THE TEAM

Why do people believe that coronavirus is a bioweapon or that the attempt to assassinate President Trump at a rally was staged? We study the memory failures and cognitive ‘shortcuts’ that leave people vulnerable to misinformation. Our lab at UC San Diego uses both behavioral and neuroimaging tools to investigate why young and older adults fall for fake news. Our work has been covered by outlets like The New York Times and Rolling Stone, and has informed policies by agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security.​