Repeated exposure makes false claims feel true in the gut

Evidence

The illusory truth effect works psychologically because when you see or hear something repeatedly, your brain becomes faster at responding to the claim – it feels familiar. This is what we call ‘fluency’ and, unfortunately, our brains often misinterpret fluency as a signal for truth. In other words, the brain will imbue claims that we know or have seen before with a higher truth-value. Research finds that one problematic consequence of being repeatedly exposed to fake news is that, over time, people find it less unethical to share misinformation because it starts to feel true. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 73

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines fluency and truthiness, the book’s core mechanism terms.
• XREF: connects to: Repeated exposure converts passive receptivity into active spontaneity and discriminative power — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 530; Repeated exposure alone makes false statements seem more credible to anyone — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 285; Repeating a false claim to debunk it increases its plausibility — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 164 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Repeated exposure alone makes false statements seem more credible to anyone #corroborates (0.97) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 285
• Repeating a statement increases belief in its truth regardless of accuracy #corroborates (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 65
• Repeating a false claim to debunk it increases its plausibility #expands (0.90) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 164
• Some claims remain unbelievable no matter how often repeated #qualifies (0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 71
• Repeated exposure makes people find sharing misinformation less unethical #expands (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 73
• Repetition within echo chambers, not evidence, produces conspiracist assent #exemplifies (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 129
• Repetition substitutes for evidence as validation in new conspiracism #expands (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 15