(STUDY FINDS) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s a phenomenon that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. “Fake news” and misinformation being spread online has quickly developed into a major problem, and not just in the United States, but globally as well. When examining this issue, most people are quick to point their finger at partisan news outlets, lax social media regulations, and automated misinformation purveying bots. However, an eye-opening new study finds that there is another big source of false information at play here: you!
Researchers from Ohio State University say that it is very common for people, when given credible, legitimate statistics regarding a controversial topic, to misremember that information so that it supports their pre-conceived beliefs and biases.
A group of participants were presented with the true fact that the amount of Mexican immigrants living in the United States has declined in recent years. However, due to many of the participants’ personal political allegiances, they actually tended to remember and recall the exact opposite; that there are more Mexican immigrants present in the U.S. today.
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