Perspective: Truth decayFake News Makes People “Remember” False Memories – Study
A new study found that people can form false memories after reading fake news stories, especially if those stories support their biases and own political beliefs. Participants in the study did not reconsider their memory even after being told that some of the stories they read could be fabricated with several even recounting details not included in the stories. “Memory is a reconstructive process and we are vulnerable to suggestion distorting our recollections, without our conscious awareness,” the lead researcher told BBC.
A new study by Dr. Gillian Murphy of the University College Cork in Ireland found that people can form false memories after reading fake news stories, especially if those stories support their biases and own political beliefs.
Kyle Chua writes in the Rappler that in the study, 3,140 participants were shown 6 news reports about Ireland’s 2018 abortion law referendum. Two of these were fabricated stories about campaigners on either side of the issue engaging in illegal activity. The participants were then asked if they had heard of the events depicted in the story previously. If so, they were asked to recall specific memories about it.
Nearly half of the participants “remembered” a memory about one of the made-up events – many of them even shared “rich details. They also did not reconsider their memory even after being told that some of the stories they read could be fabricated with several even recounting details not included in the stories.
“Memory is a reconstructive process and we are vulnerable to suggestion distorting our recollections, without our conscious awareness,” Murphy told BBC.
