Misguided: The Podcast Why We Believe Misinformation and How We Can Protect Ourselves Against it
Feb 24, 2026
Matthew Facciani, social scientist and author focused on misinformation and media literacy. He explores why people accept false info through social identity and confirmation bias. They discuss creating cognitive friction by diversifying groups and hobbies, platform incentives that amplify outrage, and practical media-literacy moves like critical ignoring and lateral reading.
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Overlapping Identities Drive Confirmation Bias
- Confirmation bias often stems from overlapping social identities that make challenges to beliefs feel like attacks on self-worth.
- Matthew Facciani explains that when political, religious, and friend-group identities align fully, people defend information to protect their self-esteem.
Add Friction By Diversifying Your Social Circles
- Add deliberate friction by exposing yourself to diverse groups and hobbies to reduce echo chamber reinforcement.
- Facciani recommends visualizing identity overlap and joining new communities so you spend less time online with reinforcing groups.
Algorithms Reward Outrage Over What Users Say They Want
- Platform incentives amplify outrageous content because engagement is rewarded by algorithms.
- Facciani notes most users don't want extreme content, yet the design of social platforms boosts outrage for engagement.