Fake news can lead to false memories

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/afps-fnc081919.php

News Release 21-Aug-2019
Association for Psychological Science

Voters may form false memories after seeing fabricated news stories, especially if those stories align with their political beliefs, according to research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Loftus says understanding the psychological effects of fake news is critical given that sophisticated technology is making it easier to create not only phony news reports and images, but fake video, as well.

"People will act on their fake memories, and it is often hard to convince them that fake news is fake," Loftus says. "With the growing ability to make news incredibly convincing, how are we going to help people avoid being misled? It's a problem that psychological scientists may be uniquely qualified to work on."