Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

Humor

Expect Stories, One-liners, and Satire that Make the Point and Make You Laugh

Welcome to Humor—where I translate real life into laughs without losing the truth.

These posts deliver witty commentary, satire, and observational stories drawn from real estate, mortgage lending, private money, government policy, bureaucracy, and the economy.

Expect sharp takes on incentives, second-order effects, and the unintended consequences that show up after the press conference—usually with a bill attached. If you like humor that exposes the script while keeping you entertained, start here.

Search Results

Repeated Falsehoods: Can Surface as the Truth

Repeated Falsehoods: Can Surface as the Truth I. Everyday Myths (Cultural Misconceptions) Research shows the illusory truth effect helps explain why popular myths endure for decades. Examples of categories include: • Brain usage myths (e.g., the false belief that humans use only a small fraction of their brain). • Animal behavior myths (e.g., misconceptions about animal memory or behavior). [ • Common health myths are repeatedly circulated socially (e.g., false general claims about vitamins or everyday remedies). These myths persist because repetition increases familiarity, and familiarity is perceived as truth, thereby demonstrating how the illusory truth effect operates across diverse categories of falsehood. II. Neutral Trivia Used in Controlled Experiments These are nonpolitical, innocuous statements that researchers include in studies to measure how repetition affects truth judgments. The seminal 1977 study used repeated trivia items such as: • Historical claims about events or dates • Geographic statements • Scientific “factoid style” statements Researchers found confidence in the truth of repeated items increased—from an average belief rating of 4.2 → 4.6 → 4.7 across three sessions—even though some repeated items were false. These trivia statements underpin modern research on the illusory truth effect. III. Advertising and Marketing Repetition Repeated commercial messaging can cause consumers to believe claims that lack evidence. Examples of categories include: • Repeated slogans implying exaggerated product capabilities • Health-related product claims that become believable through sheer familiarity • Brand myths reinforced by constant exposure Advertising is explicitly identified as a primary domain where the illusory truth effect influences belief formation. IV. Social Media Misinformation Patterns These are categories of falsehoods spread widely online—not the content of the misinformation itself. Repeated exposure to online misinformation leads users to internalize falsehoods and even form false memories. Categories include: • Repeated misleading claims about public events • Repeated conspiracy narratives across multiple accounts • Fabricated headlines circulated by different pages • Misattributed quotes reposted widely Britannica explains that repeated exposure to such false information leads users to remember the core message, but forget the context (including warnings or debunkings). [ V. Political Propaganda Techniques Psychology Today documents that the illusory truth effect is actively exploited in political communication. Categories include: • Repeated ideological slogans • Repeated attacks on opponents • Narratives circulated consistently across aligned media • Claims repeated by multiple partisan voices to create perceived consensus These patterns use familiarity to manipulate belief. VI. Fake News Patterns Britannica notes that repeated exposure to fake news stories leads audiences to accept misinformation, especially when paired with misattribution (forgetting the false origin). [newsmax.com] Standard fake news formats include: • Sensational headlines repeated across social platforms • Fabricated “breaking news” alerts are shared frequently • False cause-and-effect claims repeated in many posts Here, repetition, not evidence, drives perceived truth. Summary Table Category Type of Falsehood Why It Works Source Cultural Myths Brain usage myths, animal myths, health myths Familiarity → fluency → belief [communistusa.org], [en.wikipedia.org] Experimental Trivia Neutral statements repeated in studies Repetition increases confidence ratings [victimsofc...munism.org]