To the editor:
“Witch hunt,” “Russia hoax,” “deep state,” “fake news” and “no collusion.” These are a few of the terms that are constantly in the news. These terms can be heard on television, read in the newspaper, observed on social media and seen on the internet.
In 1977, a study was conducted that showed that if something is repeated often enough, people will eventually believe it whether it is true or false. This phenomenon is called illusory truth effect, validity effect or reiteration effect. The study showed that repetition, saying something over and over again, would breed agreement whether it is true or not. Exposure to false information changes the perceived truthfulness of information and the actual truth is lost.
Notice how often you hear or see these or similar key terms mentioned above again and again. Additional terms that are often seen or heard include “enemy of the people,” “fake news media,” “alternative facts,” “failing New York Times” and “totally legal.”
Not only are these terms misleading, but their repetition is also dangerous to our democracy and leads to further division of our country.
— David Mihevc, McHenry
