When trying to change minds, we hope that evidence will work. That giving people facts, figures, and other information will encourage them to move in our direction. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.
Numerous studies, whether examining medicine, politics, or other areas, have found that evidence that was supposed to change minds didn’t always work. Sometimes it made people more likely to believe the truth, but other times it just reaffirmed falsehoods.
Rather than changing false beliefs, exposure to the truth often increased misperceptions. Giving people correct information made them more likely to believe the exact opposite.