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1 results

  • Chapter 6 - Avoiding and Overcoming Misinformation on the Internet

  • Edited by Robert J. Sternberg, Cornell University, New York, Diane F. Halpern, Claremont McKenna College, California
  • Book:
    Critical Thinking in Psychology
    Published online:
    19 December 2019
    Print publication:
    16 January 2020, pp 125-151

  • Summary

    Because anyone can publish their thoughts on the Internet without professional gatekeeping, readers routinely encounter misinformation. Unfortunately, people appear to forego critical thinking when reading online. On the one hand, readers appear to prioritize inaccurate information that allows them to preserve their pre-existing misconceptions. On the other hand, readers with accurate pre-existing understandings are also prone to acquiring new misinformation they encounter on the Internet. Critical thinking can help people overcome pre-existing misconceptions through a comparison process with accurate conceptions, as can critically evaluating website credibility based on available source features. Critical thinking can also help people avoid or quickly discard novel misinformation they encounter through an evaluation of the trustworthiness of the information sources. Digital technologies can play a major role in training students how to avoid, detect, and handle misinformation on the web, although they may require long periods of instruction to maximize learning.