Why fake news stories thrive online

“Terrorists are funding 20% of Hillary’s campaign.”

“Obama told illegal immigrants to vote.”

“Tim Kaine will ban the Catholic Church from the US if they don’t change their stance on same sex marriage.”

If, however, the news you post is fake, outsiders are more likely to be outraged. If you stand by it tenaciously, they may call you a fool or a liar. This infuriated response makes posting fake news a convincing signal of your allegiance to your in-group. By demonstrating that you are willing to sacrifice your ties to and your reputation among the outsiders, you prove the authenticity of your commitment.

Furthermore, stoking conflict with outsiders strengthens the in-group’s cohesion. This, too, raises the status of the person who posts a hotly contested story, especially when tensions are high.

These dynamics explain why fact checking can be counterproductive. When a story that a community believes is proved fake by outsiders, belief in it becomes an article of faith, a litmus test of one’s adherence to that community’s idiosyncratic worldview. The two sides will perceive that they have no common ground or understanding of truth, and the story becomes an even more potent signal of identity and catalyst of discord.

This is why when signaling identity is the reason for sharing news, fake news is hard to uproot. It proves the poster’s commitment to the community by demonstrating willingness to sacrifice outside relationships.

Recognizing this helps us craft more productive responses:

• First, follow the now-old adage, “Don’t feed the trolls.” If someone posts a fake story, and you think they have simply been duped, certainly it is useful to point out the error with a more reliable source. Please do graciously. No one likes to be publicly humiliated. Sometimes a private message is better. But if you think the posting is really about proclaiming identity, ignore it. Don’t amplify its value by arguing. And if you must say something, here a private message is really better — you can convey your disapproval without providing the public display of discord that just strengthens their signal.
• Second, help promote a culture that reveres veracity. Check your sources before you post anything. Support newspapers and other organizations that do good, reliable reporting. Discourage people in your own community when they promote stories that feel good to you, but are, alas, untrue.
• Third, appreciate humor. Like fake news, jokes and satire are markers of identity — funny to insiders, and often incomprehensible or offensive to outsiders. They may be tasteless, they may be divisive but unlike fake news, they are not an assault on truth.

Information can bring people together or drive them apart. Sharing false information, or fake news, is divisive. It’s about claiming a separate territory, with its own rules and logic. Sharing true information is, ideally, the opposite. It’s about unifying people, not only rallying the ones who agree, but also persuading the ones who do not; it provides a common ground.

Ultimately, to remove the appeal of fake news, people need to value debate and discussion. They need to value reaching across to different communities, to discuss and debate; they need to choose not to build walls against the Other, but to engage and persuade.