Are the Smartest People the Most Easily Deceived? The Terrifying Trap of Post-Truth

Do you ever feel like "lies are spreading everywhere"?

However, the problem we are facing is not just that "there are more liars." It is a more serious situation where whether something is a fact or not is no longer considered important.

In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary chose "Post-Truth" as its word of the year. It was the year of Brexit and the election of President Trump. This term means a situation in which "objective facts are less influential than appeals to emotion and personal belief".

Why do people believe emotions over facts? Where did these tactics originate? And how should we deal with them?

In this article, we will get to the heart of what post-truth really is.

"Bullshit" is more troublesome than "lies"

To understand post-truth, it is important to distinguish between "Lying" and "Bullshit".

People who lie know what the truth is and try to hide it. In other words, they are conscious of the truth.

On the other hand, people who talk bullshit have no interest in the truth. Their goal is not to "convey facts," but rather "to win an argument" or "to attract attention".

In the information space of the SNS era, "whether it goes viral" tends to be prioritized over accuracy. This structure has become a breeding ground for bullshit.

A surprising origin: The tobacco industry's "manufacture of doubt"

Post-truth tactics did not emerge suddenly. Their origins date back to the tobacco industry in the 1950s.

At the time, scientific evidence linking smoking to lung cancer was mounting. How did the tobacco industry counter this?

They did not deny science; they manufactured "doubt."

"It hasn't been fully proven yet," "Experts are still divided on the issue"—they strategically spread these phrases to blur consumer judgment.

This method was subsequently passed down to climate change denial and the anti-vaccine movement, and eventually "evolved" into a weapon to attack political facts such as election results and crime statistics.

Are the smartest people the most at risk? The trap of cognitive bias

People who think "I won't be deceived" need to be the most careful.

The human brain has a tendency called "confirmation bias." This is the psychology of gathering information that aligns with one's beliefs while ignoring information that contradicts them.

Even more troublesome is "motivated reasoning." This is a phenomenon where one mobilizes all their intelligence to construct arguments to justify the conclusions they want to believe.

Surprisingly, there is research suggesting that the more intellectually capable a person is, the stronger this tendency becomes. Because intelligent people are skilled at "justifying information that suits them" and "constructing counterarguments," they end up reinforcing their false beliefs even more firmly.

Why Fake News Spreads "Six Times Faster"

An MIT research team analyzed the spread of information on Twitter and discovered a shocking fact.

False information spreads about six times faster than news based on facts.

The reasons are "novelty" and "emotional appeal." Fake news is often designed to evoke surprise, anger, or fear. And humans are creatures who want to share information that stirs their emotions.

In addition, the "filter bubble," where algorithms prioritize information users like, and the "echo chamber," where only people with the same opinions gather, amplify biased beliefs.

Now that the "gatekeeper" function of information, once held by newspapers and television, has weakened, this structural problem has become serious.

Why Conspiracy Theories Feel "Comfortable"

It is easy to dismiss people who believe in conspiracy theories as "stupid." However, that misses the essence of the problem.

Conspiracy theories have a psychological "function."

The world we live in is complex, and unreasonable events happen randomly. This creates anxiety.

By providing a narrative that "someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes," conspiracy theories bring order to chaos. Psychologically, it is easier to accept that "bad guys are manipulating things" than that "the world is nonsensical."

Unless you understand this "anxiety-relieving function," it becomes difficult to deal effectively with conspiracy theories.

Fact-Checking Is Not Enough

So, how should we deal with this?

Unfortunately, "presenting facts does not necessarily mean the other person will change their mind." In fact, it can sometimes have the opposite effect. This is called the "backfire effect."

When you try to refute them, the other person becomes defensive and may even strengthen their beliefs.

A method considered effective is "prebunking." This is a "psychological vaccine" that explains the tactics (emotional manipulation, fake experts, cherry-picking, etc.) before you encounter misinformation.

Also, when engaging in dialogue with someone who holds false beliefs, it is important to have an attitude of empathy toward the background—the anxiety or sense of alienation—that led them to hold those beliefs.

What we can do

Finally, here is a summary of points for surviving the post-truth era.

Make it a habit to verify your sources. Who is sharing this, and for what purpose?

Be aware of your own emotions. When you feel anger or fear, it may be a sign of information manipulation.

Understand the nature of science. Science is not an "absolute truth," but a "process that continues to be updated based on evidence."

And above all—

Maintain the intellectual humility to accept that "I, too, could be deceived."

Because the moment you think "I'm safe," you become most susceptible to the traps of cognitive bias.

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