Hi Rob,
Thanks so much for your note. I particularly liked your first quote above. Persuasiveness is an interesting characteristic. I do believe our own biases will have an affect on what we hear and what we then discard as meaningless. I also believe they influence our beliefs.
Whether I am persuaded or not by another's point of view is something else entirely. I would agree that the source of the information would have a huge impact on whether I am persuaded by the points.
I think in the fake news category, people don't go as deep. They hear and pass it on. They do not take the time to fact check, as the viral tweet in the New York Times article made obvious.
Still, it is an interesting phenomenon and one with great influence.
Best,
Sue