Memory Manipulation and Objective Truth

A Story by suuyuwriteyunu

How can we guard against our memories being manipulated by people seeking to obscure or hide the truth?

Memory Manipulation and Objective Truth

A fortress, complete with cannons and impenetrable stone walls…is what many believe our memories and past experiences are. Solid, concrete facts imprinted onto our brains just because we personally experienced them ourselves. In reality, however, memories are constantly being reconstructed. Although many share the same experience, their recollection of it differs. Memory is a shifting concept, always being influenced by our surroundings. This makes it particularly vulnerable to manipulation. And so the following question is raised: how can we guard against our memories being manipulated by people seeking to obscure or hide the truth? There is no one singular answer to this question, but amongst the most effective ways, truly understanding how ‘memory’ works, is one of them.

Understanding how memory works allows us to become more aware of our interpretation of situations, realise how most things are culturally relative, and lets us assess the memory from an objective perspective in a way that brings us closer to the ‘truth’. To begin with, human sciences is a study “dedicated to exploring the intricate workings of human behaviour, society, and cognition”, according to theoryofknowledge.net. Memory falls under this category, and is defined as “the psychological processes of acquiring, storing, retaining, and later retrieving information” (Cherry, 2024). Rather than something photographic, it is stored in different parts of our brains, then retrieved and reconstructed the moment we reminisce. Moreover, research shows that people’s memory of an event can easily be manipulated or planted by having someone undeniably claim it true. Elizabeth Hoftus’s “Lost In The Mall” study showed this phenomenon, where participants were given two true childhood experiences and one false: being lost in the mall. Although the participants never experienced the latter, just the assumption that they did led to them believing it. Moreover, the experimentator also held more credibility and power, claiming to have gotten the information from the participant’s parents. This shows that with just a nudge from a seemingly more powerful figure, we are prone to believing their claim. The same goes for some government propaganda: they seek to bury the ‘truth’ and manipulate the ignorant’s memory. Therefore, being aware of the fact that memory is ever-changing and easily influenced allows us to catch on quicker in times of manipulation, while also expanding our worldview. For example, if someone claimed the occurrence of a situation you’re sure did not happen, with this awareness, you’d detach yourself from the situation and look at it from an objective perspective. You’d understand this is only one perspective amongst many cultural backgrounds. There is always evidence to refer to if what is being said is closer to the ‘truth’, and with critical thinking, consideration of power dynamics and subconscious biases, cross-checking sources is also an incredibly viable option for obtaining the objective ‘truth’.

Despite the fact that awareness lowers the risk of manipulation, the ambiguity lies in the fact that we are also a huge contributing factor to the obscurement of ‘truth’. As stated in the above “Lost In The Mall” study, the experimentator who planted the false memory was the main source of manipulation, but it was the participant who decided to believe in said information. As humans, we instinctively justify ideas or realities that contradict our own to lower cognitive dissonance. It is the very technique people seeking to hide the truth lean into. Since, not only are our memories vulnerable to public influence, we are also a cause for inaccurate interpretations.

In conclusion, memory is ever-changing and easy to manipulate. However, by being aware of how it works, we are more able to guard ourselves against false information. Just as Elizabeth Hofstus said, “The problem is that people don't walk around in life with those warnings [of manipulation] at the forefront of their consciousness”. Therefore, becoming aware of it all is so important: so you can stop your mind from manipulating yourself, too.

Works Cited

“Human Sciences.” Theoryofknowledge.net, 19 Feb. 2024, theoryofknowledge.net/free-tok-notes/areas-of-knowledge/human-sciences/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

Kennedy, Mary B. “Synaptic Signaling in Learning and Memory.” Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, vol. 8, no. 2, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dec. 2013, p. a016824, https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a016824. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

Loftus, Elizabeth. “How Memory Can Be Manipulated, with Elizabeth Loftus, PhD.” Https://Www.apa.org, 2019, www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/memory-manipulated. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.