days media reported real news. Since Jerry Springer had higher ratings, CNN took his idea.

. There’s no need for name calling; studies have shown that just providing evidence can make a difference, if not for the person who shared the falsehood, then at least for others who were exposed to it.


my favorite part of the OP ...

NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN tend to be pro-democrat. FOX tends to be pro-republican

My statement isn't name-calling but stating the obvious. None of them can be trusted. One has to use common sense, have an understanding of politics (human nature) and listen to past and present comments of all individuals involved.

Who is name calling? The Jerry Springer show is trash drama. I don't watch that brain rot and have turned off CNN many times for being brain rot. I don't care about a porn star/prostitute. I want to hear about real 8ssues and real news.

I did not quote or address you directly. I agree. Common sense, which isn't common, is important. We should trust the bits on every network that provide actual data and facts, and not take on face value just the adjectives chosen to describe them.

for instance, when I hear 'POTUS demanded" I know there is a slant. "Potus said' has no such slant. When I hear "Judge blamed such and such" I know there is slant. "Judge finds such and such guilty of such and such crime" has no slant.

The worst is misinformation about what people want. If people would just come together and seek what the people ESSENTIALLY want, then it would be much easier for policy makers to achieve that.

What kills me is when environmentalists think that oil is worse than coal.

If they put engineers in charge of the government, politicians in charge of the newspaper, and journalists in charge of decoration, then the world will be a much better place.

I think the main problem with NEWS today is the need to be popular.
Sensationalizing to make money. A push to make people want to tune in, buy the paper, click the link.
In the early days of media, papers did it with "capture words" in huge bold print on the front page. TV NEWS did it with program interruptions of short snippets of the story so you would "tune in" to the newscast when it aired.

NEWS is nothing more than reporting the state of affairs of the surrounding area or reporting changes in the state of the nation.

I remember late night (around 1 am) on TV in the 70s. Before the station went off the air there was an opinion piece on the station that had a disclaimer that stated "These are opinions of individuals and do not reflect the stance of this station or any of its representatives". At that time, the NEWS broadcasts were full of facts and was informative but not very entertaining. People watched the NEWS, read the paper and formed their own opinions and talked about what they heard or read among themselves.

Now, NEWS is treated like entertainment. Those opinion pieces merged with the facts. Essentially, it tries to broadcast which opinions you should have about NEWS. They roll out 'experts' to reinforce those dictated opinions. They advertise NEWS programs like TV shows. They bait you with "Host Personalities", the stars of the show.

I remember a time when NEWS anchors gained popularity because they were able to clearly deliver the NEWS without emotional display. Their ability to focus on delivering the information was critical to their success as a newscaster. They were 'dry' but still popular and still remembered.
David Brinkley, Chet Huntley, John Chancellor, Walter Cronkite & Roger Mudd gave way to Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw and opinions started invading the NEWS. It wasn't a sudden shift, it was a slow change.

"Drop a frog into boiling water and it will jump out, but slowly raise the water temperature to boiling and the frog will boil to death"

CNN（Cable News Network) is owned by the Turner Broadcasting system which is a division of Time Warner. Currently the world's third largest entertainment company in terms of revenue, after Comcast and The Walt Disney Company.

Fox News(FNC) is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. Disney now owns a large portion of 21st Century Fox — including the company's 20th Century Fox film and television divisions.

ABC (American Broadcasting Company) is owned by Disney
CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) The president, chief executive and executive chairman of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, controls CBS by way of his majority ownership of the company's Class A voting stock; he also serves as chairman emeritus.
NBC (National Broadcasting Company)Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC.

The point of this is that each NEWS program has an agenda dictated by the owning entity. Their primary goal is to make money. Whatever makes you "tune in" or "click thru" achieves their goal. So if there is talk about a NEWS shows validity, it drives people to it so they can verify, thus adding to their revenue.
They don't care why you click, they care that they are getting a penny per click at a million clicks per second 24 hours per day. They care the you tune to their channel so viewer base effectively sells advertising spots.
They are sitting on their stacks of gold counting their money as you jump thru their hoops.
They want you frustrated.
They want you confused.
They want you to react.

I often wonder how people would react to a pair of glasses like in the movie They Live (1988)?