According to Investopedia, the fact that people are more inclined to see repeatedly encountered ideas as valid contributes to the spread of misinformation on social media.
“Faced with this informational overload, we don’t have the mental capacity to process everything in depth. Instead, we rely on a variety of cognitive shortcuts, known as heuristics, to simplify our decision-making process. One of the ways that our brains compensate for our limited cognitive resources is by processing things on a simple, essentially automated level whenever possible.”
The fact is, even if you’re super analytical and highly educated, you can still fall prey to the illusory truth effect, Psychology Today notes. However, you can make others more immune to constantly repeated false claims and counter lies by:
- Using the so-called ‘truth sandwich,’ where you mention the truth, then the falsehood that’s spreading, and then describe the correct info
- Pre-bunking, where you ‘inoculate’ others by preemptively explaining the flawed argumentation techniques that misinformation uses to distort scientific facts
- Focusing on fact-checking, including homing in on accurate rather than entertaining headlines, and asking yourself how truthful statements are
The Bulgaria-based ‘Amazing Maps’ account was created all the way back in May 2020, by Georgi Pamyatnih. It mainly focuses on sharing educational facts about the world, in map form. So far, over the years, the curators of the Instagram account have shared over 800 posts! The account has attracted a sizeable following of 154k followers.
The team running ‘Amazing Maps’ doesn’t just love maps, they actually make them, too. “Amazing Maps was born with the motivation to incorporate geographic and historical identity that you can proudly display on your wall,” the team writes on their website, noting that they hope to “put the world on your wall,” wherever you might be.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, dear Pandas. If you have a spare moment, share yours in the comments below! Which of these maps surprised you the most and why? Were there any that challenged your assumptions about how you see the world?
What is the best map you’ve ever encountered, regardless of the source or when it was made? Let us know below!
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Belgium apologized for the colonial-era abduction of mixed-race children in 2019.
Italy apologized to Libya in 2008 and handed a $5bn investment compensation.
The Netherlands apologized to Indonesia in 2013 for the executions done after WW2.
Britain apologized to Kenya in 2013 and gave a compensation of £20mil.
Japan offered multiple apologies for its imperial past including the atrocities in Korea.
In 2019 Mexico urged Spain to apologize for the colonial abuses but Madrid "firmly rejected".
