EigoPro 準1級 読解 — Why Misinformation Spreads

It is tempting to assume that false information thrives only because people are gullible. Yet a landmark study of millions of posts found that falsehoods spread faster, farther, and more durably than the truth—and that human beings, not automated accounts, were chiefly responsible. The explanation is unsettling: lies are often simply more interesting than facts. A fabricated story can be engineered to surprise, alarm, or outrage, whereas the truth is constrained by what actually happened. Novelty seizes attention, and attention is the currency of every platform built to maximise engagement. The deeper problem lies in how our minds process claims. Psychologists have shown that merely encountering a statement repeatedly makes it feel truer, regardless of its accuracy—a phenomenon known as the illusory-truth effect. Worse, the very act of debunking a myth requires restating it, and the correction frequently fades from memory while the falsehood lingers. People also reason as members of groups, not as detached individuals; a claim that flatters one's tribe is embraced with little scrutiny, while inconvenient evidence is dismissed as biased. In such conditions, being well-informed offers surprisingly little protection. None of this means the situation is hopeless. Experiments in "prebunking"—exposing people to a weakened dose of a manipulative technique before they meet the real thing—suggest that forewarned audiences become measurably more resistant, much as a vaccine primes the immune system. Platforms can also dampen the reflex to share by inserting small frictions, such as prompting users to consider accuracy before posting. The lesson is not that people are hopelessly irrational, but that the architecture surrounding information shapes belief at least as powerfully as the evidence itself. Designing that architecture wisely may matter more than winning any single argument.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

準1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

  • Misinformation spreads mainly because automated accounts amplify false stories online.
  • Misinformation spreads because of how human psychology and platform design work, but its effects can be reduced through deliberate measures.
  • The only reliable way to stop misinformation is to debunk each false claim as it appears.
  • People who are well-informed are essentially immune to the appeal of false stories.
Phrase

the architecture surrounding information shapes belief at least as powerfully as the evidence itself

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム主旨把握
⚡ひとことで

本文の論旨は『誤情報は心理と設計のせいで広がるが、工夫で抑えられる』。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Misinformation spreads because of how human psychology and platform design work, but its effects can be reduced through deliberate measures.」

正解

本文は (1) 嘘は novelty ゆえに速く広がり拡散の主役は人間→ (2) 反復で真実味を感じる illusory-truth・集団的推論など心の仕組みが助長→ (3) prebunking や摩擦の挿入で軽減できる、という構成。最終段の None of this means the situation is hopeless と the architecture surrounding information shapes belief という結論から、『心理と設計が原因だが意図的な対策で軽減できる』が主旨。

  • 「Misinformation spreads mainly because automated accounts amplify all of the false stories that are found online today.」

    = 主に自動アカウントが拡散させる ━ 第1段で human beings, not automated accounts が主役と明言しており正反対。

  • 「People who happen to be well-informed are essentially immune to the appeal of any false stories.」

    = 情報通なら本質的に免疫がある ━ 第2段は being well-informed offers surprisingly little protection と述べており逆。

  • 「The one reliable way to stop misinformation is to debunk each and every false claim as it appears.」

    = 各主張を反証する以外に方法はない ━ 本文は debunking が myth を再唱する弊害を指摘し、prebunking や設計改善を勧めるので『反証だけ』ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
spread far and fast速く広く拡散するFalsehoods spread faster and farther.
be chiefly responsible for ~~の主な原因であるHumans were chiefly responsible.
shape belief信念を形作るArchitecture shapes belief.
at least as ~ as ...少なくとも…と同程度に~as powerfully as the evidence
deliberate measures意図的な対策reduced through deliberate measures
❝例文

  • Falsehoods spread faster and farther than the truth.

    嘘は真実よりも速く遠くまで広がる。

  • Humans, not bots, were chiefly responsible for the spread.

    拡散の主因はボットではなく人間だった。

  • The design of a platform shapes belief powerfully.

    プラットフォームの設計は信念を強く形作る。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の結論文 (The lesson is not ... but that ...) を探すと速い。『not A but B』は B が著者の主張。

問 2

According to the passage, why do falsehoods often spread faster than the truth?

  • Fabricated stories can be crafted to be more novel and emotionally striking than what actually happened.
  • True stories take longer to verify, so they are published much later.
  • Platforms deliberately delete true stories to promote false ones.
  • Falsehoods are usually shared by automated accounts rather than by people.
Phrase

A fabricated story can be engineered to surprise, alarm, or outrage, whereas the truth is constrained by what actually happened.

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

嘘は驚き・不安・怒りを狙って作れるが、真実は事実に縛られる。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Fabricated stories can be crafted to be more novel and emotionally striking than what actually happened.」

正解

第1段で lies are often simply more interesting than facts と述べ、捏造話は surprise, alarm, or outrage を狙って engineered できる一方、truth is constrained by what actually happened とする。さらに Novelty seizes attention と続く。この『より新奇で感情に訴えるよう作れる』が正解の言い換え。

  • 「shared by automated accounts」

    = 自動アカウントが共有する ━ 拡散の主役は人間だと第1段で否定済み。

  • 「The platforms deliberately delete the true stories in order to promote the false ones instead.」

    = 真実を意図的に削除する ━ そのような記述はない。問題は engagement 最大化の構造であって削除ではない。

  • 「The true stories take a good deal longer to verify, so they are published much later.」

    = 検証に時間がかかり掲載が遅れる ━ 検証時間や掲載遅延の話は本文にない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
be engineered to V~するよう仕組まれるengineered to outrage
be constrained by ~~に制約されるconstrained by what happened
seize attention注意を引きつけるNovelty seizes attention.
the currency of ~~における価値基準attention is the currency of platforms
maximise engagement関与を最大化するbuilt to maximise engagement
❝例文

  • The rumour was engineered to provoke outrage.

    その噂は怒りを誘うよう仕組まれていた。

  • A true account is constrained by the facts.

    真実の報告は事実に制約される。

  • Novelty seizes attention on every platform.

    新奇さはどのプラットフォームでも注意を引く。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文の語を別語に置換した選択肢が正解になりやすい (engineered→crafted, surprise/alarm/outrage→emotionally striking, novelty→novel)。

問 3

What does the passage say about the illusory-truth effect?

  • It only affects people who lack relevant background knowledge.
  • It makes corrections more memorable than the myths they address.
  • It causes people to forget statements they have heard many times before.
  • Repeated exposure to a statement makes it feel more true even when it is inaccurate.
Phrase

merely encountering a statement repeatedly makes it feel truer, regardless of its accuracy

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

錯誤的真実効果=反復して目にするだけで、正確さに関係なく真実味が増す。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Repeated exposure to a statement makes it feel more true even when it is inaccurate.」

正解

第2段で illusory-truth effect を『ある記述を繰り返し目にするだけで、正確さに関係なく truer に感じる現象』と定義する (regardless of its accuracy)。これを言い換えた『反復接触は不正確でも真実味を増す』が正解。

  • 「forget statements they have heard many times」

    = 何度も聞いた記述を忘れさせる ━ 効果は『忘れる』ではなく『真実味が増す』ので逆。

  • 「It only affects people who lack relevant background knowledge.」

    = 知識のない人だけに作用する ━ 本文は being well-informed offers little protection とし、知識の有無を条件にしていない。

  • 「makes corrections more memorable than the myths」

    = 訂正を神話より記憶に残す ━ 本文は逆に correction frequently fades while the falsehood lingers と述べる。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
the illusory-truth effect錯誤的真実効果known as the illusory-truth effect
regardless of ~~に関係なくregardless of its accuracy
fade from memory記憶から薄れるthe correction fades from memory
linger残り続けるthe falsehood lingers
encounter a statementある記述に出会うencountering a statement repeatedly
❝例文

  • Repetition makes a claim feel truer over time.

    反復によって主張は次第に真実味を帯びる。

  • The correction faded while the rumour lingered.

    訂正は薄れ、噂だけが残り続けた。

  • The slogan felt true regardless of the evidence.

    そのスローガンは証拠に関係なく真実に感じられた。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問では定義文 (a phenomenon known as ~) の直前句を答えに使う。本文の truer/regardless of accuracy が選択肢の feel more true/even when inaccurate に対応。

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