The Internet Is Worse Than a Brainwashing Machine | The Atlantic
The Internet Is Worse Than a Brainwashing Machine | The Atlantic
www.theatlantic.com
The Internet Is Worse Than a Brainwashing Machine
7 comments
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There's no such thing as a brainwashing machine. Brainwashing is a very specific process that doesn't last long outside of the torture or specific scenario that creates it.
What they mean is a conditioning machine.
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You're right, but I think they are using the term "brainwashing" in a colloquial sense. There's a perception that misinformation on the internet is persuading people into more extreme views, but what the author of this article is arguing is that what is happening more is that online misinformation is allowing people to easily justify beliefs that they have already formed, and quickly and easily get rid of cognitive dissonance associated with encountering information that contradicts their beliefs. This is something that people have always done, but it's become so easy on the modern internet that more and more people are embracing fringe worldviews who might previously have been unable to cognitively support those views.
It's a small difference in the way we think about misinformation online, but I think it's important that we understand what is likely happening. It's not so much that misinformation is changing people's beliefs, but that it's allowing people to hang onto beliefs that contradict reality more easily.
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7 comments
This is, precisely, what morons do. How do you fix stupid?
Re-wash their brain. Get it clean.
Alter the incentive structures of the systems so as to make it unappealing to pedal sensationalism. Change how algorithms work for promoting content so it doesn’t reward rage bait. Don’t have bad behavior be rewarded with attention, especially not when attention is money.