Do you truly know? Or have you just “heard”?

This may seem a bit of a departure, but I’ve been thinking a lot about mis- and disinformation recently.

In response to my message to you last week I heard back from someone who insightfully said “I think that the pressure to have an opinion about all these causes leads us to be susceptible to misinformation and disinformation.”

Wow, yeah. And not just susceptible, actually drawn to those incorrect statements because their certainty is comforting.

First of all, terms. Misinformation is something that is presented as fact but is incorrect. A subset of misinformation is actually disinformation: something that is presented to be fact but the person presenting knows it to be incorrect – and puts it out there as true anyway.

A lot of misinformation – and just about all disinformation – is presented with a strong viewpoint, one that makes us feel like agreeing means we are on the side of the Right and the Just. That we don’t need to learn more, or look for counterfactuals (arguments against) or decide anything for ourselves except to believe. And what a relief that is! No work needed as long as we slide in to agreeing, and even better if we stand up and shout (or post or “like”) this same information. Agreeing out loud gives us not only relief from the obligation of learning and thinking and deciding, but also the dopamine hit of belonging.

It takes a lot more resilience to say “I don’t know if I agree, I’ll need to learn more” than it does to swallow ideas whole and unexamined.

And the way our brains are wired, hearing something repeatedly – even if it’s wrong – begins to “sound true” and “feel true” when really that is just the way we respond to repetition. So we believe we know, when all that’s true is that we’ve heard the same thing several times.

Which brings me back, I guess, to the point of last week’s message. There is a third option. Rather than believe something is true because we’ve heard it, OR try to find the resilience to learn and decide about every issue, we could pause. Not have an opinion, and ignore the pressures to have one. Abstain from choosing a “side” unless and until you feel the need to learn more.

Do you think you have any things you believe to be true that might have been more a result of hearing other people’s opinions several times? I know learning about the ways that disinformation succeeds has made me question many of my own “certainties.” I’d be honored to hear about one of yours, if you’d be so kind as to tell me.

All my best,

Dr. G