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Americans share fake news to fit in with social circles

  • Journalism and Facts
  • Social Media and Internet
  • Politics

Fear of exclusion contributes to spread of fake news, research finds

Read the journal article

  • Tribalism and Tribulations (PDF, 495KB)

WASHINGTON — Both conservative and liberal Americans share fake news because they don’t want to be ostracized from their social circles, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“Conformity and social pressure are key motivators of the spread of fake news,” said lead researcher Matthew Asher Lawson, PhD, an assistant professor of decision sciences at INSEAD, a business school in France. “If someone in your online tribe is sharing fake news, then you feel pressure to share it as well, even if you don’t know whether it’s false or true.”

The research was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

The proliferation of fake news contributes to increasing political polarization and distrust of democratic institutions, according to the Brookings Institution. But fake news doesn’t always proliferate due to dark motives or a call for action. The researchers began studying the issue after noticing people in their own social networks sharing fake news seemingly without malicious intent or ideological purpose.

“Political ideology alone doesn’t explain people’s tendency to share fake news within their social groups,” Lawson said. “There are many factors at play, including the very basic desire to fit in and not to be excluded.”

One experiment analyzed the tweets and political ideology of more than 50,000 pairs of Twitter users in the U.S., including tweets sharing fake or hyper-partisan news between August and December 2020. (Political ideology was determined through a network-based algorithm that imputes ideology by looking at the types of accounts Twitter users follow.) The number of tweets between pairs of Twitter users in the same social circles were measured. Twitter users were less likely to interact with each other over time if one of them shared a fake news story and the other did not share that same story. The same effect was found regardless of political ideology but was stronger for more right-leaning participants.

A second experiment analyzed 10,000 Twitter users who had shared fake news in the prior test, along with another group that was representative of Twitter users in general. Twitter users who had shared fake news were more likely to exclude other users who didn’t share the same content, suggesting that social pressures may be particularly acute in the fake news ecosystem.

Across several additional online experiments, participants indicated a reduced desire to interact with social connections who failed to share the same fake news. Participants who were more concerned about the social costs of not fitting in were also more likely to share fake news.

While fake news may seem prolific, prior research has found that fake news only accounts for 0.15% of Americans’ daily media consumption, and 1% of individuals are responsible for 80% of fake news sharing. Other research found that election-related misinformation on Twitter decreased by 73% after Donald Trump was banned from the platform.

Many complex factors contribute to people’s decisions to share fake news so reducing its spread is difficult, and the role of social media companies isn’t always clear, Lawson said.

“Pre-bunking” methods that inform people about the ways that misinformation spreads and highlighting the importance of the accuracy of news can help reduce the spread of fake news. However, finding ways to ease the social pressure to conform in online spaces may be needed to start winning the war on misinformation, Lawson said.

Article: “Tribalism and Tribulations: The Social Costs of Not Sharing Fake News,” Matthew Asher Lawson, PhD, INSEAD, Shikhar Anand, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and Hemant Kakkar, PhD, Duke University, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published online March 9, 2023.

Certainly, here's an article on "Heart Disease" with 1000 words:

Heart Disease: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Heart disease is a broad term that covers a range of conditions that affect the heart. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 17.9 million people die each year from cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease. Understanding the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for heart disease is essential to preventing and managing this condition.

Symptoms

The symptoms of heart disease can vary depending on the type and severity of the condition. However, some common symptoms include:

  1. Chest pain or discomfort
  2. Shortness of breath
  3. Irregular heartbeat
  4. Fatigue or weakness
  5. Dizziness or lightheadedness
  6. Nausea or vomiting

If you experience any of these symptoms, it's important to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Causes

Heart disease can have many causes, including:

  1. High blood pressure
  2. High cholesterol
  3. Smoking
  4. Diabetes
  5. Family history of heart disease
  6. Physical inactivity
  7. Obesity
  8. Stress

Some of these risk factors, such as family history, cannot be changed. However, others, such as smoking and physical inactivity, can be modified to reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Treatment

The treatment for heart disease will depend on the type and severity of the condition. Some common treatments include:

  1. Medications, such as aspirin, statins, and beta-blockers
  2. Lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet
  3. Medical procedures, such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery

In some cases, a combination of these treatments may be necessary to manage heart disease effectively.

Prevention

Preventing heart disease is essential to reducing the risk of developing this condition. Some strategies for preventing heart disease include:

  1. Maintaining a healthy weight
  2. Exercising regularly
  3. Eating a healthy diet that is low in saturated and trans fats
  4. Quitting smoking
  5. Managing stress
  6. Controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol
  7. Getting regular check-ups with a doctor

By taking these steps, you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease and improve your overall health and well-being.

Conclusion

Heart disease is a serious condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Understanding the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for heart disease is essential to preventing and managing this condition. By making healthy lifestyle choices and seeking medical treatment when necessary, you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease and lead a healthy, active life.

Tennis requires cat-like reflexes with short bursts of strength. These short movements do not allow the muscles to extend their full length. When muscles are strenuously worked they become tight and can lose their elasticity unless properly stretched. Yoga exercises can increase the body’s range of motion. The lack of movement because of inflexibility binds the joints. Without the elasticity of the muscles, I think an athlete can be a prisoner of his own body.

Using yoga techniques makes it possible to retrain the muscles. Most tennis athletes play in a constant state of muscle tension. Yoga trains the body to relax muscle tension. Learning to begin your game in a relaxed state could mean gaining an extra step on the ball.

When in ready position muscles are contracted and ready for action. To move, muscles must be relaxed and then contracted again to spring in any direction. By retraining the muscles you begin from a relaxed position, giving a quickened reaction time.

Yoga breathing exercises can help improve endurance and stamina. When exerting in sports or exercise we often hold the breath as a way to create strength. Yoga trains the body to create strength through breathing control. Holding the breath at points of exertion takes a great deal of energy that could be used during long sets or matches.

Learning the correct way while doing a yoga pose is simple. Exhale during the execution of a pose until you feel the muscles’ full length of the stretch (maximum resistance). Never hold your breath. Breathe normally and listen to the body. Hold for 30 seconds, then release the pose slowly. By constant practice of yoga poses you’ll soon apply breathing techniques in everyday routines.

A simple spine twist is excellent for rotational sports. It can help increase the needed flexibility of the shoulders and back and hips. Remember to apply the breathing technique to this pose.

Begin the spine twist by sitting on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you. Keeping the spine straight, bend the left leg placing the left foot on the outside of the right knee. Now, place the left hand on the floor behind you with your arm straight and the right elbow bent. Positioned on the outside of the left thigh place the right hand on the left hip.

Slowly exhale while turning the head and upper body to the left, looking over the left shoulder. Pressure from the right arm should keep the left leg stationary while pressure from the left arm and torso gives you the twist. Stronger use of both arms increases the twist. Hold this pose for 30 seconds and repeat twist on the opposite side.