Satan’s new 21st-century high-tech tool-social media-is deceiving millions, researchers warn. A study published in Science examined over a million Facebook posts and 68,000 tweets, revealing that outrage-driven content “turbocharges the spread of misinformation.” People are far more likely to share such posts impulsively, rarely fact-checking before doing so.

The analysis found that Facebook posts from misinformation sources received significantly more “Anger Reactions” than those from credible sources. Similarly, tweets linking to misinformation provoked more outrage than tweets from trustworthy outlets. Notably, posts that generated more anger were also more likely to be shared without being clicked or verified, especially if they contained misinformation. This suggests that outrage is a powerful driver of impulsive, uncritical sharing.

Craig Cormack, in The Science of Communicating Science, observes that “the more emotive somebody is about a topic, the less likely they are to be influenced by any facts and figures.” Agitation and anger make people more receptive to emotional messages and less open to rational information.

The American Council on Science and Health warns that social platforms thrive on emotional reactions, rewarding us with dopamine while undermining our ability to discern truth from fiction. The solution, they argue, isn’t more information or louder arguments, but a conscious pause before reacting or sharing. To restore meaningful discourse, we must resist performative outrage and demand platforms that value thoughtful engagement over emotional exploitation.