darulmaarif.net – Indramayu, 11 May 2026 | 09.00 WIB
In recent times, social media has again been filled with various viral information that has made the public uproar. Starting from edited videos that are considered facts, news about child kidnappings that turn out to be untrue, political issues that are twisted, to snippets of lectures or speeches that are deliberately cut to provoke public emotions.
What’s interesting, many people immediately believe it.
Even before checking the news source, reading it in full, or confirming its truth, the information has already been shared in family groups, WhatsApp status, and even on personal social media. Ironically, the more sensational the news, the more quickly it is believed.
The question:
why do people so easily believe hoaxes?
Is our society less intelligent?
Not necessarily.
This is precisely where the problem becomes interesting to dissect philosophically.
Hoaxes Do Not Attack Logic, But Emotions
Many people think humans make decisions based on logic. In practice, however, humans more often make decisions based on emotions—and then look for logic to justify them.
Modern philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer once described humans not as completely rational creatures, but as creatures driven by will, inner drives, and desires.
Therefore, the most successful hoaxes are usually not the ones that make the most sense, but the hoaxes that most successfully play on fear, anger, fanaticism, or hatred.
Take a look at the pattern of viral news headlines:
- “Spread before it gets deleted!”
- “The big media is deliberately covering this up!”
- “Surprising facts you don’t want to know!”
Such sentences work not on common sense, but on human curiosity and fear.
Hoax knows one important thing:
Humans often want to feel right rather than truly seeking the truth.
We Don’t Like Feeling Wrong
In the philosophy of knowledge (epistemology), there is a classic problem: humans tend to look for information that confirms their own beliefs.
This is called confirmation bias.
If someone hates a particular group from the start, then bad news about that group will be easier for them to believe—even if the evidence is weak.
On the other hand, if there are facts that conflict with his beliefs, he will reject them outright.
The analogy is simple.
Imagine someone wearing red glasses. Whatever he saw would appear reddish. The problem is, he often forgets that what changes is not the world, but the lens.
That’s how hoaxes work.
It doesn’t always change the facts. Sometimes he just uses the “emotional glasses” that someone has worn from the start.
In the Digital Age, Speed Beats Depth
In the past, people had to wait for the morning newspaper or television news to get information. Now, information comes every second without delay.
The problem is, the human brain is not evolving as fast as technology.
We live in an age when:
- reading the title is considered sufficient,
- video clips are considered evidence,
- netizen comments are considered research,
- and viral is considered the truth.
French philosopher Jean Baudrillard called this condition hyperreality—a situation when humans find it difficult to distinguish between genuine reality and media-created reality.
Finally, many people believe more in something that often appears on the screen than something that actually happens in the real world.
The more often a hoax is repeated, the more it “makes sense”.
However, repetition is not proof of truth.
If a lie is repeated a thousand times, it is still a lie.
Hoaxes Provide Psychological Comfort
Sometimes people believe hoaxes not because they are stupid, but because hoaxes make them feel comfortable.
Conspiracy theories for example.
For some people, it is more comfortable to believe that the world is controlled by “secret groups” than to accept the fact that life is complex and full of uncertainty.
Hoaxes often offer simple answers to complex problems.
However, the reality of life is not that simple.
Humans like certainty. And hoaxes sell instant certainty.
Social Media Makes Us Live in an “Echo Chamber”
Social media algorithms work by showing us what we like.
As a result, a person constantly sees opinions that coincide with his own beliefs.
This is what is called echo chamber.
The analogy is like someone screaming in a cave. All he heard was his own voice reflected back.
For a long time he felt:
“Everyone would agree with me.”
Though not necessarily.
Because of this, social media often makes people more confident, not more critical.
The Biggest Problem with Hoaxes: It Kills the Ability to Think
The biggest danger of hoaxes is not just false information.
What is more dangerous is when humans lose the habit of thinking clearly.
When people immediately get angry without checking the facts, immediately hate without understanding the context, and immediately share without reading the content, then what is damaged is not just the information—but the way society itself thinks.
Philosophy since the time of Socrates has always taught one important thing:
Healthy doubt is part of wisdom.
A wise person is not someone who believes everything. But also not someone who rejects everything.
A wise person is someone who is willing to check before concluding.
Today, the world is filled with information that moves faster than humans can digest. In situations like this, thinking clearly becomes something rare.
Hoaxes will always exist. Technology will continue to develop. Information manipulation will become increasingly sophisticated.
However, one thing that can still be maintained is the human ability to pause before believing.
Read more fully before getting angry.
Check sources before sharing.
And use common sense before following the crowd.
Because sometimes, in a world that is too busy talking, the ability to think slowly becomes the most important form of intelligence.
Hope it is useful. Wallohu a’lam.
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