Mental Health In Literature, Part 3

<p>Our previous session discussed how literature and the media manipulated public opinion and shaped people’s beliefs and behaviours.</p> <p>Today, we have a closer look at Fake News. The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Spectrum and a book reflecting the counterculture movement and challenges the traditional values, institutionalisation and incarceration in the 1960s.</p> <p>Can you guess what it is?</p> <p><br /></p> <p><a href="https://mentalhealthtraining.info/news/relationships/relationships" target="_blank">Propaganda</a> has historically shaped public opinion by disseminating information or ideas to promote a particular agenda and ideology. It often involves emotional appeals, censorship, and distorted presentation of facts.</p> <p><b>Propaganda often involves:</b></p> <ul><li>Deliberately disseminating information or ideas to promote a particular agenda or viewpoint.</li><li>Using emotional appeals.</li><li>Censorship.</li><li>Selective presentation of facts to control public perception.</li></ul> <p><b>Today, fake news continues to manipulate public opinion.</b></p> <p>Fake news is often compelling because it taps into people’s emotions and pre-existing beliefs. It plays on people’s fears, biases, and desires, making it easier for them to be swayed and believe in the false information presented.</p> <p>Some evidence suggests that instilling a new positive belief is more effective than rescinding an existing belief in correcting false beliefs. This is because humans tend to hold on to their beliefs, even if proven wrong.</p> <p>By introducing a new positive belief, individuals may be more inclined to accept the correction as it aligns with their need for cognitive consistency.</p> <p>Therefore, instilling a new positive belief may be a potentially more effective method for correcting false beliefs. </p> <p>Fake news continues to manipulate public opinion today by tapping into those emotions and pre-existing beliefs.</p> <p>Previous examples include Pizzagate, which manufactured ‘news’ that