Below is an excerpt of an article describing a study conducted on why many Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. Whether you like him or not, it describes, scientifically, the methods that our media use to propagate falsehood. By subtly reminding viewers of why a person is different than themselves (in often completely irrelevant ways) while allowing pundits to speak with no accountability, these absurdities are reinforced and allowed to propagate. Obama is not Muslim, marijuana smokers are not just hippy, drug addicted… well you get the idea. We need to understand how we as a movement are undermined in the media in order to get traction so we can be heard by all of American society.
Physorg.com: The research by Spee Kosloff and colleagues suggests people are most likely to accept such falsehoods, both consciously and unconsciously, when subtle clues remind them of ways in which Obama is different from them, whether because of race, social class or other ideological differences.
These judgments, Kosloff argues, are illogical. He also suggests they are fueled by an “irresponsible” media culture that allows political pundits and “talking heads” to perpetuate the lies.
“Careless or biased media outlets are largely responsible for the propagation of these falsehoods, which catch on like wildfire,” said Kosloff, visiting professor of psychology. “And then social differences can motivate acceptance of these lies.”
A Pew Research Center poll in August 2010 found that 18 percent of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim - up from 11 percent in March 2009 - even though he’s a practicing Christian. Kosloff noted that the poll was conducted before Obama’s recent comments supporting the right for Muslims to build a mosque near New York’s Ground Zero.
Kosloff and colleagues launched their study prior to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, as the candidates were being bombarded with smear campaigns. It’s the first comprehensive experimental study of the psychological factors that motivate Americans to believe the lies. The findings are published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Read the rest at Physorg.com
