Have you ever shared a link online without reading the article? How often do you challenge people in face-to-face conversations about the truthfulness of what they're telling you? Does the design of social media platforms affect what we believe? How exactly should we deal with politicians who constantly lie to the public?

Dealing with these questions and many more, in the first episode of this podcast series, I interview Prof Norbert Schwarz. Prof Schwarz is Provost Professor in the Department of Psychology and the USC Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and a co-director of the USC Dornsife Mind and Society Center.

He is co-author, with Madeline Jalbert, of Chapter 1, “When (fake) news feels true: Intuitions of truth and the acceptance and correction of misinformation” in Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Media and Technology.

This book currently has a 20% discount on the Routledge website - see here https://www.routledge.com/Psychological-Insights-for-Understanding-COVID-19-and-Media-and-Technology/Mahon/p/book/9780367640064

(This chapter originally appeared in the book, The Psychology of Fake News: Accepting, Sharing, and Correcting Misinformation, which you can read more about here https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429295379

This episode reveals that the psychology of fake news is more profound and complex than many of us realise, yet at the same time, there is one simple trick you can start practising today which will help stem the tide of misinformation. Enjoy and stay tuned for the next episode!