Commentators say we have entered a “post-truth” era. As political lies and “fake news” flourish, citizens appear not only to believe misinformation, but also to condone misinformation they do not believe. The present article reviews recent research on three psychological factors that encourage people to condone misinformation: partisanship, imagination, and repetition. Each factor relates to a hallmark of “post-truth” society: political polarization, leaders who push “alterative facts,” and technology that amplifies disinformation. By lowering moral standards, convincing people that a lie's “gist” is true, or dulling affective reactions, these factors not only reduce moral condemnation of misinformation, but can also amplify partisan disagreement. We discuss implications for reducing the spread of misinformation.

评论员说，我们已经进入了一个“后真相”时代。随着政治谎言和“假新闻”的盛行，公民似乎不仅相信错误信息，而且还纵容他们不相信的错误信息。本文回顾了最近关于鼓励人们容忍错误信息的三个心理因素的研究：党派偏见、想象力和重复。每个因素都与“后真相”社会的一个标志有关：政治两极分化、推动“另类事实”的领导人以及放大虚假信息的技术。通过降低道德标准，让人们相信谎言的“主旨”是真实的，或者使情感反应迟钝，这些因素不仅减少了对错误信息的道德谴责，而且还可以放大党派分歧。我们讨论了减少错误信息传播的影响。