Echo Chambers

Recently (Sept. 2025), Donald Trump made misleading statements about Tylenol and autism, causing medical professionals to push back.  Unfortunately, Christians have sometimes taken part in misinformation or repeating false conspiracy theories – “stop the steal”, QAnon, COVID/Vaccine misinformation, pandemic mandates, Jan. 6 insurrection, etc.

In the name of faith, of “traditional” values, Christians are often willing to play along, whether knowingly or unknowingly.  Social media plays into this, putting us into echo chambers that merely affirm our worldview. Trevin Wax, in a 2017 blog article, wrote:

Conservative Christians have a right to be skeptical when it comes to mainstream media bias. But we are way too skeptical if we distrust any fact or figure from any mainstream site. And we are much too gullible if we easily believe stories that come from other sources, including the new administration.

Too many Christians these days are “gullible skeptics.” Skeptics toward establishment type media outlets, and gullible toward other websites or toward political spinmeisters who already line up with their preexisting beliefs or worldview.

Even worse, multiple studies have shown that the social media platforms we use create echo chambers, where algorithms feed us content that reaffirms the user’s biases and views. This is true for both left and right of the political spectrum – no one is immune from the algorithm.

The Believer and Truth according to Scripture

Believers are set apart by God’s truth and sent to embody it because God delights in truth. John 17:17–18 tells us, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Psalm 51:6 says, “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

We are to be people who are to be walking in truth, clothed in truth. 3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” Ephesians 6:14 tells us, “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.”

God delights in truth because He is truth; Satan embodies falsehood in diametric opposition to truth. Psalm 119:160 affirms who God is: “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”  In John 14:6, Jesus states, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  But in the description of Satan, Jesus says in John 8:44, “[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Yet…

Believers still repeat disprovable facts as if they are true.

• False claims about vaccines are prevalent even though multiple studies exist showing no link between vaccines and autism.
• According to the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, the 2020 election was secure and legitimate, citing a host of sources from Republican operatives, courts and federal agencies. 
• Immigrants do not increase crime rates, with studies showing immigrants actually have lower incarceration rates; with one study showing it hasn’t been in the case for 140 years. Another study found “increased undocumented immigration was significantly associated with reductions in drug arrests, drug overdose deaths, and DUI arrests, net of other factors.”  Other studies show sanctuary policies have no correlation with crime rates.
• In 2024, the false rumor was being spread that Haitians were harming or eating pet dogs and cats; which was in fact, not true.

Why would the world believe us?

If Christians are supposed to embody and speak truth, then why would world believe us when Christians keep bending and spinning the truth?  Especially with verifiable claims that can prove or disprove our truth claims?  When Christians keep repeating misinformation, unverifiable rumors and outright falsehoods, it undermines our trustworthiness and our reliability.

This leads to the larger problem of credibility.  When Christians repeat verifiably false claims, it undermines our trustworthiness. 

Why in the world would a nonbeliever accept an abstract faith truth claim (such as the Gospel) when believers keep repeating verifiably false claims?  In other words, why would non-Christians believe a word we say about spiritual matters when Christians keep repeating falsehoods and rumors that can be proven to be untrue?

Let’s flip the script for a moment:  If the tables were turned and non-Christians were spreading falsehoods and untrue rumors about our churches and families, we would be the first to call it out. We would rightly point to the facts and insist truth matters.

So why should the world take our claims about the Gospel seriously when we fail to apply that same standard to ourselves? If truth is central to our identity in Christ, then truth-telling must be central to our witness. Our integrity is our greatest credential, shown not only in proclaiming the Gospel, but also in how we handle everyday claims, news, and information. Truth is not something we adjust or spin; it is something we either live by or betray.