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Misinformation follows a pattern
Misinformation typically involves a difficult-to-verify statement, a profit motive, and an audience that finds the lie comforting.
Misinformation is strategic falsehood
Liars use falsehoods to influence thoughts and actions in ways the truth would not.
People accept comforting lies
Some people are receptive to misinformation because lies can feel better than truth and help them cope with guilt or justify bad actions.
Hard-to-check falsehoods spread
False statements that are difficult to verify, especially those reinforcing a worldview, spread easily because they provide psychological comfort.
Communication shapes action
Communication usually tries to influence a listener's thoughts or actions, directly or indirectly.
Lying serves the liar's interests
A liar tries to shape another person's thoughts and actions in ways that benefit the liar's own interests.
Lying erodes trust
Lying is unacceptable because it causes people to lose trust in the messenger.
Society requires trust
For society to function, trust must exist.
Verification separates truth
Feedback or verification is essential for distinguishing true statements from false ones.
No verification causes harm
Without the ability to discern truth from fiction, people may act against their interests and trust liars.
End-of-life truth is unclear
Knowing a distressing truth shortly before death may have little practical value, so the case for telling it is unclear.
Truth is valued for utility
People generally prefer true things because they provide utility and can improve or enrich life.
Truth can be unpleasant
Some truths, such as bad medical news, are likely to feel negative when heard.
Truth eventually catches up
People prefer truth in hard cases because reality eventually forces them to confront falsehoods.
Answers help people move on
Knowing what happened, such as about a family tragedy, helps a person avoid confusion and move on.
Trust underlies civilization
Trust is essential for civilization because people cannot verify every part of society themselves and must rely on others.
Humans cannot verify everything
Humans do not have time to independently verify every complex thing in society.