I Know The Truth

People easily believe rumors and lies that they are told. The weakness of lies was on full display at ground zero downtown Manhattan in the shouting match over the planned mosque. Researchers studied how to get someone to not believe all of the rumors they've heard. Assistant professors recruited 750 people who reported believing at least one of the rumors about the proposed Islamic cultural center. They then determines would the facts of the subject change their opinion and if so how can that be done. Garret and Nisbet (assistant professors) came up with 2 conclusions: 1)  it is easy to persuade people with pictures or quotes 2) people still believed what they did even with facts to prove them wrong. Garret cites many resources stating that when people hear rumors, even with the facts to back it up as to why it might not be true, they still contradict from what they think they already know and block out the truth. Some investigators are still looking into the studies to see the reasons why people believe what they have heard or seen.