We have all seen this picture of 'Rosie the Riveter', the strong woman who supports the soldiers fighting for God, country and democracy while she works herself in a sweat providing bullets to kill the evil Germans and Japanese. Right?
People believing they knew who the real Rosie the Riveter was were victims of the 'Woozle effect': believing something is true for the sole reason you heard and read it often. The effect is named after the imaginary creature by the same name in a Winnie the Pooh story: he believes the creature is real because his friend does and vice versa.
The Woozle effect is very real on social media where it's even possible to quote a non-existing research paper as 'evidence' for an non-proven theory, leading people to believe anything. You probably know of a few examples. Here's one:
Many people believe Al Gore was wrong when he stated humans are in large parts responsible for climate change. More than a few point to a quote that was widely spread through social media. For a large part by fake accounts that all quoted the same snippet from a conservative source. Why do people believe these 'facts'? Because they are reported not only just often but often by people who hold the same believes as they do. Here's the full story: https://www.skepticalscience.com/comeback-strategies-al-gore.html
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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00K4007NG
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