How Misinformation Spreads On The Internet

Technology





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Why are conspiracy theories so persistent online? Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock

A team of researchers have conducted a five-year-long study on a wide range of Facebook users in a quest to find out how misinformation blossoms online. In their paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they note that it may be due to the nature of so-called “echo chambers,” spaces that allow people to amplify their own belief systems without obstruction.