GAZA – A PANDEMIC OF THE MIND
There is a new pandemic sweeping the globe. I suffer from it, you, as reader, suffer from it and every other human being suffers from it. This time, unlike the 2019 COVID pandemic that affected the lungs and restricted human movement, it affects the mind and restricts human reasoning. It’s called CONFIRMATION BIAS, perhaps better described as MYSIDE BIAS.
The effect of this disease is mentally debilitating, to say the least, and will eventually lead to inattentional blindness.
CONFIRMATION BIAS is the tendency to search for, interpret, prefer, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports our prior beliefs or values. In other words, we love to read the things we love to read in order to confirm the things we love to believe. We do this by selecting information that supports our views and then reject information that contradicts our existing attitudes. The conflict in Gaza is the perfect modern-day example of CONFIRMATION BIAS, especially amongst Christians.
This ‘pandemic’ is most evident when we seek desired outcomes that will confirm what we already believe. This is especially evident for emotionally charged issues like Israel, and the deeply entrenched beliefs of its prophetic role as a chosen people by God. Because our CONFIRMATION BIAS is often only identifiable by others, it becomes unsurmountable to correct. But it can, and should, be managed, for example, by education and training in critical thinking skills.
THE THREE TYPES OF CONFIRMATION BIAS
- Research bias: This is when we search for evidence to back up our already established convictions by only consulting sources that hold similar views. Those who support Israel in the current conflict will read and watch media sources like Jerusalem Post, Joel Rosenburg and Amir Tsarfati. Those who support Gaza will watch Al Jazeera and similar Arabic media outlets. Those who seek to find a balanced and non-confirming view will watch all of the above while seeking the consciousness of Christ as directed in Scripture.
When we only consult one narrative, even though it might be different sources, it will lead to selective information and serve as confirming our already established biases.
- Interpretation bias: If we think a certain way, we might take other people’s normal everyday actions as extremely negative – this happens when looking for reasons to disagree with something. Those who are currently challenging Israel and calling for a cease fire are often portrayed as being ant-semitic and labelled as enemies of God. Adding theology to an emotional issue like the attack of 7 October, takes interpretation to a next level and makes it nearly impossible to embrace another conviction.
- Memory bias: Confirmation bias will inevitably lead to a memory bias as well. If we don’t like someone, we probably won’t remember all the times when they were actually quite nice. This is the same for confirmation bias, making it easy to forget about past events in favour of believing things that make our own opinions seem more truthful than they are. The occupation of Gaza, the oppression by Israel and the suffering of Palestinians seem to escape the memory of those who justify the current attacks in Gaza. Equally, the unending missile attacks by Hamas, the fears of the Jews, the threat of another terror attack should also prevail when trying to understand the response by Israel.
When we combine a research bias, an interpretation bias and a memory bias we have the perfect platform for building our own structure of a toxic CONFIRMATION BIAS
ATROCITY PROPAGANDA
A key component in cementing our CONFIRMATION BIASES into an absolute truth is ATROCITY PROPAGANDA. Emotions are a big part of this. Fake news usually aims to provoke a reaction in us and few media narratives are so emotionally driven as Atrocity Propaganda.
When seeing a news story online or offline that sounds too good to be true – or in the case of Israel and Gaza too bad to be true – we first need to investigate the evidence.
- Who’s posting or writing about it and why?
- Does it simply add to my already dualistic feelings?
- Does it create even more anger than is unbiblical and unChristlike?
- What narratives am I being manipulated into?
- Is it believable or just something that is designed to appeal to my point of view?
The war in Gaza has turned into a human carnage with both sides relying heavily on “atrocity propaganda” and one-sided narratives to feed the CONFIRMATION BIAS that has become a trademark of human nature.
When it was reported that babies were being beheaded during the attack on 7 October, it seemed like the Western media eagerly embraced this atrocity without first seeking the hard evidence it demanded. After all, this was a story that needed to be told as widely as possible, as quickly as possible and with as much detail as possible. It was packaged and despatched as truth, even though no evidence was presented – not one single picture, only the word of an Israeli soldier on an Israeli news program (Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtE9HMtiOc&t=629s for full story)
It was later proven to be a false report and even President Biden and the BBC had to apologise and retract their initial statements.
Equally disturbing was when a Palestinian women in Rafah shared on Al Jazeera how she was raped by Israeli soldiers. This too was proven to be without substance and Al Jazeera had to retract the story from their newsfeed. Both examples – and countless, countless more – served a purpose in igniting the CONFIRMATION BIASES of those who sought to confirm the evil in others of what they already believed to be true. And, even more importantly, to get people to identify with it and share it with others who believe the same.
(For a full article on a Christian response to Atrocity Propaganda visit: https://thethirdway.org/a-christian-response-to-atrocity-propaganda/)
ECHO CHAMBERS
Another major contributor to CONFIRMATION BIAS is Echo Chambers. Wikipedia describes it as follows:
In news media and social media, an echo chamber is an environment in which participants encounter beliefs that amplify or reinforce their preexisting beliefs by communication and repetition inside a closed system and insulated from rebuttal.
An echo chamber circulates existing views without encountering opposing views, potentially resulting in CONFIRMATION BIAS. Echo chambers may increase social and political polarization and extremism. On social media, it is thought that echo chambers limit exposure to diverse perspectives, and favour and reinforce presupposed narratives and ideologies.
The term is a metaphor based on an acoustic echo chamber, in which sounds reverberate in a hollow enclosure.
When you’re together with friends, you might have the odd disagreement here and there – but you’ll probably all share similar opinions deep down and might forget that there are other people who think differently. These shared views can bounce off each other and make your own voice stronger, like an echo. They can also be found everywhere online, as groups of like-minded people chat in forums and comment sections.
But these echo chambers can change our perspective, making it difficult to understand opposing viewpoints and more likely to be taken in by false information.
HOW TO REDUCE CONFIRMATION BIAS
Biases influence all human decision-making, so it’s important to be aware of how these preconceived notions can influence our behaviour and choices. Here are a few tips on how to reduce confirmation bias:
- Escape you echo chamber: It is critical to mix with people who think differently than you do. Engage in conversations and not arguments. One of the most powerful keys to escape is to travel. Travel outside your culture, your faith and your racial circle. Meet others who share different convictions and step into their shoes.
- Engage in oppositional research: Most people engage in preferred research – a concept used in relation to texts where we consult resources and media that confirm our convictions and biases. The alternative is to engage in oppositional research – consulting sources that would provide an alternative opinion with an opposing perspective and provide an unexplored reasoning. CS Lewis once said that maturity is listening to other opinions without giving up your own convictions.
- Allow yourself to be wrong. If you want to get closer to objective truths, you have to be able to admit you were wrong, especially in the face of new data. If you can’t admit defeat, it makes you incapable of making new discoveries in this world. You can avoid biases by being aware of your belief systems, whether your belief is for a religion, a political ideology, a cultural worldview, or something else. Be open to disconfirmation, and allow yourself to be wrong.
- Test your hypothesis. We’re typically more aware of our assumptions than of our biases, but like biases, assumptions often keep us from thinking clearly. You can challenge your bias by searching out disconfirming evidence of your theories, and forming factually-supported arguments with new evidence that can further prove your point.
- Beware of repetition. Political and religious tenets often get repeated—for emphasis, for intensity, for effect. This tactic is actually a form of brainwashing wherein you begin to think that something is true simply because you’ve heard it so many times. It is one of many weaknesses in the human sensory system. It’s also how dictatorships and cults operate. Listen for repetition and be especially skeptical of what powerful people tell you again and again and again.
SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znbytrd
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-identify-confirmation-bias