Misinformation exploits our emotions, Silva tells media platform

NLP’s John Silva explains how misinformation exploits our emotions in the Sept. 29 article Fact or Fake? How to Help Kids & Adults Spot Misinformation Online on the website 30 Seconds. The media platform’s target audience is busy women, and particularly moms.

“Misinformation manipulates our emotions into believing something is true,” Silva says. “If you find yourself experiencing a strong emotional reaction, pause what you’re doing, open a browser tab and search for key details to verify if what you are seeing is accurate.” It turns out that anger, sadness and even humor can make us accept things as true without evaluating them closely enough, especially if it lines up with something we already believe.