2 ms·
We've inherited this rationalist idea that people form opinions as the result of careful consideration and weighing of evidence. This is mostly false. Evidence
by glial 5y ago
We've inherited this rationalist idea that people form opinions as the result of careful consideration and weighing of evidence. This is mostly false. Evidence suggests that people form ideas from (1) group-membership and (2) repetition. If this is true, imagine you were a person trying to influence public opinion and had access to social media. An obvious strategy would be to...
1. Create an account with clear political affiliations (american flags, laser eyes, pronouns, etc in the bio). This establishes group membership.
2. Repeat a basic message over and over and over.
This is exactly what we're seeing.
I'm 100% for allowing free and open debates. I'm not for bot- or state-controlled accounts trying to sway public opinion.