Whenever I read news/posts on social media about politics and other controversial issues (i.e. anything these days), I'm reminded of the phenomenon of 'identity-protective reasoning':
When information contradicts a person's beliefs, they will ignore the former and hold onto the latter. If the beliefs are not deeply rooted, they can be easily discarded, but if they are, the person will cling to them even in the face of new facts. This cognitive bias is known as "identity-protective reasoning," and it makes it incredibly difficult to persuade someone whose beliefs are an integral part of their identity.
