In a recently published (June, 2020) article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, Harvard psychologists Nadia Brashier and Daniel Schacter attempt to explain why older adults are especially susceptible to misinformation and fake news. For example, we older adults (I am 71) shared the most fake news during the 2016 U.S. election. They offer three explanations : 1) cognitive declines, 2) social changes including greater trust, less emphasis on communication accuracy, and greater difficulty in detecting lies, and 3) less familiarity with social media and an inability to identify manipulated media and sponsored content. They argue convincingly that cognitive decline alone cannot explain older adults’ engagement with fake news.
I found this article provocative and it triggered in me a particular interest in DeepFakes. Below are 10 articles that may be of interest as another U.S. election approaches.Hopefully an awareness of DeepFakes will reduce this part of the gap in digital literacy.
Ten articles about DeepFakes:
