The Power of Familiarity and Repetition

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A lot of the psychological theory also talks about the power of familiarity and repetition. This reminds me of George Lekoff's work on if you're issuing a correction or if you see something false, put it into a truth sandwich. In a headline with 40 characters, you don't have the chance to do that truth sandwich. A lot of the evidence is where possible lead with the truth. But the challenge is in the headline, we shouldn't really be repeating the falsehood in the headline.

How can tech companies help flatten the curve? First and foremost, they must address the lethal misinformation and disinformation circulating on their platforms. The problem goes much deeper than fake news, according to Claire Wardle, co-founder and executive director of First Draft. She studies the gray zones of information warfare, where bad actors mix facts with falsehoods, news with gossip, and sincerity with satire. “Most of this stuff isn't fake and most of this stuff isn't news,” Claire argues. If these subtler forms of misinformation go unaddressed, tech companies may not only fail to flatten the curve — they could raise it higher.