How Do We Deal with Disinformation?

<p>[NOTE: This episode was originally published under our sister-podcast, Weekly Grooves. We are republishing it here to share relevant behavioral science information. We hope you enjoy it.]</p> <p>We saw an article in The Atlantic that caught our attention because of its hook into behavioral science: our willingness to believe disinformation. In this week’s episode, we talk about the underlying behavioral science into why we humans are so susceptible to information that is not accurate.</p> <p>What can we do? We can use the OODA loop to interrupt our too-quick decision to simply accept suspicious content: Observe – Orient – Decide – Act. The OODA loop, in a very simplistic manner uses these four elements in this way: to take in and observe the context in which you’re seeing this information; orient yourself with the source in a critical way; make a decision by asking, “if this is from someone I might not trust, would I still believe it?”; and take action by deleting content created to DIS-inform you.  </p> <p>And since our podcast is relatively new, we are very interested in knowing how you think we’re doing. Please leave us a review or drop us a line. @THoulihan or @WhatMotivates</p> <p>Disinformation: “False information, which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.”</p> <p>Misinformation: “False or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.”</p> <p>Conspiracy Theory: “A belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event.”</p> <p>© 2020 Weekly Grooves / © 2020 Behavioral Grooves</p> <p> </p> Links <p>“The Billion Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President,” by McKay Coppins in The Atlantic: <a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-2020-disinformation-war/605530/'>https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-2020-disinformation-war/605530/</a></p> <p>The Donation of Constantine: <a href=