Correct Misinformation Research Articles

Exploring the effectiveness of virtual reality in combating misinformation on climate change

AbstractOur research examines the potential of immersive virtual reality (VR) in countering climate change misinformation. By creating VR simulations of future climate scenarios, we visually depict the potential impacts of rising temperatures and sea level rise on communities and ecosystems. Our objective is to determine whether immersive VR can achieve more effective correction outcomes compared to social media. We employ a mixed experimental design, manipulating the provision of correction through either VR or social media. We measure the impact of these interventions on belief in and skepticism toward climate change, and on inferential reasoning at three different points over a month. Furthermore, we explore the effectiveness of human actors and the level of presence in the VR experience as strategies to combat climate change misinformation. We find that VR conditions might lead to increased certainty in the belief that climate change is really happening and lowered skepticism toward the clarity of the effects of climate change. Moreover, we find significant differences in the heart rate (HR) of the participants in the VR conditions. The use of avatars in VR environments may contribute to heightened HR variability during misinformation correction, potentially due to increased emotional engagement and cognitive load.

The inhibitory impact of collaboration on the continued influence effect of misinformation

The continued influence effect (CIE) of misinformation refers to the persistence of misinformation’s impact on memory and inference even when individuals are aware of a retraction. This study examined whether collaborative processes affect the CIE and investigated the underlying mechanisms through three experiments. Experiment 1 explored the general impact of collaboration on the CIE. Experiment 2 further dissected collaboration into turn-taking and free collaboration conditions, assessing their effects on the CIE at various recall intervals. Building on these findings, Experiment 3 delved into the mechanisms driving the differential effects of turn-taking and free collaboration on misinformation correction. Results revealed that turn-taking collaboration consistently mitigates the CIE, while the effect of free collaboration on misinformation correction is moderated by recall time. This variation is attributed to differences in re-exposure, cross-cuing, and forgetting across collaboration types. The present study contributes empirical support to the Knowledge Revision Theory of the CIE.

Exploring the Influence of Interactive and Empathetic Chatbots on Health misinformation Correction and Vaccination Intentions

Chatbots are increasingly used to correct health misinformation. However, few studies have investigated whether and how certain design features could enhance their effectiveness. We developed four chatbots and conducted an experiment that examined whether chatbots with interactive and empathetic conversational cues could outperform a basic chatbot at correcting unvaccinated participants’ COVID-19 vaccination misperceptions and increasing their vaccination intentions. Perceived chatbot interactivity was associated with lower levels of misperception, which in turn were linked to greater vaccination intention. Perceived chatbot empathy did not reduce misperception, yet was directly and positively associated with vaccination intention. Implications of these findings are discussed.

How life circumstances during public health crises affect people to share and correct misinformation: a perspective of the third-person effect.

Misinformation spreading on social media often parallels public crises, such as the outbreak of COVID-19, because people's behaviors regarding misinformation may be influenced by their typical life circumstances. With the increasing severity of living conditions, misinformation is believed to spread more widely, while corrective behaviors tend to decrease. Furthermore, social comparison also affects the perception of life circumstances and subsequent behaviors. Taking Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdown as an example, this study examined whether two representative factors-the duration of the lockdown and the satisfaction with relief measures-affected people's tendency to share and correct misinformation. By employing the third-person effect (TPE) theory, the underlying mechanisms of social comparison were also explored. An online survey was conducted in April 2022, when the Zero-COVID policy was implemented in Shanghai. In addition to questions about life circumstances, a third-person perception scale, a behaviors of sharing misinformation scale, and a behaviors of correcting misinformation scale were included in the survey. Finally, 7,962 valid responses were collected. It was found that both behaviors-sharing and correcting misinformation-were affected by life circumstances but in different ways. The evidence also supported the existence of third-person perception (TPP). It was observed that the relationship between satisfaction with relief measures and sharing behavior was mediated by Third-Person Perception. This study reveals that the proliferation of misinformation during crises is related to the deterioration of people's perception of life circumstances. Social comparison often plays a significant role, as was reflected by the TPE.

When news is entertainment: explaining the persistence of misinformation through the information environment

ABSTRACT Why does misinformation persist despite its corrections? To address this issue, we propose the ‘news as entertainment’ framework, explaining how commercial considerations of the media industry shape news consumption. Using a strategic case study, we examine India's information environment through this paradigm. Guided by industry metrics, we reveal the interplay of competing social and economic interests in a context marked by high choice and political polarization. Within this framework, we examine misinformation correction in practice, highlighting its contextual underpinnings and the potent role of mainstream media. Finally, we discursively analyze how audience responses underscore their ties to specific news environments. The ‘news as entertainment’ framework exposes the disjunction between contextually shaped misinformation and correction methods, emphasizing how media contexts influence audience receptivity to facts or falsehoods. This insight informs our understanding of misinformation mechanisms, correction, and persistence with implications for addressing these challenges.

I assume others are influenced by health misinformation on social media: examining the underlying process of intentions to combat health misinformation

PurposeThe mounting health misinformation on social media triggers heated discussions about how to address it. Anchored by the influence of presumed influence (IPI) model, this study investigates the underlying process of intentions to combat health misinformation. Specifically, we analyzed how presumed exposure of others and presumed influence on others affect intentions to practice pre-emptive and reactive misinformation countering strategies.Design/methodology/approachCovariance-based structural equation modeling based on survey data from 690 Chinese participants was performed using the “lavaan” package in R to examine the proposed mechanism.FindingsPersonal attention to health information on social media is positively associated with presumed others’ attention to the same information, which, in turn, is related to an increased perception of health misinformation’s influence on others. The presumed influence is further positively tied to two pre-emptive countermeasures (i.e. support for media literacy interventions and institutional verification intention) and one reactive countermeasure (i.e. misinformation correction intention). However, the relationship between presumed influence and support for governmental restrictions, as another reactive countering method, is not significant.Originality/valueThis study supplements the misinformation countering literature by examining IPI’s tenability in explaining why individuals engage in combating misinformation. Both pre-emptive and reactive strategies were considered, enabling a panoramic view of the motivators of misinformation countering compared to previous studies. Our findings also inform the necessity of adopting a context-specific perspective and crafting other-oriented messages to motivate users’ initiative in implementing corrective actions.

Fluid intelligence but not need for cognition is associated with attitude change in response to the correction of misinformation

Misinformation can profoundly impact an individual’s attitudes—sometimes even after the misinformation has been corrected. In two preregistered experiments (N1 = 355, N2 = 725), we investigated whether individual differences in the ability and motivation to process information thoroughly influence the impact of misinformation in a news media context. More specifically, we tested whether fluid intelligence and need for cognition predicted the degree to which individuals who were exposed to misinformation changed their attitudes after receiving a correction message. We found consistent evidence that higher fluid intelligence is associated with a more pronounced correction effect, while need for cognition did not have a significant effect. This suggests that integrating a correction message with a previously encountered piece of misinformation can be challenging and that correction messages consequently need to be communicated in a way that is accessible to a broad audience.

Designing social media to foster user engagement in challenging misinformation: a cross-cultural comparison between the UK and Arab countries

Challenging others who post misinformation is a type of social correction that complements algorithm-based approaches. However, participation rates in such social acts remain limited. In this paper, we study design techniques that leverage principles of persuasive system design and communication theories to foster such prosocial behaviour across two distinct cultural contexts: the British and the Arab. A total of 462 participants completed an online survey (250 UK, 212 Arabs). The study compared the two cultural contexts regarding willingness to challenge misinformation and the persuasiveness of seven design techniques to increase that willingness, namely predefined question stickers, thinking face reaction, sentence openers, fact checker badge, social norm messages, tone detector, and private commenting. Moreover, it explores the impact of individuals’ characteristics on their perception of the techniques as being more or less persuasive than a standard comment box. The study found that the willingness to challenge misinformation was significantly higher in the Arab context than in the UK context. Moreover, except for the private commenting, all techniques were more impactful in the Arab context than in the UK context. Some techniques, such as predefined question stickers, were more effective in both cultures compared to the standard comment box, while others, like the fact checker badge, were more effective only in the Arab context. However, in the UK, sentence openers had a lower impact. Furthermore, personality traits, age, and perspective-taking showed the potential but also the varying impacts on the persuasiveness of the techniques on users’ correction of misinformation across both cultural contexts while pointing to the need for considering both personal and cultural factors in designing social-correction-based solutions.

Creating a Culturally Safe Online Data Collection Instrument to Measure Vaccine Confidence Among Indigenous Youth: Indigenous Consensus Method.

Participating in surveys can shape the perception of participants related to the study topic. Administering a vaccine hesitancy questionnaire can have negative impacts on participants' vaccine confidence. This is particularly true for online and cross-cultural data collection because culturally safe health education to correct misinformation is typically not provided after the administration of an electronic survey. To create a culturally safe, online, COVID-19 vaccine confidence survey for Indigenous youth designed to collect authentic, culturally relevant data of their vaccine experiences, with a low risk of contributing to further vaccine confusion among participants. Using the Aboriginal Telehealth Knowledge Circle consensus method, a team of academics, health care providers, policy makers, and community partners reviewed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy surveys used in public health research, analyzed potential risks, and created a framework for electronic Indigenous vaccine confidence surveys as well as survey items. The framework for safer online survey items is based on 2 principles, a first do-no-harm approach and applying a strengths-based lens. Relevant survey domains identified in the process include sociodemographic information, participants' connection to their community, preferred sources for health information, vaccination uptake among family members and peers, as well as personal attitudes toward vaccines. A total of 44 survey items were developed, including 5 open-ended items to improve the authenticity of the data and the analysis of the experiences of Indigenous youth. Using an Indigenous consensus method, we have developed an online COVID-19 vaccine confidence survey with culturally relevant domains and reduced the risk of amplifying misinformation and negative impacts on vaccine confidence among Indigenous participants. Our approach can be adapted to other online survey development in collaboration with Indigenous communities.

Stop the spread: Empowering students to address misinformation through community‐engaged, interdisciplinary science communication training

AbstractTeaching science in an age of disinformation and misinformation requires empowering students to address inaccurate information in evidence‐based ways. Science communication scholarship highlights the growing importance of inclusive and relational approaches for addressing misinformation. Thus, we developed, implemented, and evaluated an interdisciplinary, graduate‐level course for students in STEM, journalism/communication, and public health to learn to address misinformation using community‐engaged, evidence‐based approaches. We used the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical framework for our mixed‐methods analysis of the efficacy of this course, assessing both the behaviors that students planned to utilize in community‐engaged science communication to address misinformation, as well as the attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control that influenced these planned behaviors. Quantitative self‐report metrics indicated that this curriculum increased students' subjective norms for misinformation correction as well as perceived behavioral control of science communication and science civic engagement. Thematic analysis of qualitative student interview data showed that the course helped students increase their plans for inclusive approaches to addressing misinformation. This study indicates the importance of community‐engaged curriculum to develop the mindset and self‐efficacy necessary for scientists‐in‐training to address misinformation in their communities.

Pediatric nurses' acceptance and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines for their children at Assiut University Children Hospital: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundChildren's vaccination mainly depends on their parents' decisions. Therefore, it is important to understand parents' acceptance and attitudes toward vaccinating their children against COVID-19. AimThe study aimed to assess the pediatric nurses' acceptance and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines for their children at Assiut University Children Hospital. Materials and methodA cross-sectional descriptive design was used on a convenience sample of 270 nurses who worked at Assiut University Children Hospital. ToolsTool one involved the demographic characteristics of pediatric nurses and their children. Tool two consisted of pediatric nurses' acceptance and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines for their children: ResultsThe results indicated that 79.3% of pediatric nurses had higher acceptance of vaccines and immunization of their children. Results also revealed that 80.0% of pediatric nurses had positive attitudes toward vaccines and their children's immunizations. ConclusionIt was concluded that most of pediatric nurses had high acceptance and positive attitudes toward vaccines and immunization of their children. Also, it was clarified that there was a positive statistically significant correlation between nurses' acceptance of vaccines and immunization of their children and their attitudes. RecommendationsContinuing education and tailored intervention should be implemented to correct misinformation and negative conceptions about the safety of vaccines for children.

From news websites to social media: Unpacking the influence of online channels on presumed influence and responses to misinformation

This study employs the theoretical model of the influence of presumed influence to examine the mechanisms that drive online users to engage in information authentication and social correction, which are critical for countering misinformation. In particular, this study examines how the perceived prevalence and presumed influence of misinformation affect the intention to verify and correct misinformation, and how the use of different online platforms (i.e., social networking sites, video platforms, instant messaging applications, and news websites) for political news shapes these perceptions. This research draws on survey data from 2,589 respondents in Taiwan. The findings indicate that perceived prevalence has a positive relationship with presumed influence, which in turn, leads to authentications and corrections. Moreover, using social networking sites and video platforms for political news is positively related to perceived prevalence, whereas instant messaging applications have a negative association.

Nutrients and Foods Recommended for Blood Pressure Control on Twitter in Japan: Content Analysis.

Management and prevention of hypertension are important public health issues. Healthy dietary habits are one of the modifiable factors. As Twitter (subsequently rebranded X) is a digital platform that can influence public eating behavior, there is a knowledge gap regarding the information about foods and nutrients recommended for blood pressure control and who disseminates them on Twitter. This study aimed to investigate the nature of the information people are exposed to on Twitter regarding nutrients and foods for blood pressure control. A total of 147,898 Japanese tweets were extracted from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The final sample of 2347 tweets with at least 1 retweet was manually coded into categories of food groups, nutrients, user characteristics, and themes. The number and percentage of tweets, retweets, and themes in each category were calculated. Of the 2347 tweets, 80% (n=1877) of tweets mentioned foods, which were categorized into 17 different food groups. Seasonings and spices, including salt, were most frequently mentioned (1356/1877, 72.2%). This was followed by vegetable and fruit groups. The 15 kinds of nutrients were mentioned in 1566 tweets, with sodium being the largest proportion at 83.1% (n=1301), followed by potassium at 8.4% (n=132). There was misinformation regarding salt intake for hypertension, accounting for 40.8% (n=531) of tweets referring to salt, including recommendations for salt intake to lower blood pressure. In total, 75% (n=21) of tweets from "doctors" mentioned salt reduction is effective for hypertension control, while 31.1% (n=74) of tweets from "health, losing weight, and beauty-related users," 25.9% (n=429) of tweets from "general public," and 23.5% (n=4) tweets from "dietitian or registered dietitian" denied salt reduction for hypertension. The antisalt reduction tweets accounted for 31.5% (n=106) of the most disseminated tweets related to nutrients and foods for blood pressure control. The large number of tweets in this study indicates a high interest in nutrients and foods for blood pressure control. Misinformation asserting antisalt reduction was posted primarily by the general public and self-proclaimed health experts. The number of tweets from nutritionists, registered dietitians, and doctors who were expected to correct misinformation and promote salt reduction was relatively low, and their messages were not always positive toward salt reduction. There is a need for communication strategies to combat misinformation, promote correct information on salt reduction, and train health care professionals to effectively communicate evidence-based information on this topic.

Extending the norm activation model and unpacking laypeople’s misinformation correction process: multilayered roles of awareness, norms and efficacy

Extending the norm activation model and unpacking laypeople’s misinformation correction process: multilayered roles of awareness, norms and efficacy

Neural mechanisms of the continued influence effect of misinformation: Analysis based on fMRI causal connectivity

The continued influence effect of misinformation (CIEM) can negatively affect individuals’ reasoning and judgment processes. This research aims to enhance the correction of misinformation and foster rational judgement by investigating the internal brain mechanisms involved in the processing of the CIEM through the use of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging combined with Granger causality analysis. Our findings demonstrate notable effective interactions in varying directions between the left inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus during the encoding phase, and between the right anterior cingulate gyrus and left inferior occipital gyrus in the retrieval phase. These insights elucidate the roles of mental model updating and retrieval failure in the processing of CIEM, offering more granular evidence to support the differentiation in processing phases.

Who reports witnessing and performing corrections on social media in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and France?

Observed corrections of misinformation on social media can encourage more accurate beliefs, but for these benefits to occur, corrections must happen. By exploring people’s perceptions of witnessing and performing corrections on social media, we find that many people say they observe and perform corrections across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and France. We find higher levels of self-reported correction experiences in the United States but few differences between who reports these experiences across countries. Specifically, younger and more educated adults, as well as those who see misinformation more frequently online, are more likely to report observing and performing corrections across contexts.

Exploring the impact of automated correction of misinformation in social media

AbstractCorrecting misinformation is a complex task, influenced by various psychological, social, and technical factors. Most research evaluation methods for identifying effective correction approaches tend to rely on either crowdsourcing, questionnaires, lab‐based simulations, or hypothetical scenarios. However, the translation of these methods and findings into real‐world settings, where individuals willingly and freely disseminate misinformation, remains largely unexplored. Consequently, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how individuals who share misinformation in natural online environments would respond to corrective interventions. In this study, we explore the effectiveness of corrective messaging on 3898 users who shared misinformation on Twitter/X over 2 years. We designed and deployed a bot to automatically identify individuals who share misinformation and subsequently alert them to related fact‐checks in various message formats. Our analysis shows that only a small minority of users react positively to the corrective messages, with most users either ignoring them or reacting negatively. Nevertheless, we also found that more active users were proportionally more likely to react positively to corrections and we observed that different message tones made particular user groups more likely to react to the bot.

Acceptance and Hesitancy Towards Covid-19 Vaccination Among Dialysis Patients in a Dialysis Center in Khartoum in 2022.

COVID-19, a highly infectious virus, poses significant risks, particularly for immuno-compromised individuals. Vaccination remains a key preventive measure, yet acceptance rates vary among populations globally. This study aims to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among dialysis patients atDr. Salma Center for Dialysis in 2022, highlighting the primary reasons for hesitancy within this vulnerable group. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. Salma Center in Khartoum, Sudan, in 2022. A systematic random sampling method was employed to select participants, who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Of a sample of 137 patients, 125 completed the questionnaire with 91.2% response rate. Approximately half of the respondents reported vaccine hesitancy 50%, with 77% acknowledging the severity of COVID-19 but only 53% advised vaccination among their peers. Primary concerns included vaccine side effects 24.8% and mistrust of production companies 10.4%. No significant associations were found between vaccine hesitancy and demographic factors. The study reveals a notable prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among dialysis patients at Dr. Salma Center in Khartoum, 2022. Addressing this hesitancy requires concerted efforts to bridge the trust gap between patients and healthcare systems, coupled with targeted awareness campaigns to correct misinformation and reinforce confidence in vaccines.

Overcoming resistance to belief revision and correction of misinformation beliefs: psychophysiological and behavioral effects of a counterfactual mindset

In a series of experiments involving beliefs and misinformation beliefs, we find that individuals who are prompted with a counterfactual mindset are significantly more likely to change their existing beliefs when presented with evidence that contradicts their beliefs. While research finds that beliefs that are considered part of one’s identity are highly resistant to change in the face of evidence that challenges these beliefs, four experiments provide evidence that counterfactual generation causes individuals to adjust beliefs and correct misinformation beliefs in response to contradicting evidence. Indeed, we find that a counterfactual mindset was effective in promoting incorporation of accurate facts and causing individuals to revise misinformation beliefs about COVID vaccination safety for a large sample of individuals who have rejected COVID vaccinations. Finally, the results of the psychophysiological experiment reveal that counterfactual generation alters decision makers’ search strategies, increases their cognitive arousal in response to evidence that challenges their beliefs, and increases their desire to seek out disconfirming evidence. Overall, the four experiments indicate that counterfactual generation can effectively activate mindsets that increase individuals’ willingness to evaluate evidence that contradicts their beliefs and adjust their beliefs in response to evidence.

The majority of fact-checking labels in the United States are intense and this decreases engagement intention

Abstract Fact-checking labels have been widely accepted as an effective misinformation correction method. However, there is limited theoretical understanding of fact-checking labels’ impact. This study theorizes that language intensity influences fact-checking label processing and tests this idea through a multi-method design. We first rely on a large-scale observational dataset of fact-checking labels from 7 U.S. fact-checking organizations (N = 33,755) to examine the labels’ language intensity and then use a controlled online experiment in the United States (N = 656) to systematically test the causal effects of fact-checking label intensity (low, moderate, or high) and fact-checking source (professional journalists or artificial intelligence) on perceived message credibility of and the intention to engage with fact-checking messages. We found that two-thirds of existing labels were intense. Such high-intensity labels had null effects on messages’ perceived credibility, yet decreased engagement intention, especially when labels were attributed to AI. Using more intense labels may not be an effective fact-checking approach.