The Danger of Groupthink: How Social Media Rewrites History and Distorts Reality

 

Why People Believe What They Want to Believe

 

People don’t believe things because they are true. They believe them because they fit the narrative they want to accept—because they are convenient, comforting, or socially advantageous. The truth—raw, unfiltered, and often uncomfortable—rarely stands a chance against the overwhelming force of human bias.

Throughout history, people have ignored reality even when facts were staring them in the face. Why? Because admitting they were wrong is painful. Because changing a belief takes effort. Because humans would rather stay comfortable in a lie than confront a truth that forces them to rethink everything.

This is why people defend bad ideas even when presented with overwhelming evidence. It is why they ignore clear facts, dismiss expert testimony, and cling to narratives that serve their emotional needs. It is why history repeats itself—because the truth is not what people seek. They seek validation.

This tendency to seek validation over truth has always existed, but in the past, reality had a way of catching up with people. Today, however, social media has removed that natural corrective process, amplifying false narratives and reinforcing groupthink on an unprecedented scale.

 

How Social Media Turns Misinformation Into “Truth”

 

Technology has transformed our lives, making tasks easier than ever with just a few clicks. But as automation and convenience increase, critical thinking decreases. We no longer have to seek out information, analyze it, or challenge our own assumptions—algorithms do the thinking for us.

As a result, we live in a world where the loudest voice wins—not the most knowledgeable, not the most experienced, not the one with evidence. Just the one that gets the most engagement.

One of the most dangerous applications of this phenomenon is in self-defense. People’s lives depend on accurate information, but on social media, credibility is dictated by engagement—not expertise. This creates an environment where life-saving knowledge is drowned out by viral myths.

 

The Viral Illusion of Authority

A random teenager can upload a TikTok explaining how to “disarm a gunman” with a flashy move, and people will believe it—not because it is true, but because:

• The video looks professional.
• The person seems confident.
• Thousands of likes and comments give the illusion of credibility.

Millions of women believe that holding keys between their fingers is a solid self-defense strategy—not realizing that if they actually punched someone that way, they would likely break their own knuckles before doing any real damage.

People watch flashy wrist grab escapes and assume they will work in a real attack—without understanding that under adrenaline and real resistance, those moves fall apart. Overconfidence gets people hurt. The false sense of security from bad self-defense advice is more dangerous than no training at all.

But the distortion of truth does not stop at self-defense. It extends into how we document history itself. If social media can rewrite the present, what happens when it starts rewriting the past?

 

If Museums Operated Like Social Media…

 

Imagine if museums worked like TikTok or Twitter. Suppose history was curated by whatever narrative happened to be trending at the time.

One year, an event happened one way. A decade later, the plaques are quietly updated to fit the new popular interpretation. And anyone who remember the original version? They are dismissed as out-of-touch, irrelevant, or worse—dangerous.

That is what is happening in real-time today. If facts are malleable, if truth is determined by majority rule, then we have no roots. We become unanchored, drifting wherever the wind blows.

 

The Consequences of a World Without Truth

 

If we allow reality to be rewritten based on what is convenient or popular, we lose three things that are necessary for human survival:

1. We Lose Our Ability to Learn from the Past

When history is rewritten, we lose our ability to study it, recognize patterns, and correct mistakes. The lessons of past failures become irrelevant, and the same mistakes are repeated—only this time, they feel new.

2. We Lose Our Sense of Identity

When the foundation of who we are changes based on trends, we have no cultural or personal roots. Nations, traditions, and values become meaningless because they can be reshaped overnight. The past no longer serves as a foundation—it becomes an inconvenience to be edited.

3. We Destroy the Future

Progress depends on learning from mistakes. If those mistakes get erased, future generations will repeat them. If truth is rewritten every few years, nothing real is ever built. Everything becomes temporary, disposable, and meaningless.

This is not just about self-defense or history. It affects every major topic in society.

 

When Everyone Becomes an Expert Without Knowledge

Misinformation thrives in subjects where people have strong opinions but little expertise.

 

• Israel and the Middle East – Most people who post about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have never been to Israel, do not speak Hebrew or Arabic, and could not name five historical events that shaped the region. But a viral infographic convinces them they understand the entire conflict.

 

• Self-Defense – People who have never been in a real fight believe a 30-second TikTok clip has prepared them for life-or-death situations, never testing these techniques under real pressure.

   

• Health and Medicine – During COVID, a person with zero medical background confidently debated a scientist with 30 years of experience—because they read a Reddit thread.

   

• Economics – Most people do not understand how inflation works. They just repeat what Twitter told them to think.

   

• Psychology and Trauma – TikTok is filled with people diagnosing themselves with mental illnesses because they relate to a 10-second video clip. Suddenly, every minor inconvenience is labeled as “trauma.”

   

The problem is not just that misinformation spreads. It is that people absorb it as fact without ever questioning it.

 

The Solution: Think Like a Warrior, Not a Follower

 

Krav Maga teaches us not to rely on the crowd. In a real fight, you do not wait for a group consensus—you act. You assess the situation, you make decisions based on reality, not based on what you wish were true.

 

The same mindset applies to thinking. To resist the mental warfare of social media, you have to train your mind just as you train your body.

 

Question Everything

Do not accept something as true just because thousands of people liked it. Likes are not evidence. Shares are not proof. Comments do not equal credibility.

Seek Firsthand Knowledge

The more distance between you and the source, the easier it is to be manipulated. Read history, listen to people who were actually there, and study primary sources, not just summaries and social media posts.

Recognize That Truth Does Not Change

 

Popular opinion shifts, but reality remains the same. If something was true 50 years ago, it is still true today. If something was factually false in the past, it does not magically become true because people want it to be.

 

Understand the Power of Narrative Control

Who benefits from shaping the way you think? Who gains when you believe one version of history and not another? Ask yourself: Who profits from the story you are being told?

 

Stay Grounded in Truth, Not Trends

 

If we let groupthink and social media dictate reality, we are handing over the future to whoever has the biggest megaphone, not whoever has the truth.

A warrior stands on solid ground—not on shifting sand. Train your mind the way you train your body. Reject blind obedience. Question the crowd. Seek the truth.

Because once history is rewritten, there is no getting it back.

Do something amazing,

Tsahi Shemesh
Founder & CEO
Krav Maga Experts