On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, and What Can Be Done

On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, and What Can Be Done

by Cass R. Sunstein
On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, and What Can Be Done

On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, and What Can Be Done

by Cass R. Sunstein

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Overview

Many of us are being misled. Claiming to know dark secrets about public officials, hidden causes of the current economic situation, and nefarious plans and plots, those who spread rumors know precisely what they are doing. And in the era of social media and the Internet, they know a lot about how to manipulate the mechanics of false rumors—social cascades, group polarization, and biased assimilation. They also know that the presumed correctives—publishing balanced information, issuing corrections, and trusting the marketplace of ideas—do not always work. All of us are vulnerable.

In On Rumors, Cass Sunstein uses examples from the real world and from behavioral studies to explain why certain rumors spread like wildfire, what their consequences are, and what we can do to avoid being misled. In a new afterword, he revisits his arguments in light of his time working in the Obama administration.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691162508
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 03/10/2014
Pages: 128
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. His previous books include Republic.com 2.0 (Princeton), Infotopia, and Simpler. He is also the author, with Richard Thaler, of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness.

Table of Contents

On Rumors 1

Afterword, 2013: Bacon Is Shakespeare 91

Acknowledgments 101

Notes 103

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"It often seems that rumors are the one element that can travel faster than the speed of light. In On Rumors, Cass Sunstein helps us understand their incredible appeal, their power, and their dangers. A fun-tastic book."—Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics, Duke University, and author of Predictably Irrational

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