Abstract
AimDeveloping evidence-based recommendations on how to debunk health-related misinformation and more specific health myths in (online) communication is important for individual health and the society. The present study investigated the effects of debunking/correction texts created according to the latest research findings with regard to four different health myths on recipients’ belief, behaviour and feelings regarding the myths. Further, the study investigated the effects of different visualisations (machine-technical created image, diagram, image of an expert, message without an image) in the debunking texts.Subject and methodsA representative sample of German Internet users (N = 700) participated in an anonymous online survey experiment with a 4 (myths) × 4 (picture) mixed study design.ResultsThe results show that receiving an online news article that refutes a widespread health myth with or without the use of an image can significantly change the attitudes of the recipients toward this myth. The most influential variable was the attributed credibility: the more credible a debunking text is for a recipient, the more corrective effectiveness it has. However, the corrective messages did not differ in their persuasive effects depending on the image types used.ConclusionThe results offer an optimistic outlook on the correction of health-related misinformation and especially health myths and insight into why and how people change their beliefs (or not) and how beliefs in health myths can be reduced. The findings can be used by journalists, scientists, doctors and many other actors for efficient (online) communication.
Highlights
The existence of health-related mis- and disinformation especially on the Internet has been evident during the novel coronavirus (SARS-oV-2) and COVID-19 (e.g., Arif et al 2018; Pías-Peleteiro et al 2013; Scullard et al 2010), but for centuries
The present study investigates the effects of debunking texts created according to the latest research for four different health myths on recipients’ belief, behaviour and feelings regarding the health myths
The second aim of the study is to investigate the effect of different visualisations in the debunking texts
Summary
The existence of health-related mis- and disinformation especially on the Internet has been evident during the novel coronavirus (SARS-oV-2) and COVID-19 (e.g., Arif et al 2018; Pías-Peleteiro et al 2013; Scullard et al 2010), but for centuries. Developing evidence-based recommendations on how to adequately debunk health-related mis- and disinformation and myths in communication is important for individual health and society as a whole (Cook et al 2017; Swire and Ecker 2018). The idea that the MMR vaccine causes autism is a myth whose spread poses a risk to society. It is still widespread on the Internet, it has been repeatedly exposed as a myth in the media and debunked by strong scientific evidence (Scullard et al 2010). The economic burden of measles outbreaks in the United States was estimated at several million dollars
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