Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/F2wbdM4T7EA

There is an epidemic of lies on the internet, and we are all confronted daily with so-called news that is, in fact propaganda.  Just as your brain can be conned, it is possible to train it to withstand these attacks with an electronic from of BS repellent.

The UK’s University of Cambridge and its Social Decision-Making Lab have developed a browser game called Bad News that can help your brain withstand the assault of half-truths and frank lies.  A group of 15,000 test subjects played the game for only 15 minutes yet afterward were 24% more likely to dismiss fake headlines and tweets, 20% less likely to fall for a false conspiracy, and 19% more likely to believe a legitimate new source that was being smeared and trolled online.

You can and should try the game yourself at getbadnews.com. With the upcoming, critical elections, we all must be more sophisticated and discerning consumers of the news.  And a can of BS repellent on your phone won’’t hurt either!

Jon Roozenbeek & Sander van der Linden. Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation. Palgrave Communications, 2019 DOI: 10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9

https://getbadnews.com

#Fakenews #lies #conspiracies #trolling