Galileo Gambit

Johnson, David Kyle

doi:10.1002/9781119165811.ch27

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In addition to these factors, in this paper, we argue that those seeking to disseminate and profit from misinformation often accompany their messages with subtle, and not so subtle, appeals to the untrustworthiness of government. These appeals, we argue, are a key part of the anatomy of misinformation and play a central role in the capacity of violence-inducing rumors to propagate Appeals to Government Distrust and The Spread of Rumors Long before the popularization of social networks, individuals seeking to propagate outlandish ideas and rumors have done so by appealing to what some have informally called the "Galileo Gambit" (Finocchiaro 2015;Johnson 2018). Broadly construed, this strategy consists of claiming that an idea or event is true because it reflects negatively on the reputation of the establishment and, therefore, generates incentives for rebuttals and attacks (Finocchiaro 2015).…”

Section: The Dissemination Of Rumorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

Zizumbo-Colunga

Fuerte-Celis

2020

Preprint

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Rumors about crime have triggered spectacular displays of violence. Why do citizens believe and share these messages? We argue that, in addition to other components, appeals to the untrustworthiness of government authorities constitute a central component of the DNA of violenceinducing rumors. Indeed, a component that allows those circulating rumors to persuade individuals of their credibility and importance. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an original laboratory experiment among students in a rural community in Mexico. We find evidence that appeals to the untrustworthiness of government increase citizens' perceptions of the credibility, importance and shareability of the message. Further, we find individuals perceiving rumors as more credible, important, and sharable to be more likely to incite others to commit violence against alleged criminals when given a chance. The results of this study have broad implications for our understanding of the psychology of rumor sharing and the emergence of extralegal violence.

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Section: The Dissemination Of Rumorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

Zizumbo-Colunga

Fuerte-Celis

2020

Preprint

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“…Undoubtedly, it is possible for the lone voice to challenge the consensus—obvious examples are Galileo, the treatment of Wegner's theory, or the influence of eugenics in the early 20th century. However, students need to know that these are exceptions, and the use of the Galileo gambit to suggest that science is not open to criticism or that the consensus may be wrong is not normative—it is an exception (Johnson, 2018). And in this case, the exception suggests that it is the consensus that can normally be trusted.…”

Section: What Can Be Done By Scientists and Science Educators To Deve...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Science education in an age of misinformation

Osborne

Pimentel

2023

Science Education

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In this paper, we argue that the current science curricula are failing to educate students to be competent outsiders to science. Historically, science education has rested on two premises. The first is that it is possible for students to acquire sufficient scientific knowledge from K‐12 education to become intellectually independent. That is that science education can produce individuals capable of evaluating scientific evidence and arguments critically for themselves. This belief is what underlies many of the conceptions of scientific literacy and is the basis of the rationale that is used to sustain and justify what is offered in nearly all countries across the globe. The second is the belief that the science that students will encounter will have been filtered such that it can be trusted. Nothing today could be further from the truth. Today, misinformation abounds and much of it purports to be scientific. Very few conceptions of scientific literacy have considered how students can be prepared to evaluate the claims that abound on social media. Current conceptions of “scientific literacy,” we argue, are failing to articulate the competencies and knowledge required in today's changed context. In what follows, we lay out our arguments for why it is time to rethink the conception of scientific literacy by considering what it requires to be a competent outsider to science. Then drawing on our recent report, we lay out what might be done within science education to address the specific phenomenon of misinformation.

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“…Long before the popularization of social networks, individuals seeking to propagate outlandish ideas and rumors have done so by appealing to what some have informally called the "Galileo Gambit" (Finocchiaro 2015;Johnson 2018). Broadly construed, this strategy consists of claiming that an idea or event is true because it reflects negatively on the reputation of the establishment and, therefore, generates incentives for rebuttals and attacks (Finocchiaro 2015).…”

Section: Appeals To Government Distrust and The Spread Of Rumorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, regardless of its epistemological dishonesty, this strategy has been shown to be quite effective. Long before the popularization of social media, proponents of the most outlandish conspiracy theories, as well as advocates of Supplementary, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (SCAM) have used this strategy to promote their products through rumors (Finocchiaro 2015;Johnson 2018). Throughout the nineteen and twentieth centuries, for example, charlatans spread rumors of fraudulent cures for tuberculosis, cancer, and other ailments through rumors that contained appeals to the untrustworthy of the medical establishment (Newsom 2002) and, recently, the American author and fraudster Kevin Trudeau made millions marketing books that -like his famous "Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know" -directly appealed to the public's distrust in the establishment.…”

Section: Appeals To Government Distrust and The Spread Of Rumorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

Zizumbo-Colunga

Fuerte-Celis

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across the world, violence-inducing rumors about crime have triggered spectacular displays of violence. We argue that, in addition to other components, appeals to the untrustworthiness of government authorities constitute a central component of the DNA of violence-inducing rumors. Indeed, a component that allows those circulating rumors to persuade individuals of their credibility and importance. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an original laboratory experiment among students in a rural community in Mexico. We find evidence that appeals to the untrustworthiness of government increase citizens' perceptions of the credibility, importance and shareability of the message. Further, we find individuals perceiving rumors as more credible, important, and sharable to be more likely to incite others to commit violence against alleged criminals when given a chance. The results of this study have broad implications for our understanding of the psychology of rumor sharing and the emergence of extralegal violence.

show abstract

Galileo Gambit

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

Science education in an age of misinformation

The Political Psychology of Lynching: WhatsApp Rumors, Anti-Government Appeals, and Violence

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