Author(s): Sander van der Linden

Psychology / Sociology:

How do people come to believe in misinformation? How and why does it spread? And what can we do about it? 'In an era increasingly filled with half-truths, fake news, and misinformation, I am not here to tell you what to believe. I want to provide you with a guide to how your brain grapples with matters of fact and fiction; a toolbox to help sniff out attempts to influence your opinion through the dark arts of manipulation. A vaccine, if you will, against misinformation.' In Foolproof, one of the world's leading experts in social psychology, Dr Sander van der Linden, aka Cambridge's 'Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher' describes how to inoculate oneself against the spread of misinformation, discern fact from fiction and push back against methods of mass persuasion. Everyone is susceptible to fake news. There are polarising narratives in society, conspiracy theories are rife, fake experts dole out misleading advice and accuracy is often lost in favour of sensationalist headlines. So how and why does misinformation spread if we're all aware of its existence? And, more importantly, what can we do about it? Dr van der Linden takes us through the common traits of conspiratorial thinking and equips us with the eleven antigens needed to help stop the spread of misinformation once and for all.