This affect of facts not able to change one's mind can also be caused by emotional thinking. When our brain writes to memory, emotional tags are added to the sensory content. Our memory has both emotional valence and sensory content; two sides of the brain can be used to process memory. We can approach our memory from either side; content or feeling tag. This dual writing is why our strongest memories also have strong emotional valence along with the unique sensory content.
As an example of approaching memory from the emotional side, say I asked you to list your 10 favorite foods. These 10 foods would all be foods that have the emotional tags of enjoyment and satisfaction. Someone could state the fact that I like a nicely seasoned steak, medium rare. This would be true, but this would not be the entire list of 10 based on the my favorite criteria; emotional side, and therefore would only be felt as partially true.
One can also approach memory from the sensory side, free of emotions, like Mr Spock. The 10 favorite foods, from the POV of sensory content, can be all over the place in terms of sensory content detail; from chicken carbonara, to a Porterhouse steak to Shanghai crispy noodle, etc. In this case, the statement of fact, that I like steak would be correct, in terms of a unique sensory memory, free from emotional valance. It has specific sensory parameters. I like it, secondly.
The main reason for the difference is there are a finite number of emotional tags. Each emotional tag is recycled and used for similar things. Sensory based facts are specific and unique to themselves due to the content parameters of up to five senses being part of the content; very specific in terms of sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. Politics and religion tend to be emotional; emotional thinking, therefore a partial list of facts would need to be more complete, before the emotion is fulfilled. One fact can be seen, but the list has more than one detail; context.
Emotional thinking is useful since it allows the brain to store our memory in layers. For example, if you are feeling hungry, your memory tends to narrow to a layer specialize to seeking, preparing and eating food. We can still use the entire brain, but from the POV of targeted content within a specific layer of memory. The affect is like putting on rose colored glasses, so all the rose colored letters on the coded paper, disappear, and the blue letters stand out. In the case of emotional layering, there are more layers than just two. Depression narrows your memory to a dark layer so positive memory is less conscious and does not belong. Shifting layers can solve the problem; best of times. But you first need to shut off the specific neurotransmitters that cause the layer to come to focus. Drugs are often used but it can be done in other natural ways.
Fake news appears know how this works in its own diabolical way. For example, former President Trump was sold as being like Hitler, Putin's puppet, with his finger on the nuclear button, a bigot, KKK, etc., in an attempt to lump him with the fear tag; lump him with all the things that Left wing people fear. The emotional thinkers would attach fear to Trump, so he becomes part of a longer list of fear tagged memory, most of which was not Trump. If this layer became active, in focus, that would amplify the fear. It would be nice if fake news used this to induce joy, instead of a drum beat for war.
The emotional thinkers can get lost in their fear layer. It is too much work to therapy a large group; analyze the fear tag using a sensory side induction, so they can learnt shut off the fear based neurotransmitters, and then sort and pull out the weeds. Often if a specific emotional memory layer is induced, not all sensory facts, presented, are part of that layer, and therefore many facts cannot even be seen as relevant.
