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posted by chromas on Wednesday September 12 2018, @02:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the That's-what-they-WANT-you-to-think dept.

In the Salon

There seems to be a lot of science being thrown at the "Trump Phenomenon." Salon covers yet another, and interviews the author.

A new paper, recently presented at the American Political Science Association's annual convention, suggests a widespread motive driving people to share fake news, conspiracy theories and other hostile political rumors. "Many status-obsessed, yet marginalized individuals experience a 'Need for Chaos' and want to 'watch the world burn'," lead author Michael Petersen tweeted, announcing the availability of a preprint copy.

Truth, in such a worldview, is beside the point, which offers a new perspective on the limitations of fact-checking. The motivation behind sharing or spreading narratives one may not even believe can help make sense of a variety of threatening or confusing recent developments in advanced democracies. It also sheds light on disturbing similarities with outbreaks of ethnic or genocidal violence, such as those seen in Rwanda and the Balkan nations during the 1990s.

Preprint of the paper available at PsyArXiv, here. [DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/6m4ts]


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday September 13 2018, @02:28AM (2 children)

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday September 13 2018, @02:28AM (#733963) Journal

    Before you get all carried away, Buzzard Minoris, you might want to actually read Euripides Bacchae [tufts.edu], all the way till the end.
    Here's the beginning:

    Διόνυσος

    ἥκω Διὸς παῖς τήνδε Θηβαίων χθόνα
    Διόνυσος, ὃν τίκτει ποθ᾽ ἡ Κάδμου κόρη
    Σεμέλη λοχευθεῖσ᾽ ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρί:
    μορφὴν δ᾽ ἀμείψας ἐκ θεοῦ βροτησίαν
    πάρειμι Δίρκης νάματ᾽ Ἰσμηνοῦ θ᾽ ὕδωρ.

    (Quick note for the non-classically educated: "Bacchus" is the Latin name for the Greek god Διόνυσος, or Dionysis in Romanization.)

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 13 2018, @11:41AM

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday September 13 2018, @11:41AM (#734159) Homepage Journal

    Sorry, I don't speak Klingon.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @07:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @07:49PM (#734419)

    Euripedes trousers, you mend-a dese trousers.