News as (hazardous) entertainment: Exaggerated reporting leads to more memory distortion for news stories.

The media is influential in shaping people’s knowledge and beliefs about the world; however, reporters may take liberties with the facts to support a particular view or to create an entertaining story, resulting in biased or even falsified reports. We examined whether news reports with exaggerated details from newspapers and/or television are more likely to lead to memory distortion and whether a warning regarding the media’s potential for...