HAYWIRE Issue 10 Fall 2017

Economic Perspectives).
The deterioration of trust occurred
particularly amongst
Republicans in 2016 as a
possible effect of the republicans’
presidential candidate,
Donald J. Trump,
thematizing his distrust in
mainstream media repeatedly.
This, along with the oversaturation
of information
from various media platforms
lead to filter bubbles
in which an individual can
pick and choose
the tidbits of information
which he
or she is partial to.
Especially the bipartisan
party system
established in
the United States
can lead to the alluring
nature of
believing this rhetoric,
and discounting any
news outlets that criticize
a persons beliefs.
Confirmation bias and
a lack of fact-checking then
leads the recipients of both
fake and valid news to only
brand the articles in their favour
as credible. In a political
system where two parties
present a very polarized and
emotional pair of values this
subconscious phenomenon
occurs even more frequently,
since the notion of accepting
information in the favour of
opposition puts most people
in a quite vulnerable and uncomfortable
position. Adding
another element of doubt
in certain media outlets, and
suffusing the market with
fake news in a certain party’s
favour then suddenly
becomes a quite plausible
strategy, since most individuals
will lack the critical
motivation to check whether
the information they have
consumed includes a trace
of authenticity. Instead they
Photo by Finnegan Wagner, 11d
allow themselves to dismiss
or believe something on the
basis of whether it applauds
their already set morals. Professor
Patrick Leman, executive
dean at the Institute of
Psychiatry, Psychology &
Neuroscience explains this
quite cohesively. “People
are always looking for information
that confirms their
beliefs, in the short term,
fake news can even help
with self-esteem. But it’s a
quick fix - the more you do
it, the more you need it and
the more you move away
from reality.” In any situation
the realization of logical
flaws in one’s conviction
subverts the own ego, and
so the notion labeling anything
else as false presents a
uniquely seductive opportunity.
However this behaviour
provokes fatal consequences
when it leads people to
support political ideologies
that do not benefit them.
This art of manipulation
changes the media
landscape and
maneuvers it into
a position politicians
can benefit
from. It corrodes
the credence attributed
to the
more reliable and
established media
outlets by allowing
people to
choose the most comforting
message while dismissing
all else as fake news, which
can be almost even more
dangerous than the simple
naivety of believing a false
story. It can also lead to a
certain parties’ or individuals’
image being heavily
distorted. Overall the anomaly
of fraudulent reporting
destabilizes a political system
by causing an increase
in disbelief and paranoia,
and enabling people to act
on their inherent biases and
feelings instead of logic.
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HAYWIRE Issue 10 Fall 2017