TRUTH CHECK — Why We Don’t Fact-Check: Social & Cultural Influences

Discover how tribalism and social media bubbles distort truth—and how we can step out and see clearly again.

Resources for this Episode

Why don’t we fact-check, even when the truth is right in front of us?

Part 1 looked at the psychological barriers that keep us from fact-checking. Part 2 explores the social and cultural influences that shape what we believe—and why we sometimes ignore the facts.

From tribal loyalty and group identity, to echo chambers created by social media algorithms, to the distrust many people feel toward fact-checkers, these hidden forces make misinformation harder to spot.

☝️Here’s the Truth Check: once we recognize these influences, we can start to push back.

🎯 What this episode covers:

• Why belonging to a group can make it harder to see the truth

• How social media algorithms trap us in echo chambers

• Why distrust of fact-checkers makes us more vulnerable to spin

• Practical ways to step outside the bubble and see more clearly

💬 Join the Conversation 💬

1. Have you ever realized you were in an echo chamber? What helped you step out of it?

2. Has a trusted friend or family member ever challenged your group’s belief, and made you stop to think?

Join the conversation on the American Together YouTube channel under Why We Don’t Fact-Check: Social & Cultural Influences | American Together video, or in our upcoming community space (coming soon).

🛠 3 Ps in Action: Comment Edition 🛠
Need a little extra help shaping your reply? This quick guide uses the same 3 Ps process I use myself: Pause, Pinpoint Truth, Proceed with Purposeful Forethought.

🧭 Practice Challenge 🧭

Notice your own social media feed this week. What kinds of stories keep showing up? Then, deliberately search for the opposite perspective—just once. See how it feels.

🔎 Full Sources & Further Reading 🔎

• Episode Sources (clickable where available)

  1. Asch, S. E. (1955). Opinions and social pressure. Scientific American, 193(5), 31–35.‍

  2. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396. (doi.org)

  3. Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the Internet is hiding from you. Penguin Books.

  4. Pew Research Center. (n.d.). Facts & fact-checking. In Misinformation (topic page). Pew Research Center. (pewresearch.org)

  5. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.‍

• Further Resources (clickable)

  1.  News Literacy Project — Free lessons and tools that help people of all ages spot misinformation and verify sources.

  2.  Media Bias/Fact Check — Outlet database with bias and factual-reporting ratings; use it to compare perspectives, not crown one “right.”

  3.  Stanford History Education Group – Civic Online Reasoning — Research-based digital-literacy lessons on evaluating online information.

  4.  American Psychological Association – Psychology topics — Hub of readable articles on cognition, reasoning, misinformation, social media, and more.

🔗 Continue the Journey 🔗

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