Efforts to combat common public myths and falsehoods with good information might actually backfire, according to recent psychological studies, which point to a paradoxical effect: Referring to bad information might only keep it alive in people’s minds.
Depressing, huh? And not a ringing endorsement of the power of human reason.
For instance, many Americans still think Saddam Hussein was behind the Sept. 11 attacks, despite (and perhaps even because of) the many refutations of that notion.
And a survey last year found that an increasing number of Muslims worldwide don’t believe Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks — it was somehow a Jewish conspiracy — despite an aggressive U.S. public information campaign to counter that message on Arab Web sites.
That doesn’t mean rebuttals can’t work; it’s just more difficult than once thought to fight urban myths, especially when someone is inclined, through ideology or self-interest, to believe them.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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89 Comments
Unfortunately, this sounds all too true.
Take for instance the quote attributed to Al Gore that “I invented the internet.”
Of course he never said it, nor anything remotely like it.
What he said was that as a member of Congress, he had a hand in funding research for it because he felt it could have important repercussions.
This is true. The people who really did “invent the internet” like Bennett Cerf have publicly acknowledged Gore’s help at the federal level.
Nevermind. The cheap-shot can’t be killed.
Gore invented the internet. Hahahaha!
Boy, is that funny.
Almost as funny as 4,000 dead Americans in Iraq . . .
Ah yes, the Rosie O’Donnel syndrome.
Another one is the “Its just a GD piece of paper!” comment that G.W. was suppose to have said about the Constitution. Try as I might to find some independent verification, everything always came back to the same source of the quote. And even he attributed it to a un-name source. But it grew legs and became wide spread and quoted by many sources. Though it seems to be there was no real direct quote to it.
The RantBush on the Constitution: ‘It’s just a goddamned piece of paper’By By DOUG THOMPSONDec 5, 2005, 07:53
Last month, Republican Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with President George W. Bush and talk about renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act.
Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and Bob Barr to oppose renewal.
GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.
“I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.”
“Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.”
“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”
I’ve talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution “a goddamned piece of paper………”
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml
I’ve ask the question plenty of times but to no avail.
How do you learn to fly a multi-engine commercial aircraft into a 180 degree turn and recover to hit the mid-way sweet spot a building at over 500 mph?
Not from a crop duster.
Once the fool was sitting in the Oval Office they had 9 months to teach those who did it.
well Ed F, who actually flew those planes if it wasn’t our allies the Sauids?
Saudis
Both building came straight down.
Some engineers knew exactly what to do to make that happen.
They were right about both buildings.
Straight down.
Oh, and the saudis stood to gain what?
We all know who was behind it, and they’ve gotten more than even they ever imagined.
The Saudies?… You’re desperate.
The Saudis were recruited and by whom?
Conspiracy theories are always going to be popular, and they and other urban legends do need to be debunked. For those who wish not to be so gullible, snopes.com is a great site for checking them out. Some people do love being gullible, though, since it feeds their prejudices and gives them a sense of having inside knowledge.
The mere fact that crop dusters were mentioned shows the extent of the disinformation and how much trouble was spent to distribute it.
Crop dusters were used as decoys to explain the training.
All 19 had to be trained, not knowing who might not to show-up or be killed by passengers.
Bin Laden didn’t know how to fly or where the structural defects in the engineering of the building was located.
Bin Laden is just another Zionist patsy in a long list, which, by the way, includes the fool.
The reason these myths stay alive is that people want to listen to or hear whatever validates their beliefs. It’s a challenge to really listen to an opposing view and seriously consider it. I think that’s why we’ve become so polarized. I know people who religiously listen to Rush Limbaugh every day, but even the sound of his voice to me is like dragging nails accross a chalkboard..it might be humanly impossible for me to hear to anything he has to say.
Gosh Mary, I’ve posted several times that The Physicians Desk Reference clearly shows that Birth Control Pills are an abortifacient.
You keep denying it.
I heard an author (name escapes me) yesterday say that most people these days don’t go to the internet today looking for information from thoughtful sources so that they can make up their minds. Rather, they go there looking for validation and support for their own leanings and prejudices.
I think that the internet’s anonymity, and easy access to and seeming validation of fringe ideas, has contributed to a migration to the extremes. People are generally less thoughtful and reasonable.
Can this extreme partisanship possibly be good for this nation?
Mary, I hadn’t seen your post before mine. I guess we are thinking alike this morning.
???, which pills? From what I’ve always been taught, BC pills (the kind that contain estrogen)prevent ovulation. Maybe I’m wrong, it’s been a VERY long time since I’ve had to pay any attention to birth control.
Out, I agree…the internet has been a very effective tool for the spread of false propaganda..the “swift boating” of Kerry was a good example.
Good points outlander. I can’t see where extreme parisanship is helpful.
I read a summary of a neuro-imaging study not long ago that found when people encounter information that is confirming of their pre-existing biases – the brain reacts as if receiving powerful rewards (as in drugs). I am sure there is some evolutionary explanation for this.
Darwin, pass that confirmatory bias pipe, please.
“It’s a challenge to really listen to an opposing view and seriously consider it.”
So true.
???, you’re right, the “progesterone-only” pill prevents the fertilzied egg from implanting in the uterine wall..it’s called the “mini pill” and the combination “estrogen and progesterone pill” prevents ovulation, so there never is an egg to be fertilized. They didn’t have the “mini pill” when I was on the pill..it’s must be a newer form of the pill. Like an IUD, the mini pill allows the egg to be fertilized, but won’t allow it to implant so it can grow.I don’t think they use the IUD anymore, there were a lot of complications with them.
Well, I’ve got to go now; to church, where I’m sure to find validation for my beliefs about God.
But I will pledge to consider today, and not in an adversary manner, a thoughtful opinion with which I don’t agree.
Anyone else?
Not to change the subject, if it were up to me, BC would be in the water, and people couldn’t have kids until they took parenting classes and passed a test. Some people weren’t meant to procreate.
Sounds good to me, Out. Maybe Nathan can convince me that gun control is a bad idea!
I’m not running away..I’m going to fix breakfast and then sit outside while it’s still nice.See ya later.
My ex father in law was an avionics engineer for Delta Airlines… According to him, any of the big airliners can be flown from remote ground control… All that is necessary is for somebody in the cockpit to turn on the ground remote switch… That is all that the hijackers needed to know…
Ed writes:
“Both building came straight down.
Some engineers knew exactly what to do to make that happen.
They were right about both buildings.
Straight down.”
Of course they fell straight down. They couldn’t fall down any other way. Each floor was an ACRE in size. It would have taken huge amounts of energy to push a building like that over on its side. It’s not a freaking drinking glass.
Also, some people try to argue 9-11 was “controlled demolition.” Guess what? Controlled demolition starts at the bottom and goes up.
This started right where the planes hit, at the top . . .
Ed sees a “zionist conspiracy” where there isn’t one and refuses to see the Nazi conspiracy (the holocaust) when there was one.
Go figure.
CapN, I did read one theory that said they actually started with the bottom floors blowing up, and then the others came down… which could work…
Ed has wires crossed somewhere…
Nathan has the strange mythological persistance that ALL Christians believe exactly the same things as he does, or they arent Christians… ROFL
And people still believe that CO2 is involved in Global Warming.
And others actually think GW has only happened once, or only recently.
No one has asked what happened to all those glaciers that used to cover Michigan,Minnesota and Europe….did they melt during the age of the early SUV. Or was their demise due to Goreevents.
No one has asked what happened to all those glaciers that used to cover Michigan,Minnesota and Europe….did they melt during the age of the early SUV. Or was their demise due to Goreevents.
Posted by: mrbill | September 16, 2007 at 12:45 PM
mrbill,Maybe they’re behind the drapes or under the couch where Bush looked for OBL.
A structural-engineering perpective of the collapse of the Twin Towers:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanId=sa013&articleId=000B7FEB-A88C-1C75-9B81809EC588EF21&modsrc=most_popular
Do the really staunch conservatives have a conscience?
Look it up?
It has to be hard to be them. In order to pursue their desired policy they have to bank on Americans being not just misinformed but almost willfully stupid. I’d sure hate to have to base my beliefs on perpetuating that.
Can this extreme partisanship possibly be good for this nation?
Posted by: outlander
Ask Rove, Bush, Cheney, O’Reilly, and Rush if it is better to divide the country or bring it together for the good of all??
If they were honest they would say, “how do you get donations, and votes if you don’t scare people?”
The casino vote shows what happens when you scare people.
more social problems,gamblers will leave their kids locked in cars in the hot sun,gamblers will waste their grocery or rent money,
gamblers are immoral,gamblers are drug addicts,a casino will ruin our wonderful community,
A large group of easily scared people turned out to vote no.
Will the right stop dividing our country for their own gain?
NO they will not.
I find myself some inappropriate compelled to quote musicians, JR:
“Living is easy with eyes, closed, misunderstanding all you see”
– John Lennon
BUT–
“You’re driving with your eyes closed, and you’re gonna hit something, but that’s the way it goes.”
We need to get the wheel away from them!
Typos and all, the second quote is Don Henley (who is a jerk, BTW). ;-)
Out, I agree…the internet has been a very effective tool for the spread of false propaganda..the “swift boating” of Kerry was a good example.
Posted by: Mary Caruso
that and a $28,000,000.00 donation or actually start up money from a rich texan for bush.
We never went to the moon.
Your check is in the mail.
Ed, how could we go to the moon… I mean, the earth is FLAT, isnt it???
Kind of like the 600,000 Iraqi’s that have died according to a poll taken by a University. :D
melt during the age of the early SUV. Or was their demise due to Goreevents.
Posted by: mrbill
It’s always best to remain as ignorant as possible while barely being able to function on a daily basis.
Instead of looking at the problem some people find power by making fun of those who are curious about the facts.
That way people who love to hate find easy targets defined by those who have the most to gain by keeping the public “bare foot and stupid.”
“helping to provide everyone with health care is socialism and there are long lines in Canada.”
which is better a short wait or no health care?
“If you try to do something about global warming it will hurt big corporations.”
Like sending jobs out of the country has helped who? Oh, you rich guys.
Dog, the credibility of “G-D piece of paper” depends on the credibility of Capitol Hill Blue. Unless they’re lying (that’s possible), it appears to be well-sourced.
I wouldn’t put it in the same category as crap like “Al Gore invented the Internet.” I actually was on the email list of the guy who came up with that one. Because he didn’t like Gore, he came up with the heading, and defended it, until the feeding frenzy shamed him into admitting his error.
I think some folks need to read a dictionary now and then to get their definitions of words really burned into their brains… Like Socialism… Communism… Capitalism… Totalitarianism…
Facism…. etc….
Rage — I saw an interview of the guy who has published this new biography of Bush… what’s his name, Baker?? He was on Bill Maher show… He says Bush actually DID say that about the Constitution… And he says his book was approved by Bush’s handlers…
“Ed writes:
“Both building came straight down.
Some engineers knew exactly what to do to make that happen.
They were right about both buildings.
Straight down.”
Of course they fell straight down. They couldn’t fall down any other way.”
With one plane striking a corner, falling to the side would not have been questioned. But my point was that with the shoddy construction put all the weight on those inadequate cross beams, which only emphasized that somebody knew where the weakest points were.
Who: Those who built them { our closest friends who just happened to gain the most and still are milking yet another cash-cow }.
In defense of Bush, I have a certain feeling that a few other Presidents might have said something similar a few times… Like maybe Nixon, or Reagan, or maybe even Clinton… I can sort of understand the frustration, when they want to DO something they believe is right, and somebody throws the Constitution at them and tells them NO…
Guys like that, regardless of party, didnt get where they are, by liking anybody to say NO to them…
I am not defending Bush, on anything but this one matter… I have NOT flipped my lid completely LOL
WE: I didn’t write this: “We never went to the moon.
Your check is in the mail.
Posted by: Ed Friedemann | September 16, 2007 at 01:34 PM”
mrbill,
Human added CO2 is involved in global warming. Also methane, N2O, HFC’s, and SF6.
mrbill should look at Al Gore’s book, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ page 66 and 67.
It has graphs of CO2 and temperature from 600,000 years ago to the present.
The top right point of the temperature graph shows current global temperatures. The bottom right point marks the depth of the last ice age.
Gore wrote, that “represents the difference, in Chicago, between a nice day and a mile of ice over your head.”
Also in the DVD.
WE I Didn’t write this either:”melt during the age of the early SUV. Or was their demise due to Goreevents.
Posted by: mrbill
It’s always best to remain as ignorant as possible while barely being able to function on a daily basis.
Instead of looking at the problem some people find power by making fun of those who are curious about the facts.
That way people who love to hate find easy targets defined by those who have the most to gain by keeping the public “bare foot and stupid.”
“helping to provide everyone with health care is socialism and there are long lines in Canada.”
which is better a short wait or no health care?
“If you try to do something about global warming it will hurt big corporations.”
Like sending jobs out of the country has helped who? Oh, you rich guys.
Posted by: Ed Friedemann | September 16, 2007 at 01:43 PM”
Handy link to the not-Ed troll post. TIA, Phillip!:
http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/2007/09/the-persistence.html#comment-82956573
As Al Gore said in his documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’,
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Upton Sinclair
Rage, What does TIA stand for?
TIA = thanks in advance (for removing the not-Ed troll post).
Transient Ischemic Attack?
Chas,”Ed, how could we go to the moon… I mean, the earth is FLAT, isnt it???”
Actually that makes it easier. Rockets are unnecessary; they just calculated when the moon was about to rise, and walked over.
Thank you, Rage.
Thank you, Cosmos.
Mary, your Kite is in the mail.
Jed, If you’ll pay more than 79 cents for your wine, that’ll quit happening.
Ed,79c? I haven’t paid that much for wine in well over a decade!
Just stay calm, Jed, the Ambulance is on the way { and whatever you do, don’t strike a match }.
It needs to be said:
President Bill Clinton’s administration classified Saddam Hussien’s Iraq as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism”
We are in a war against terrorism.
That Germany did not bomb Pearl Harbor did not stop FDR from going to war with Germany.
We are in a war against terrorism.
Paul, then we should be fighting terrorists not killing Iraqis.
We should not have invaded a sovereign nation to take over its oil.
You support the invasion and the occupation, that is why I say the blood of American soldiers is on your hands.
One thing I noticed at the office is that people are not adept at telling the difference between propaganda and a story that was generated by a credible news source, especially if the propaganda reinforces an existing belief system. “Forwarded” Emails are the worst. You will see some outrageous statement in the subject heading and you know before clicking on the note that it’s going to be a doozy. Then the well-meaning sender will come by your desk later to see if you got the diatribe. Often, the “forwarded” pieces are abysmally written and easily picked apart. Rest assured that no news source can be found anywhere in the message. Nevertheless, the lucky recipient is encouraged to “pass it on to ten people,” so as to regale the rest of the U.S. citizenry with the silky prose and the rigorously vetted reportage. The whole trophy experience reminds me of that John Kennedy Toole novel, “A Confederacy of Dunces,” with Ignatius Reilly and his poor mamma and Patrolman Mancuso and Santa. Whoa!
“And he says his book was approved by Bush’s handlers…”
Chas,
He also said Bush isn’t stupid, just petulant…like a child…and doesn’t like to be told he can’t or shouldn’t do something. I’m surprised he didn’t mention the tantrums. Or did he? Gotta watch again or wait for the transcript.
We have killed thousands of terrorists in Iraq.
If any country came onto my street with their tanks and their armed soldiers I would be considered a terrorist. What adult would not protect their homes and families from invading occupiers?
While a few truly evil people may have been killed, hundreds of thousands of innocents have died in this unjust and unnecessary war of bush’s choice.
TRTaliaferro
I have an easy solution for those chain emails. I do not read them and when the sender asks me about them, I tell them I did not read it and I have now blocked their account for sending me spam. They try sputtering that it was not spam and get upset when I show them the definition of spam.
LindaHillary voted for this war.
Will you vote for Hillary?
Kerry voted for this war (Before he voted against it)
Did you vote for Kerry?
Linda
By your definition, and by your reasoning, you would not have supported Patton as his tanks truly liberated Europe?
War is a terrible thing.
Communism, Fascism, Slavery, surrender and many other things are worse than war.
The choice was between bush and Kerry. In my opinion (which has proven true) there was NO CHOICE. Of course I voted for Kerry.
I hope Hillary isn’t the Democratic candidate but if she is I will vote for her.
And your argument isn’t very accurate. The vote was AS A LAST RESORT force could be used. Also, the adults of the world long ago saw how poorly the wrong decision was administered. Even those who felt invading Iraq was right have for the most part realized the error of their ways today.
Rox — yes something was mentioned about tantrums… not sure if it was Maher, or the book’s author… Should be a re-run on HBO… check your schedule!
Also, the adults of the world long ago saw how poorly the wrong decision was administered. Posted by: lindainks55 | September 16, 2007 at 08:19 PM
That would be the “whining” adults then. :)
Ummm Why do you think they called him “blood and guts” Patton?? It was HIS guts, and YOUR blood… My Dad was in the European Theatre under Patton, in WW II… He HATED the General…
Well, time for dinner, and taking a little walk… again…
Get your facts straight:
I appreciate the tip, and don’t think for a minute that I haven’t considered your strategy. However, I prefer not to get people riled up too much at the office and I err on the side of playing the diplomatic game. No doubt this is mostly done so that I will be in the loop on doughnut day.
BTW, Dad would be 94 this year… and the only Democrat he ever voted for was Dan Glickman… and that was because Glickman was nice to Dad and Mom on a plane trip back home from Pennsylvania… LOL
Ummm Why do you think they called him “blood and guts” Patton?? It was HIS guts, and YOUR blood… My Dad was in the European Theatre under Patton, in WW II… He HATED the General…
Your father was in the minority based on the reports I have seen about Patton. Most of the people were glad to be under Patton because they knew he would do his best to keep them alive. He knew you did not win the war by getting your soldiers needlessly killed. Other Allied leaders were the opposite.
It was everyone’s (Americans) guts, not just Patton’s, and the blood reference was about spilling the other guys’ (Nazis) blood, not American blood. One of his best quotes, although I have heard said in a slightly different manner, but the point was the same:
Don’t be a fool and die for your country. Let the other sonofabitch die for his.
A couple of others:
“A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.”
“Do everything you ask of those you command.”
“Do more than is required of you.”
“That would be the “whining” adults then. :) ”
Posted by: the troll Kansas | September 16, 2007 at 08:21 PM
No, that would be the better informed, more intelligent, and more rational adults of the world.
And the events since the 2003 invasion have proved them correct.
Here’s a good article propagating the Iraq war is over oil myth, which Greenspan also propagates in his new book!http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/opedne_rob_kall_070916_greenspan_misses_che.htm
Yeah, Phantom, I haven’t heard the reich-wing explain that “myth” yet . . .
By the time we’re done we could have bought most of their oil reserves!
These kinds of myths serve to explain what is essentially unexplainable, and to give meaning to what often has no meaning. It’s hard to believe a loser like Lee Oswald could kill a beloved president, so in order to bring balance to what is so out of balance, the conspiracy myth arises.
The myth of the WTC (pick your favorite – there’s no evidence behind any) serves a similar purpose; as the war in Iraq drags on, misconceived and mismanaged, TWC myths serve to give explanation, to balance out one disaster with another.
The myths become powerful, and impossible to stamp out. Even today, without a shread of evidence and in the face of overwhelming testimonial and forensic evidence, millions of Americans believe that a shooter on the “grassy knoll” killed Kennedy. Oliver Stone’s Hollywood fantasy fueled that myth. It demonstrates the power of myth. That is even more true in the age of the internet, where a myth spreads like wildfire seemingly overnight.
As John Ford put it: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” (we’ll see who gets the reference . . . )
And having the tin-foil types like Ed propogating same doesn’t help . . .
That Germany did not bomb Pearl Harbor did not stop FDR from going to war with Germany.
Posted by: Econ101 | September 16, 2007 at 04:48 PM
Some High school history that you seemed to have missed: When we declared war on Japan, Germany, their axis power ally, declared war on us. Duh!
Absolutely right, S D
Steven
So, should we invade every country that declares war on the United States??
Did not Saddam, in effect, declare war on the United States by refusing to honor the 18 UN Resolutions, and by shooting at our aircraft, and by financing terrorist attacks that killed Americans?
Japan BOMBED an American base. However, we first went to ground-war in Europe.
Probably the best strategy, at the time.
However, History does NOT support the idea that we can only attack that segment of the enemy coalition that attacked the United States!
Saddam did not plan 9-11.
Saddam supported and celebrated 9-11.
Hitler did not plan Pearl Harbor.
Hitler supported and celebrated the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The idea that Saddam Hussein posed the same level of threat to the United States as Germany and Japan in WW2 is so stupid that only a reich-wing nut could believe it.
Yikes, don’t get me started on MYTHS! lmdao