Matthew Facciani

LIVE SOON: The Psychology of Misinformation, Mind Viruses, + Conspiracies Starting Aug 5 at 12:00 PM EDT

I'm going live with psychologist Todd Kashdan in about 15 minutes! We'll talk about a variety of topics, including why we believe misinformation & conspiracies, and what we can do about it.
open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Shoutout to @hankgreen.bsky.social and @parkroseperma.bsky.social for covering this as well!

Why Do People Believe Fake AI Political Accounts? How viral AI accounts exploit our identities, networks, and emotions to spread misinformation

That viral "MAGA Megan" TikTok account? It was likely AI-generated, but that didn’t stop people from believing it was real. I explore why we fall for fake political personas online.
matthewfacciani.substack.com/p/why-do-peo...

Bill Gates says rising anti-vaccine sentiment in U.S. will exact heavy toll overseas Philanthropist Bill Gates expressed concern about the impact of growing U.S. vaccine skepticism overseas.

“Vaccine skepticism in the U.S. kills more children outside the U.S. — because it transfers that skepticism — than it does inside the United States” Gates said
www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/b...

The vast majority of US adults are stressed about grocery costs, an AP-NORC poll finds A new poll finds the vast majority of U.S. adults are feeling some stress about the cost of groceries, as prices continue to rise and concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs rema...

Source:
apnews.com/article/poll...

New poll finds that 86% of Americans are stressed about grocery costs.

Trust comes when you admit what you don’t know – lessons from child development research Trust comes when you admit what you don’t know – lessons from child development research

"Our research shows that even 5-year-old children learn about uncertain data better from someone who expresses that uncertainty outright than someone who is confident that things will always work the same way."
www.healthing.ca/children/tru...

Great to see Misguided on this list of important new Books and Films!

You can get your copy here:
mybook.to/MisguidedBook

New research finds that people who are politically cynical are less likely to participate in online politics, and this disengagement is partly driven by their belief in misinformation.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Same here! If anyone assigns my book, Misguided, to their class, I’d be happy to Zoom in and chat about it!

How to have constructive conversations on difficult topics? @psychmag.bsky.social shares the tips I outline in my book!
Respect
Relate
Reframe
Revise
Repeat

It’s very sad. It used to be such a great place to connect with a variety of people. Now it’s just another Truth Social 2.0 but people are paid to spread nonsense and outrage

Africa needs to invest in science communication — here’s how Science journalism is almost non-existent in Africa, even in the countries that are becoming crucial hubs for research. This gap must be addressed to help protect Africans from misinformation.

"enormous opportunities for socio-economic development and innovation will be lost unless Kenya and other African countries invest in science communication."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after the release of weak jobs report The president implied that the BLS commissioner, longtime federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."

Firing people who report bad economic news doesn’t change the fact that Americans still feel the effects of higher prices, lower wages, and fewer job opportunities.
www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

This isn’t just about distrust or politics. It’s about identity, emotion, and the human need to make sense of perceived injustice.

How Feeling Wronged Can Fuel Conspiracy Beliefs What if believing in conspiracy theories isn’t just about distrust, but about feeling personally wronged? This new study explores the psychology behind that connection.

A new global study found that individuals high in Victim Justice Sensitivity—a trait reflecting how strongly someone feels personally mistreated—are consistently more prone to conspiracy thinking.
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misg...

I explain in the interview!
www.sc.edu/study/colleg...

However, when a fact-checker was explicitly identified as using generative AI, people tended to trust it less than fact-checkers described as human-based.

Exploring generative AI in the misinformation Era: Impacts as a misinformation source and fact-checker on belief in the information This research aims to explore the impact of generative AI on public belief in misinformation both as a source and as a fact-checker, and to examine ho…

When misinformation was labeled as AI-generated, people were no more or less likely to believe it compared to misinformation presented without any AI label.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Great question! It's definitely contextual and multifaceted. I just wrote a book about it :D
cup.columbia.edu/book/misguid...

Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us? Why does the online world seem so toxic compared with normal life? Our research shows that a small number of divisive accounts could be responsible – and offers a way out

Unfollowing divisive political accounts on Twitter/X led people to feel 23% less animosity toward opposing groups, with many choosing not to refollow, and the effects lasted nearly a year after the study was conducted.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

From my interview with The University of South Carolina about my new book, Misguided:
www.sc.edu/study/colleg...

What's A Conspiracy Theory Anyway? We Talk UFOs, Gov't Secrets & Journalism w Two WSJ Reporters Podcast Episode · Why Should I Trust You? · 07/31/2025 · 1h 9m

My research on why people believe conspiracy theories was cited in one of my favorite podcasts! They talk about a recent article I published around the 23:45 mark.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

It’s interesting how the conditions could keep Tampa in the high 90s quite often, but until now they couldn’t quite break 100

Scorching Heat Dome Sends Tampa to 100 Degrees F for the First Time Records are starting to fall to the continuing heat dome that is covering much of the eastern U.S.

Tampa, FL just hit 100°F for the first time in recorded history, driven by climate change. Until now, sea breezes, frequent thunderstorms, and high humidity had prevented temperatures from reaching triple digits.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/tamp...

False information can offer a comforting sense of certainty and control in a chaotic world. In contrast, facts and nuance are often less satisfying and don’t always give us the same feeling of control.

Six months in, young people have soured on Trump's job handling — CBS News analysis Most Americans under 30 approved at the start of President Trump's second term but are dissatisfied with the economy's direction.

Source:
www.cbsnews.com/news/young-p...

Trump’s approval rating among 18–to 29-year-olds has dropped sharply since February, and this poll was conducted before most of the Epstein backlash occurred.