Blog Post #10

EOTO 2: Response

Group 3's presentation really caught my attention. I felt those terms resonated with my term, disinformation, as well as they were just important to know. Three terms that stood out to me the most was illusory truth effect, confirmation bias, and spiral of science. These three work to construct false narrative of beliefs. 

First illusory truth effect. Illusory truth effect is essentially repetition equals the truth. A belief or statement that is repeated enough becomes the truth. This is seen in political campaigns, where campaign slogans or promises will continuously be repeated with the end goal of convincing the public their idea is the best. 

The second is confirmation bias. What I found interesting in this presentation was the study of confirmation bias had confirmation bias in its experiment. Confirmation bias is when you seek out data or information that supports your already preconceived belief. This makes you disregard any opposing information.

The third is spiral of science. This one I found the most interesting, especially the story of the emperor. In this story the emperor said he was wearing clothes, and that only smart people would be able to see them. Everyone praised his clothing however, he was not wearing any clothes to begin with. Spiral of science is that you will remain silent if you have the minority view. Whether this is for moral implication like fear of isolation if wrong it becomes an under coverage problem where minority viewpoints aren't being heard. I believe the idea that our identities are anonymous online plays into this. Everyone seems tough behind a computer screen and is not afraid to share their opinion. However when it starts to build up where everyone is sharing there views, having an opposing view, leads to you being attacked for no reason. In today's society there is a need to be accepted and to fit in so people would rather be silenced than canceled.