The following media literacy tip is from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Washington. Dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy, the League works to expand public knowledge and understanding of media literacy and news education as both are key to developing healthy, civically engaged communities.
Learn to recognize fearmongering and put on the brakes!
We all are susceptible to persuasion. Persuasion can be based on reliable or faulty information. Faulty information at the heart of persuasion can spread like a virus quickly reaching many recipients and posing a threat to the truth, institutions and democracies.
To recognize faulty information, and thus resist its manipulation, a person needs to be familiar with some common types, often found in online posts, everyday conversations and elsewhere.
Fallacies are types of faulty reasoning or misleading or unsound arguments. They sound compelling, but can lead to unsupported conclusions and misguided actions. Many types of fallacies exist, and they were first identified by the Greeks.
One common fallacy is “fearmongering.” Fearmongering uses language or images that evoke strong emotions, including intense sympathy, fear or outrage. For example: “What you’re about to see will horrify you” and “The judge issued a disgusting ruling today.”
Emotional language and fearmongering statements prepare you to feel strong emotions, thus increasing the chance that you will. And, when you feel strong emotions, you are more likely to act without examining the quality of the information.
Learning about fallacies, like fearmongering, can help you put the brakes on being a spreader of faulty reasoning and faulty information.