In A scientific theory of gist communication and misinformation resistance, Reyna demonstrates how communication scholarship is branching out into related disciplines to explain and improve the practice. The distinction made between verbatim and gist information helps practitioners understand how audiences process stimuli based on their own personal experiences, which can then inform our own strategies and tactics to make our campaigns more effective. After all, information is subject to interpretation, and Fuzzy Trace Theory all but proves that cognition largely depends on one’s personal circumstances – whether biological, psychological, or environmental.

How misinformation springs to life

The article draws a line between presenting facts and presenting the underlying meaning and implications of said facts on the personal circumstances of its intended audiences. Humans are evolutionarily wired not just to seek explanations (Ayan, 2014), but wired to seek, as one of the relentless pursuits brought about by the human condition (Goldhill, 2016). Where misinformation finds success is in the gaps created by clinical presentation of information without adequate explanation. When a scientist comes out with a conclusion that A leads to B, the first instinct is to ask what causes that connection. This is the gap that must be filled if we are to transition from verbatim to gist communication and make efforts to inform public discourse more effective.

However, there is a balance that must be struck between presenting information and persuading people to interpret that information driven by agenda, which effectively erodes the personal liberty of processing information based on its relevance to one’s own worldview and reality (Reyna, 2021).

Do facts really not care about your feelings?

The bottom line is, fact is not separate from emotion. The greatest line of political conversation of this decade is arguably “Facts do not care about your feelings,” but clearly, there is a relationship between the two concepts, and they are nowhere near diametrically opposed. Facts can cause people to feel strong emotions about a certain issue, and they can influence people to behave in a certain way. If presented well, they can be strong enough to enact social progress. This is the new challenge for communication in the Age of Information Disorder.

References

Ayan, S. (2014, September 8). Why we wonder why. Scientific American Blog Network. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/why-we-wonder-why/  

Goldhill, O. (2016, May 15). Neuroscience confirms that to be truly happy, you will always need something more. Quartz. https://qz.com/684940/neuroscience-confirms-that-to-be-truly-happy-you-will-always-need-something-more  

Reyna, V. F. (2021). A scientific theory of Gist Communication and misinformation resistance, with implications for Health, education, and policy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(15). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1912441117