Using internet memes to combat cognitive bias

Dominic D. Wells

Chapter 11 in Teaching Critical Thinking in Political Science, 2025, pp 106-116 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Misinformation spreads quickly on social media websites and has contributed to the decline of confidence in American democratic institutions. Americans rely on social media for news and information about politics, making it important that people obtain the skills necessary to discern factual information from misinformation. This chapter describes how political memes can be used in the classroom to build critical thinking skills and combat cognitive bias. Several strategies for using memes are discussed in this chapter, including students generating their own memes, critiquing the memes of their classmates, critiquing popular memes found on social media, and identifying information statements in their work. Through these exercises, students build critical thinking skills, allowing them to identify misinformation and challenge the tendency to simplify information through a filter of personal experience and preferences.

Keywords: Memes; Cognitive bias; Misinformation; Critical thinking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035327539
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