Exposing the public to fake news may lead to the creation of false memories, according to a new study published in Psychological Science.

Researchers in the study asked participants to recall real-life events based upon provided news reports. Even though some of the news reports provided were fake, almost half of respondents reported remembering a fake event in real life — and “many” respondents recalled “rich details” about events that never actually happened, according to Science Daily.

The study, which focused on fake news related to abortion, was conducted shortly before the 2018 Irish referendum that overturned the ban on abortion. Gillian Murphy, the lead author and a researcher at the University College Cork, says that the study is significant because it analyzes the way misinformation influences the way people understand actual events, reports the news outlet.

“In highly emotional partisan political contests, such as the 2020 U.S. presidential election, voters may ‘remember’ entirely fabricated news stories,” Murphy told Science Daily. – READ MORE