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Data suggests that Americans make easy targets for Russian trolls––we are nine times more susceptible to Russian propaganda than Russians themselves!

Psychology Today suggests a few possible solutions to that. The most likely, the author suggests, is related to our loneliness.

As we ran into fewer people, we have fewer friends. Americans’ number of close confidants dropped from three to two over the past 25 years, nearly tripling the degree of social isolation. With fewer friends and fewer social interactions, we become lonelier, seeking virtual substitutes through the Internet. And that’s where Russian trolls dwell.

Here’s a potential solution:

…we should all get out more. Loneliness is a dangerous condition, with health consequences as dire as a 15-cigarettes-per-day smocking habit. Until recently, we could dismiss loneliness as a personal problem. But the success of the Russian mass identity manipulations shows that it can be a political problem as well.

We’ve suggested that another possible solution is learning to read critically before sharing news online.

More about politics.