@One Man Bannedit's not a phenomenon related specific beliefs IMO. For example, if I have a random belief people with red hats are assholes, I'll get a little confirmation bias every time I see someone in a red hat do some asshole shit. If I'm indifferent to whether or not a person wears a red hat, and see someone do some asshole shit in a red hat, there's no confirmation bias there because I didn't hold a related belief before witnessing. If I like people in Red hats, and even wear a red hat myself I probably won't re-examine my own bias either, but that's not confirmation bias. My beliefs prior to witnessing new data don't need to be "right or wrong" to experience confirmation bias, they only need to exist.
Confirmation bias is appealing to most people because it allows us to avoid re-examining our beliefs every time we examine new data. There's also the appeal of thinking to yourself "see, I was right" which is more enjoyable than "damn, I was wrong". Granted, it's a good idea to stay open minded, and expose yourself to unsettling facts that force you to re-examine your beliefs, but not to the point where you don't hold any pre-existing beliefs to confirm. I might think vaccinating is a good idea, and see anti-vax kids getting measles, even though I experience confirmation bias, that doesn't mean my opinions on the subject are any less valid.
@misteraven agreed, being skilled in propaganda is the first major requirement to becoming an elected politician. There's no better way to effect political change in a democracy once in power, than having the most compelling propaganda, pushing the political outcome in your favor. Just as in business, marketing strategy is key, in the political world, a lot of resources are devoted towards "public relations campaigning" for legislation, or devoted towards performing studies, sponsoring statistical evidence that supports political platforms, and legitimizes governmental overreach.
To me, that's not what those charts represented. It seems like people have a bias for entertainment, that drives higher ratings when you run a story on a juicy murder, or some asshole that abused an animal, as opposed to presenting important information that would actually effect your audiences decisions in their daily lives. Kind of like we prefer news almost entirely for it's entertainment value, regardless of it's political implications. That's why most people aren't watching Bloomberg, and reading the economist. They're out there watching the weather girl with giant tits in the tight dress, over the middle aged meteorologist lady, clicking through bullshit celebrity gossip articles, and taking in other bullshit fluff news stories.
Granted, I think this is being exploited heavily by the powers that be, but god damn we make it so easy it's hard to blame them for it.
