COGNITIVE BIAS
Cognitive Bias Exposition To Dis-communication And Digital Media Exploitation
By Denis Mbau
The world is now interconnected more than ever . Massive leaps forward in the information industry powered by the Internet have ushered in a new dispensation of communicating with ease across the globe .
With these changes , digital media has placed every user at the heart of information production and not primarily a consumer . That means any ordinary person can easily push their agenda on different platforms on a mobile phone and influence a worldwide audience and that is why today ' s trends come from overly diverse accounts and sources .
Often referred to as cognitive bias , studies show that when people encounter information with opposing perspectives , they tend to find supporting evidence for what they already believe in . This dimension of belief reinforcement means that as long as the content casts a negative light on our opponents or those not in our in-crowd , we mostly perceive it as truth . However , if the information speaks ill of the group we belong to , we are quick to dispute it than verifying its truthfulness first .
Cognitive bias influences the information we search for , understand , recall and share , leading us to follow and support others who are more like us . This is true especially in Kenya ’ s political landscape online where opposing ideologies and groups are always at loggerheads . People join the side that mostly aligns with what they already believe and share messages from the people they trust . This is but the natural tendency of human beings because we take to social groups for reinforcements and to fulfil our desire to belong .
These cognitive biases are important and have evolved over the years since early man walked on earth . They have oriented the direction mankind has taken and bolstered our survival . Modern technologies are amplifying these biases and Artificial intelligence through algorithms has vastly been used in tech today in digital media to align us to the things we like and connect us with like-minded individuals based on user preferences data collected over time .
This is very vital because with so much information bombarding us and needing our attention , our cognitive biases help us sieve the information since we cannot concentrate on everything . Our minds have what psychologists refer to as an oriental reflex that directs us to things that may be of interest .
Digital media channels prioritize the most important information at the top by providing personalized recommendations that we are most likely to agree with and do away with information that might change our minds . In as much as this is an advantage , the downside is that malicious actors have taken centre stage to exploit this advancement through disinformation . With so much fake information that serves the interest of those creating it , the masses are sitting ducks and become separated into misinformed groups because of their political , tribal , racial and perception biases .
In addition , digital content adopts a winner takes it all approach and most posts and memes are hardly noticed . Only a few trend expansively . This could explain why some untrue information can trend so much in a small period . Sometimes it is not easy to ascertain a specific block of characteristics that determine trending topics because they are as strange as the content itself .
Trending or popular is not a synonym for truth and quality . However , Social Media algorithms assume the ‘ wisdom of the masses ' and assume that popular means quality and it is not always right . This explains why some partially or completely untrue information can spread like wildfire because that ’ s the only information that appears on the feed and it has been shared by a variety of sources .
Our information bias on social media gives us an irresistible urge to pay attention to trending information that conforms to our views and re-share it without fact checking .
With minimal regulation on social media use , untrue and doctored information will reign supreme and facts and truth take distant positions below the pecking orders , making us easy targets for polarization . This is more important now because political temperatures are beginning to rise as we near the 2022 general election .
Remember Cambridge Analytica and its influence on the 2017 general election ? That was four years ago and we are sure to see many politicians invest in influencer marketing and digital media to bolster their public perception while vilifying those of their competitors .
In this expedition , tribal , racial and political battle lines will be drawn and I hope that despite our cognitive bias , we can separate the wheat from the chaff .
Denis Mbau is a corporate communications and media expert working in multiple sectors , helping organizations communicate effectively through strategy to enhance impact . You can commune with him via email at : Mbaud2010 @ gmail . com .
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