ABSTRACT
The illusory truth effect and the language of the Twittersphere prime users to accept or to reject information that they read on Twitter passively. The unsophisticated and brash demands of the Twitter genre make the platform ideal for a speaker like Donald Trump, who has cultivated a persona that is similarly, if overtly, artless and foolhardy. In the Twittersphere, emotion is read, not heard, which invites the reader to participate in the emotion through creation, as he or she reads a tweet. Independent of political ideology, the Twittersphere promotes the illusory truth effect and limits our potential not only to engage in earnest discourse but also to understand rightly any information gained in that sphere. Being aware of the process can lessen the impact of the illusory truth effect, and in combination with an understanding of the language of the Twittersphere, individuals may be better prepared to extend compassion to others instead of mindlessly reviling differences.
