Case of the Phantom Microphone
Conspiracy theorists could have gotten away with fake Biden if not for these darn facts about optical illusions.
Complex psychological principles are often critical for understanding an individual’s susceptibility to believing fake news and misinformation they find on social media. What false information most people will interpret as outlandish can seem consistent and mundane to those regularly exposed to it. Though fake news purveyors often manipulate and frame information to make it more appealing for propagation, sometimes evidence is just so naturally extraordinary that even knowledgeable people can find plausibility in conspiracy.
A recent video of President Biden speaking to reporters provides a great example of content that simply lends itself to inviting misdirected framing. As Biden approaches a set of microphones on the South Lawn of the White House, his hand clearly appears to unnaturally obscure one of the microphones. Perhaps because the pandemic has led so many people to use video conferencing software for remote work, some see the familiar false background effect at play. That interpretation certainly seems reasonable to the human eye.
That visual oddity would have likely been ignored if not for the hyperactive conspiracy theory engine driving fake…
