Editing Confirmation bias (section)

=== Social media ===
In [[social media]], confirmation bias is amplified by the use of [[filter bubble]]s, or "algorithmic editing", which displays to individuals only information they are likely to agree with, while excluding opposing views.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles|title=Ted talk: Beware online "filter bubbles"|last=Pariser|first=Eli|date=2 May 2011|website=TED: Ideas Worth Spreading|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922201521/https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles|url-status=live}}</ref> Some have argued that confirmation bias is the reason why society can never escape from filter bubbles, because individuals are psychologically hardwired to seek information that agrees with their preexisting values and beliefs.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/11/forget-fake-news-facebook-real-filter-bubble-you|title=Forget fake news on Facebook – the real filter bubble is you|last=Self|first=Will|date=28 November 2016|website=NewStatesman|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111042405/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/11/forget-fake-news-facebook-real-filter-bubble-you|url-status=live}}</ref> Others have further argued that the mixture of the two is degrading [[democracy]]—claiming that this "algorithmic editing" removes diverse viewpoints and information—and that unless filter bubble algorithms are removed, voters will be unable to make fully informed political decisions.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/05/did-facebooks-big-study-kill-my-filter-bubble-thesis/|title=Did Facebook's big study kill my filter bubble thesis?|last=Pariser|first=Eli|date=7 May 2015|magazine=Wired|access-date=24 October 2017|archive-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111042342/https://www.wired.com/2015/05/did-facebooks-big-study-kill-my-filter-bubble-thesis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

The rise of social media has contributed greatly to the rapid spread of [[fake news]], that is, false and misleading information that is presented as credible news from a seemingly reliable source. Confirmation bias (selecting or reinterpreting evidence to support one's beliefs) is one of three main hurdles cited as to why critical thinking goes astray in these circumstances. The other two are shortcut heuristics (when overwhelmed or short of time, people rely on simple rules such as group consensus or trusting an expert or role model) and social goals (social motivation or peer pressure can interfere with objective analysis of facts at hand).<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kendrick |first1=Douglas T. |first2=Adam B. |last2=Cohen |first3= Steven L. |last3=Neuberg | first4= Robert B. |last4=Cialdini |title=The science of anti-science thinking |journal=Scientific American |year=2020 |volume=29 |issue=4, Fall, Special Issue |pages=84–89}}</ref>

In combating the spread of fake news, social media sites have considered turning toward "digital nudging".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Weinmann|first1=Markus|last2=Schneider|first2=Christoph|last3=vom Brocke|first3=Jan|date=2015|title=Digital nudging|journal=SSRN|location=Rochester, NY|ssrn=2708250|doi=10.2139/ssrn.2708250|s2cid=219380211|mode=cs2}}</ref> This can currently be done in two different forms of nudging. This includes nudging of information and nudging of presentation. Nudging of information entails social media sites providing a disclaimer or label questioning or warning users of the validity of the source while nudging of presentation includes exposing users to new information which they may not have sought out but could introduce them to viewpoints that may combat their own confirmation biases.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Thornhill|first1=Calum|last2=Meeus|first2=Quentin|last3=Peperkamp|first3=Jeroen|last4=Berendt|first4=Bettina|date=2019|title=A digital nudge to counter confirmation bias|journal=Frontiers in Big Data|volume=2|page=11|doi=10.3389/fdata.2019.00011|pmid=33693334|pmc=7931917|issn=2624-909X|doi-access=free|mode=cs2}}</ref>