I’ve always been curious about whether fake news can really mess with my decision – making. So, I decided to do a little experiment on myself.
First, I started by gathering some fake news articles. I went online and searched through some unreliable websites. I clicked around, scrolled through pages, and finally found a bunch of fake news stories about different topics like health, finance, and entertainment. I printed them out and put them in a folder.
Next, I set up a time – frame for my experiment. I decided to spend a week exposing myself to these fake news stories every day. I’d sit down at my desk, open the folder, and read through a few articles each morning. I’d really try to get into the stories, imagining how it would be if they were true.
As I was reading, I started to notice some changes in my thinking. For example, there was a fake health news story saying that a certain fruit was extremely harmful. I found myself hesitating when I saw that fruit in the grocery store. Usually, I’d just grab it without a second thought, but this time, I put it back on the shelf. I was actually letting that fake news affect my shopping decision!
In the finance part, there was a fake story about a company’s stock about to skyrocket. I found myself thinking about investing in it, even though I’m not really into stocks. I started looking up the company on my phone, getting ready to do some more research before I realized it was fake news.
By the end of the week, I sat down to reflect on my experience. I realized that fake news can have a surprisingly strong impact on our decisions. Even though I knew these were fake stories, my subconscious was still influenced.
According to a study by some experts, around 64% of people have admitted that they’ve made at least one minor decision based on fake news. That’s a pretty big number! It shows that fake news is a real problem that can mess with our daily lives.
So, from this experiment, I’ve learned that we need to be more careful when consuming news. We should always double – check the sources, look for multiple perspectives, and not let our guard down. Otherwise, we might end up making some really bad decisions just because of some made – up stories.