It is a sad truth that any health crisis （危机） will lead to a large outbreak of misinformation.
In the 80s, 90s, and 2000s we saw the spread of dangerous lies about AIDS - from the belief that the HIV virus was created by a government laboratory to the idea that it could be treated with goat's milk. These claims increased risky behaviour and worsened the crisis.
Now, we are surrounded with unreal news - this time around Covid-19 （新冠肺炎）．The Economist in March 2020 found 13% of Americans believed Covid-19 was a trick while 49% believed the virus might be man-made. While you might hope that greater brainpower or education would help us to tell facts from lies, it is easy to find examples of many educated people falling for false information. Kelly Brogan, who has a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has refused clear evidence of the virus's danger in countries like China and Italy and even questioned the health officials.
Part of the problem arises from the nature of the messages themselves. As BBC Future has described in the past, suppliers of false news can make their message feel "truthy" through a few simple tricks, which discourages us from using our critical thinking skills.
For example, a simple image alongside a statement increases our trust in its accuracy （准确）---even if it is only partly related to the statement. Moreover, even the simple repetition of a statement can increase the "truthiness" by increasing feelings of familiarity.
These tricks have long been known by peddlers （传播者） of misinformation, but today's social media make the spread more easily. Recent evidence shows that many people share information on the Internet without even thinking about its truthfulness and ignoring the obvious question： is it true？
How does the author support his ideas in the text？ ______
A. By giving examples.
B. By making comparisons.
C. By doing scientific research.
D. By explaining statistical data.
The author mentions Kelly Brogan in paragraph 3 to prove that ______ ．
A. Covid-19 is not real but may be man-made
B. plenty of false news crowds into people's daily life
C. even well-educated people may not tell facts from lies
D. countries like China and Italy have suffered greatly these days
People are most likely to believe the false news when ______ ．
A. it's unfamiliar to them
B. it's attached with clear evidences
C. it carries several messages at a time
D. it includes pictures and repeated statements
What's the main idea of the last paragraph？ ______
A. Many people share false information to attract more followers.
B. Fake news peddlers have long tricked people into ignoring truth.
C. Some tricks prevent people from applying critical thinking skills.
D. It's today's social media that speed up the spread of misinformation.
