HonestReporting CEO Joe Hyams attended the Israeli Presidential Conference – Facing Tomorrow this week. On the second day of the conference, he asked noted author and professor of behavior economics what HonestReporting could do to overcome the assault on Israel’s legitimacy.
Ariely answered that there are three factors that are working against Israel. The first is that a simple narrative overcomes a complex narrative. The second is the phenomenon ofter referred to as “if it bleeds, it leads,” whereby news editors give preference to stories that evoke an emotional gut response.
The third factor, which Ariely elaborated at length, is that Israel image has experienced an erosion over time. Watch the video below to hear Ariely’s prescription for the problem.
