Why Our Brains Love Fake News

Representation of brain & stem using sewing and textile threads

Myles Bess breaks down the research around why our brains can so easily make us believe that fake news is real news.

Do you ever have an argument with someone, and no matter how many facts you provide, you just can’t get that person to see it your way? One big reason for this is cognitive bias, which is a limitation in our thinking that can cause flaws in our judgement. Confirmation bias is a specific type of cognitive bias that motivates us to seek out information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that threaten what we believe.

So how can you overcome confirmation bias? It’s tricky, because brain research shows that once a person believes something, facts don’t do a very good job changing their mind. Studies show that when people are presented with facts that contradict what they believe, the parts of the brain that control reason and rationality go inactive. But, the parts of the brain that process emotion light up like the Fourth of July.

In this video, from Above The Noise, Myles dives into the research and offers some tips to combat confirmation bias.