Class 3:

The Psychology & Spread of Fake News

• Discussion Questions
• Why do people believe
fake news?
• Content, effects, and
dissemination of fake news
• Fake News Case Study
• In Class Group Project
• Individual Projects Assignments
 Discussion Questions
• Explain and describe the 7
causes of post-truth politics
• Explain and describe 5
characteristics of political
news content
• Explain and describe the 3
types of political news
coverage
• Explain and describe the 3
types of political news biases
 Discussion Questions
• Explain and describe
agenda-setting
• Explain and describe
framing
• Explain and describe the
5 practical effects of
political news coverage
 6 Factors Contributing to Belief in Fake News

1. Little political knowledge,

interest, and participation
2. Many beliefs not fact-based
3. Selective Processes: people
tend to believe information that
confirms preexisting beliefs &
attitudes
6 Contributing Factors to Belief in Fake News

4. Social (media) network echo

chambers widen partisan
divide
5. Politicians have strong
incentives to reinforce their
positions and attack their
opponents
6. Lack of critical thinking skills
and usage
1A: Stunningly Low Levels of Political Knowledge

• What Americans Know about

Politics and Why It Matters
• Whites, men, and older,
financially secure citizens
have substantially more
knowledge about national
politics than do blacks,
women, young adults, and
financially less- well-off
citizens
 1B: Little Political Interest

• Information Costs: Is
Voting Rational?
• About 40% Americans
pay close attention to
politics during
presidential campaigns
1C: Little Political Participation
1C: Little Political Participation
Non-Presidential Turnout Even Lower
 2. Beliefs Not Fact-Based
People Believe Lies
• 7% of Americans (population of
Pennsylvania) believe chocolate
milk comes from brown cows
• 20% of Americans did not know
hamburger comes from beef
• >50% of Americans believe climate
change will “harm people in the
United States,” but fewer than 40%
believe it will “harm me, personally”
 3. Selective Processes: Information Filters

• Interpersonal
communication much more
effective than mediated
communication
• Media effects limited by
selective processes
• Selective Exposure
• Selective Attention
• Selective Perception
3. Selective Processes Confirmation Bias

• Information from media

more likely to reinforce than
reverse attitudes
• Attitude change slow,
incremental process
• Confirmation bias occurs from
the direct influence of desire
on beliefs. When people
would like a certain
idea/concept to be true, they
end up believing it to be true.
 3. Confirmation Bias Example
• July 4, 2017: Independence
Day Battle
• NPR: 30-year tradition of
reading Declaration of
Independence on air
• 2017: tweeted Declaration in
140-character bits
• People who view NPR as left-
wing fake news attacked
network for urging revolution
 4. Social Networks: Echo Chamber
• Offline social networks even
more so than online networks,
reinforce preexisting beliefs,
attitudes, and values
• Groups amplify those
preexisting views with
cascading effects widening
the partisan/ideological divide
• More and more sure of our
opinions based on constant
reinforcement
 5. Politicians’ Incentives to Reinforce Beliefs
• Benefits politicians to
demonize opponents and
those broadcasting critical
opinions
• Reinforce their position and
attack opponents
• Fake News, or similar
phrases, used by many
presidents to discredit critical
coverage
 6. Lack of analytic or critical thinking
• People are overwhelmed with
information
• Humans are cognitive misers
• We use source credibility,
confirmation bias, familiarity, and
other shortcuts to evaluate
information
• Different sources have different levels
of credibility for different people
 4 Factors Causing Spread of Fake News
1. Internet disrupted media
ecosystem:
• Democratized journalism:
anyone can create and
publish content
• Multiplied information
sources: exponential growth
in information
• Gatekeepers disappearing
• Demand for content
insatiable: 24/7/365 on
innumerable channels
 Factors Causing Spread of Fake News

2. Motives and means for

creating fake news
cheaper and more
readily available
• Fake news entrepreneurs
in Eastern Europe and the
U.S.
• New technologies for
distorting news logos, text,
and videos
 Factors Causing Spread of Fake News
3. Social media
• Eliminated geographic
boundaries among partisans
or people with niche beliefs
• Algorithms radically
altered information
distribution
4. Belief in Fake News leads
to sharing fake news spiral
• Familiarity builds credibility
 Fake News Case Study Assignments
1. Write a 500-1,000-word
essay
2. Create and deliver 4-6-
minute presentation on
your essay with visual
slides
1. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/1
1/10/trump-protests-intensify-as-
doubts-swirl-about-spontaneity.html

2. https://www.snopes.com/anti-trump-
protesters-bused-into-austin/
 Fake News Case Study Essay

• Classic five-paragraph
essay format
1. Introduction
2. Main Point
3. Main Point
4. Main Point
5. Conclusion
 Introduction
1. Attention-getting hook
2. Provide context for the specific story analyzed
3. Answer the big 6 questions about the fake news story
• Who is it about; What does it claim; Where did the story take place; When
did it take place; Why did the event happen and/or why did the person take
the alleged action; How did the event occur or the person do something?
4. Thesis statement: the purpose of this essay/presentation is to
analyze …
5. Preview statement: end introduction with preview of main points
 Body
1. Source
• Who wrote it?
• Where was it posted/published?
• Why or among whom is it believable?
• Evaluations of writer and publication
2. Content
• Verbal content: text, words; grammar, punctuation, spelling; framing or bias
• Visual content: images, design & layout of story
• Evaluations of content
3. Dissemination & Intended Effects
• How and where did the story spread?
• Why did the story spread?
• What were the intended effects of the story?
• Evaluations of story spread and intended effects
 How to Evaluate Sources
• Is the publication/website reputable and credible? How do you know?
• What does the “About Us” section of the website tell you?
• What do the Google results tell you about the publication, website,
author?
• What are the results when you search for the site on Media Bias/Fact
Check?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the source?
• Is the website listed on the Fake News Website Listing spreadsheets?
• How many red flags did the source receive on the 10 Questions for Fake
News Detection worksheet?
 How to Evaluate Content
1. Verbal content:
• Are the big 6 questions answered clearly?
• Are there issues with the grammar, spelling, or punctuation?
• Are there links or references to original or other reputable sources?
• What do Snopes, Politifact, or other fact-checking websites tell you
about the claims in this story?
2. Visual content:
• Can you verify images through Google image search?
• Is the website designed professionally – or is it cluttered and
unprofessional? & layout of story
Evaluate Dissemination & Intended Effects
• How and where did the story spread?
• Search for story on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• How many relevant Google results return when searching the story?
• Why did the story spread?
• What about the story made it spreadable?
• Infer motivations for spreading the story: political, personal, financial
• What were the intended effects of the story?
• Why was this story created/published/spread?
• Did the story achieve its goal – why or why not?
 Conclusion
• Summarize main points
• Source
• Content
• Dissemination and Intended Effects
• Explain why this analysis is important in a larger context
• End memorably: tie-back to attention-getting hook or bring
logical and psychological closure in some other effective
way
 In Class Group Project
• Group 1: Jimmy Kimmel’s Sexual
Misconduct
• Group 2: Comey Sued for Helping
Terrorists
• Group 3: Michael Flynn’s Russia Testimony
• Group 4: Congress Consults Psych Prof
@Trump
• Group 5: Trump Chokes Cop
• Group 6: Stephen Miller’s Hand Signal