The Booty Report

News and Updates for Swashbucklers Everywhere

Belay yer doubts, me mateys! By doubloons, debunkin' fake news be feedin' the beast! Arrr!

2023-12-28

Arr! Avast ye, scurvy dogs! A bonny study be sayin' that scurvy sea rats be believin' fake news even more when they be searchin' it online! Ye'd think a simple Google search be clearin' up the falsehoods, but nay, it be makin' 'em believe it even more! Aye, the world be a strange place, me hearties.

In a jolly twist of fate, it appears that checking fake news online might just be making some landlubbers believe in it! A brand new study has discovered that the simple act of searching the vast seas of the internet for news can actually increase belief in these tall tales. Arrr, it's enough to make a pirate scratch his head in disbelief!

The scurvy dogs behind this study, published in the esteemed Nature, have found that the more ye search online to verify the veracity of a news story, the more ye end up believing in the very falsehood ye set out to debunk. Shiver me timbers! They even found that this effect be stronger when the misinformation be popular amongst the scallywags of the web.

Now, ye might be thinking that a simple search on Google, the treasure trove of all knowledge, should be enough to dispel these rumors. But alas, me hearties, that ain't the case! The researchers discovered that, rather than swashbuckling these falsehoods, searching for them only seemed to give 'em more wind in their sails.

Captain Zeve Sanderson, the leader of this merry crew, be warning us all to be careful when we venture into these treacherous waters. He says that just because a story be popular online doesn't mean it be the truth, and that we need to be on guard against these sneaky sea serpents of misinformation.

So, me fellow pirates, it seems that the more we search online for the truth, the more likely we are to be led astray by these cunning tales. Ye best be keeping a sharp eye out for these falsehoods, me hearties, and always be questioning what ye read on the vast internet sea!

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