{"id":19987,"date":"2022-08-29T10:34:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T08:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/?p=19987"},"modified":"2022-08-31T11:48:33","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T09:48:33","slug":"how-fake-news-leads-to-conspiracy-theories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/type\/featured-articles\/how-fake-news-leads-to-conspiracy-theories\/","title":{"rendered":"How fake news leads to conspiracy theories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">by <strong>Rosemary Smith<\/strong>, Getting Better Foundation, USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides being potentially avoidable tragedies, what do the Nashville Bomber, Russian Trolls, Black Lives Matter, Covington Catholic, Pizza Gate, Sandy Hook, Anti-Vaxx, Capitol Riots, and COVID Conspiracies all have in common? They\u2019re all instances where a lack of media literacy led to destruction of property, health, or life\u2026 and, they were all avoidable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overviews:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nashville Bomber: a belief, taken from online misinformation touting \u201c5G paranoia\u201d is believed to have motivated Anthony Warner\u2019s desire to disrupt Tennessee\u2019s cellular coverage with his RV\u2019s explosives.<\/li><li>Russian Trolls: foreign adversaries have lots to gain by hiring and using tech geeks to create false social media personas\u2026 all in the interest of creating dissent.<\/li><li>Black Lives Matter: misperception that the BLM movement was formed by militants\u2019 intent on abolishing police, has led to violent outbursts, rioting, and arrests.<\/li><li>Covington Catholic: misinformation spread on the internet using video taken out of context when school children were confronted on a Washington D.C. field trip.<\/li><li>Pizza Gate: a now debunked child sex ring and satanic conspiracy theory that went viral leading to a potential assault rifle shooting and incarceration of a North Carolina man.<\/li><li>Anti-Vaxx: identified as one of the top global health threats by the World Health Organization, the campaign not to vaccinate children is causing record new cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and tetanus.<\/li><li>Capitol Riots: Online manipulation causes a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--1024x726.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20139\" width=\"253\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--1024x726.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--300x213.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--768x544.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--1536x1089.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--370x262.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--270x191.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--570x404.jpeg 570w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening--740x524.jpeg 740w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Screening-.jpeg 1583w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px\" \/><figcaption>Screening of &#8221;Trust Me&#8221; during educator media literacy workshops, Sibiu, Romania, <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we perform an internet search, we like reading what agrees with our beliefs, disregarding the rest. That\u2019s called \u201cconfirmation bias\u201d. And, when we can influence others to agree with us, it creates feelings of acceptance through oxytocin and dopamine \u201cfeel good\u201d chemical drips in our brains. Dopamine is one of the most famous neurotransmitters in our nervous system. It is known as the neurotransmitter of pleasure. Oxytocin is the labor inducing neurotransmitter, thus the \u201csocial glue\u201d that forges the bond between a mother and child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Dr. Paul Zak, neuroscientist at Claremont Graduate University &amp; author of Trust Factor reasons, <em>\u201cJust like human touch, love, and empathy bring people together, these drips can forge relationships that help bring us closer\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 or lead us down roads that polarize and tear us apart. If our brains misinterpret these signals as the truth because they make us temporarily feel good, or smart, or influential, or loved, that\u2019s powerful catalyst for spreading mistruths, misinformation, or disinformation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20141\" width=\"-329\" height=\"-219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-370x247.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-270x180.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-570x380.jpeg 570w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Sibiu-TM-Teacher-audience-740x493.jpeg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Screening of &#8221;Trust Me&#8221; during educator media literacy workshops, Sibiu, Romania, <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As in the cases of fake news and conspiracy theories like the Nashville Bomber, Pizza Gate, and Anti-Vaxxers, people wittingly or unwittingly sharing their beliefs on social media ended up influencing another human who decided to act. \u201c<em>Human beings are\u2026 hard-wired\u2026 to pay attention to messages that create strong emotion<\/em>\u201d Says Renee Hobbs, Founder &amp; Director of Media Education Lab, University of Rhode Island. \u201c<em>\u2026 from fear to lust to desire\u2026 to hate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can choose. By becoming more media literate, we choose to check our facts prior to forming opinions in our own brains, thus setting our ways\u2026 ways that become difficult to change after time elapses and we age. Or we choose to spread mal, mis, disinformation\u2026 and hate\u2026 just to gain a short-term blast of dopamine from \u201clikes\u201d and \u201cshares\u201d. As with ingesting too much sugar or alcohol, in the long term, those continuous \u201cdrips\u201d are bad for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Good actors are rising, and learning resources abound to help us identify factual, honest things to share. Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/gettingbetterfoundation.org\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/gettingbetterfoundation.org\/\">www.gettingbetterfoundation.org<\/a> for ideas and resources to help educate yourself and others. Better yet, take 90 minutes to watch \u201cTrust Me\u201d, a compelling documentary laden with personal stories where a lack of media literacy led to disastrous events. Then experts in psychology, journalism, and media literacy help guide us toward prevention and collaboration with others. It may just be the best 90 minutes of your year. And, just what our world needs to heal and progress. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustmedocumentary.com\/\">www.trustmedocumentary.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:21% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"285\" src=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-300x285.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19989 size-medium\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-300x285.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-1024x974.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-768x731.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-1536x1461.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-2048x1948.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-370x352.jpg 370w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-270x257.jpg 270w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-570x542.jpg 570w, https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Smith-Rosemary-profile-pic-FB-740x704.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Author<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rosemary Smith, Managing Director &#8211; Getting Better Foundation<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Rosemary Smith, Getting Better Foundation, USA. Besides being potentially avoidable tragedies, what do the Nashville Bomber, Russian Trolls, Black Lives Matter, Covington Catholic, Pizza Gate, Sandy Hook, Anti-Vaxx, Capitol Riots, and COVID Conspiracies all have in common? They\u2019re all instances where a lack of media literacy led to destruction of property, health, or life\u2026 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,272],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-media-literacy"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/files\/2022\/08\/Banner_Trust_Me.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Chlo\u00eb P\u00e9t\u00e9","author_link":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/author\/chloe-pete\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19987"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20143,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions\/20143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}