Robert Knapp A Psychology Of Rumor

Democrat or Republican? Pro-choice or pro-life? Pro-gun or anti-gun? These polar opposite viewpoints in American politics leave little room for middle ground. A major reason for the division in America’s politics is due to the spread of misinformation through the media. With the political media, a vast amount of false information spreads in seconds, being seen by thousands because of the invention of the internet; however, many do not check the credibility of most sources they come across. This results in people believing misinformation spread online, especially if it reinforces their own political beliefs. Ultimately causing extreme separation between the two major political parties because of human’s nature to be angry, resentful, and hateful

Political rumors usually fall into the category of being a "Wedge-driving Aggression Rumor” as explored by Robert Knapp. In Knapp's article “A Psychology of Rumor,” he states that this type of rumor's purpose is “dividing groups and destroying loyalties” and that these rumors “turn out to be directed against elements of our own population or our allies” (Knapp 497). Stemming as a type of misinformation, rumors drastically have effects in the political world. The “Wedge-driving Aggression Rumor” is a concept that can be applied heavily to false political news because its sole purpose is to support and favor one party while destroying the other out of hatred and resentment. Therefore, when someone in the political world spreads misinformation their main goal is to make more people believe and support their party ultimately trying to further divide society against one group. The "Wedge-driving Aggression Rumor” can be seen throughout our American political histories such as the rumor about Obama's place of birth or even the rumor about Churchill blackmailing Roosevelt into provoking the war with Japan. As one can see within both rumors, the purpose is drawn from human emotions of hatred and aggression with the sole purpose of getting people to believe only one side and grow hatred towards the

The spread of "fake news” has the ability to reach thousands of people and can play an important role in elections. Media, being the mainstream way people gain insight about current events, has stimulated the spread of "fake news” as a lot of untrustworthy websites can be seen by thousands in seconds, and many will not hesitate in believing said information. In a Harvard study conducted by Andrew Guess and others, they researched the effects of consuming “fake news” and how it could influence political beliefs. To summarize their most significant findings, people who consume more trustworthy media have more polarized political opinions and greater beliefs in pro-GOP misperceptions with reduced beliefs in pro-Democratic ones (Guess et al). With these findings by researchers, one can infer that the consumption of misinformation has a galvanizing effect on people's political beliefs, meaning the information has the power to make people more entrenched in their beliefs with no room for impartiality. Guess's research proves that the belief of misinformation creates two opposed, and distinct, parties and the misinformation usually spread is pro-republican which has the ability to sway other people's opinions and even votes depending on the type of false information that is being