Post-truth roots lie in ancient cognitive bias, academic relativism, and media change

Evidence

But one of the most valuable insights in Philip Mirowski’s Never Let A Serious Crisis Go To Waste: How Neoliberalism Survived the Financial Meltdown comes from his account of cognitive dissonance itself. Referring to the work of Leon Festinger, the social psychologist who worked extensively on cognitive dissonance, Mirowski reminds us that cognitive dissonance is not a threat to false beliefs. On the contrary, cognitive dissonance is a mechanism by which false beliefs can be maintained when confronted with evidence that directly disproves them. In fact, as Mirowski writes, Festinger’s crucial claim was “that confrontation with contrary evidence may actually augment and sharpen the conviction and enthusiasm of a believer”. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1798 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The central idea is that stereotypes are belief structures that influence the processing of information about stereotyped groups and their members. What this means is that expectations formed on the basis of early experience tend to guide subsequent perceptions. As Allport pointed out, “A stereotype is sustained by selective perception and selective forgetting” (1954/ 1979, p. 196). These mechanisms explain how even false stereotypes can be perpetuated over time. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1373 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

If we are already motivated to want to believe certain things, it doesn’t take much to tip us over to believing them, especially if others we care about already do so. Our inherent cognitive biases make us ripe for manipulation and exploitation by those who have an agenda to push, especially if they can discredit all other sources of information. Just as there is no escape from cognitive bias, a news silo is no defense against post-truth. For the danger is that at some level they are connected. We are all beholden to our sources of information. But we are especially vulnerable when they tell us exactly what we want to hear. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 122 (#builds-on, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Cognitive bias plus curated information feeds industrial post-truth vulnerability — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 122; Social constructivist critics described science’s methods as exploitative and even sexual violence — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 254; A founder of social constructivism publicly regretted that his ideas aided right-wing climate denial — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 285 (+10 more)

Related

• Cognitive biases alone cannot explain post-truth without later media factors (similarity 0.87)
• Cognitive bias plus curated information feeds industrial post-truth vulnerability (similarity 0.86)
• Post-truth predates 2016 with roots in cognitive bias, philosophy, and media change (similarity 0.86)
• Cognitive dissonance strengthens rather than weakens false beliefs under contrary evidence (similarity 0.84)
• Cognitive biases toward group acceptance are the precursor for post-truth (similarity 0.83)
• The post-truth problem’s roots trace directly to academic postmodernism (similarity 0.83)
• People can choose how to react to attempts to manipulate truth (similarity 0.82)
• Fighting post-truth requires doubting one’s own favored beliefs first (similarity 0.81)
• News silos cannot protect audiences from post-truth because both exploit the same biases (similarity 0.80)
• Conspiracy bloggers explicitly cite postmodern relativism to justify distrusting mainstream news. (similarity 0.80)
• Post-truth is a choice of response to reality, not a fixed condition (similarity 0.80)
• Selective perception and forgetting perpetuate false stereotypes over time (similarity 0.80)
• Science’s self-correcting attitude is a model for resisting post-truth. (similarity 0.79)
• Cognitive biases are hardwired parts of human brains rather than avoidable mistakes. (similarity 0.79)
• Postmodernist premises applied to politics yield post-truth reality denial (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Cognitive dissonance strengthens rather than weakens false beliefs under contrary evidence #corroborates (0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1798
• Selective perception and forgetting perpetuate false stereotypes over time #corroborates (0.72) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1373