Partisan false memories of real events follow ideological bias

Evidence

There are plenty more real-world examples of this. Consider media coverage of the 2003 War in Iraq: studies show that repeated exposure to suggestive headlines reporting the ‘possible discovery of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)’ led to persistent false memories about the war among a notable segment of the US population. Here, too, an important link with ideology emerged: about 60 per cent of Republicans falsely believed in the discovery of WMDs in Iraq, compared to 20 per cent of Democrats. The key take-away is that, during emotionally charged political events, our memories of facts become more open to suggestion. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 83

Categorization

• APHORISMS: The closing line—that emotionally charged events make memory more suggestible—is a durable, broadly applicable warning worth returning to.
• XREF: connects to: People preferentially form false memories consistent with their political allegiances — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 82; Ideologically aligned false news is remembered far more by partisans — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 83; Visual perception of a photo crowd can be distorted by political bias — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 109 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• People preferentially form false memories consistent with their political allegiances #corroborates (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 82
• Ideologically aligned false news is remembered far more by partisans #exemplifies (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 83
• Visual perception of a photo crowd can be distorted by political bias #expands (0.72) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 109
• Selective perception and forgetting perpetuate false stereotypes over time #expands (0.72) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1373