Have you had this experience? You scroll through your social media feed and see something a bit outrageous. Maybe it’s a news headline that confirms your worst suspicions. You know your like-minded friends would agree with it. So, you share it.   

But ... was it true?

People who study misinformation say it’s easy to fall for misinformation and spread false facts. And once we share them, they have a way of multiplying online and becoming accepted through repetition.     

MPR News Host Angela Davis digs into the psychology of misinformation. What makes us susceptible to it and how can we respond to false information repeated by others?  

The conversation is part of the Talking Sense series online, in person and on the air at MPR News, aiming to help us better understand why political conversations are so polarized. Find more tools for having hard conversations on the Talking Sense app. 

Guests:  

• Panayiota Kendeou is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. Her recent work focuses on identifying, researching and implementing strategies that reduce the impact of misinformation.    




• Sharon McMahon is a former high school government teacher in Duluth who uses social media to combat misinformation.