There have been a number of articles written by professionals examining the birther phenomenon. A group of them appeared in the New York Times in a series called “The Psychology of the ‘Birther’ myth.”
Now an article in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, “Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing,” tackles several examples of public misinformation, including false stories about Obama’s birthplace and gives recommendations on the more effective ways to combat misinformation.
The following chart from the paper summarizes the practical approaches to explain and combat misinformation (click to enlarge):
Give it a read and let’s talk about it.