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Episode 29: Why do people share false information — and what can we do about it?

In the latest episode of PsychCrunch, we explore the psychology of misinformation and learn how to talk to someone who is promoting conspiracy theories.

26 January 2022

By PsychCrunch

Why do people share false information?

In this episode, our presenters Ginny Smith and Jon Sutton explore the psychology of misinformation. They hear about the factors that make people more or less likely to share misinformation, discuss strategies to correct false information, and learn how to talk to someone who is promoting conspiracy theories.

Our guests, in order of appearance, are Tom Buchanan, Professor of Psychology at the University of Westminster, and Briony Swire-Thompson, senior research scientist at Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute.

Episode credits:

Presented and produced by Ginny Smith, with additional reporting by Jon Sutton.

Script edits by Matthew Warren.

Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler.

PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler.

Art work by Tim Grimshaw.

Relevant research from our guests includes: