The pervasive spread of misinformation can be tracked to cognitive limitations, social influence and the global spread of online networks. C
Excerpt:
“Pluralistic ignorance, groupthink and polarization are all known to be ‘emergent’ effects that arise naturally under suitable conditions. This self-organizing behavior of groups is often not understood, and frequently attributed to other causes. It is also why governments, media and public are often caught by surprise when groups suddenly emerge promoting strange agendas.
“The above group behaviors emerge spontaneously when individual failures in cognition interact and lead to dysfunctional group behaviours. They are driven by a deep social drive for safety in a group. This fuels errors in the way we think and leads people to take the ‘safe’ route and follow the crowd.”
