Setting the record straight - nearly impossible, unless...

A good one from Coby Beck, reporting that...

"...simple human nature, of the sort the most earnest and conscientious of us all possess, lends itself to being deceived by whomever yells loudest, even when the verifiable truth follows quietly and obsequiously after. An article titled "Setting the record straight almost impossible" describes a new study... by Ullrich Ecker and colleagues...that shows just how insidiously difficult it is to remove misinformation once it is planted in the mind.

... even strong retractions do not undo the damage... But one line from Dr. Ecker: "If you make them suspicious of why that information was presented in the first place, such as by saying it was a deliberate attempt to mislead you, then they can more readily dismiss it," does give some ... hope. "