Misinformation hijacks cognitive machinery and resists correction like a virus

Evidence

The lawyer defending the Capitol rioter Anthony Antonio was not wrong when he suggested that people can catch misinformation much like a disease. In this book, I hope to convince you of three key propositions. The first is that there are viruses of the mind and not just the biological kind. A biological virus is a parasite that attaches itself to the surface of a host cell. It will then inject its own genetic material into the host, hijacking the host cell’s machinery with the goal of reproducing itself. In a very similar way, misinformation, conspiracy theories, and other dangerous ideas, latch on to the brain and insert themselves deep into our consciousness; they infiltrate our thoughts, feelings, and even our memories. Misinformation can fundamentally alter the way we act and think about the world. The misinformation virus hijacks parts of our basic cognitive machinery. Unfortunately, just as viruses are notoriously difficult to treat (antibiotics don’t work), decades of research show that once misinformation takes root in our brains, it too is extremely difficult to correct. The analogy runs deep. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 22

Categorization

• DEFINE: Lays out the mind-virus analogy that grounds the whole inoculation framework.
• XREF: connects to: Misinformation spread online can be modeled as an epidemic using the SIR model — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 445; Everyone is cognitively susceptible to misinformation, not just outliers — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 6; Awareness of a correction does not stop misinformation from infecting related memories (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• Explicitly retracted misinformation still leaks into memory representations and answers #corroborates (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 251
• Misinformation leaves residual traces in memory even after correction #corroborates (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 241
• Awareness of a correction does not stop misinformation from infecting related memories #corroborates (0.90)
• Exposure to weakened misinformation builds psychological immunity against it #responds-to (0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 24
• Cognitive dissonance strengthens rather than weakens false beliefs under contrary evidence #corroborates (0.85) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1798
• Psychological inoculation can build societal resistance to misinformation #responds-to (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 20
• Correcting conspiracy misinformation can backfire and entrench the false belief. #exemplifies (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 119
• Sustained misinformation immunity requires periodic booster reminders #responds-to (0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 814
• The brain prioritizes threatening information, which explains why negative Muslim stereotypes persist despite counter-evidence #corroborates (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 662
• Deliberate misinformation weaponized for profit or power can outcompete true news #responds-to (0.75) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 218
• Denser associative memory networks yield stronger resistance to misinformation #complicates (0.70) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 973