Misinformation: susceptibility, spread, and interventions to immunize the public

Linden, Sander van der

doi:10.1038/s41591-022-01713-6

Cited by 244 publications

(192 citation statements)

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“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation and conspiracy theories have proliferated widely online and have been linked to diminished willingness to follow health guidance measures and reduced intentions to get vaccinated [ 3 , 4 ]. In response, researchers have sought to investigate how insights from psychological and behavioural science may be used to address the issue [ 5 , 6 ]. Simple measures such as infographics [ 7 ] and pausing for a few seconds to consider the accuracy of a particular news item [ 8 ] have shown promise.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technique-based inoculation against real-world misinformation

2022

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In recent years, numerous psychological interventions have been developed to reduce susceptibility to misinformation. Inoculation theory has become an increasingly common framework for reducing susceptibility to both individual examples of misinformation (issue-based inoculation) and to the techniques and strategies that are commonly used to mislead or misinform people (technique-based inoculation). In this study, we address two open questions related to technique-based inoculation in two separate experiments (total n = 2188; convenience sample recruited via the Bad News online game platform): (i) can technique-based inoculation effectively reduce susceptibility to real-world misinformation that went viral on social media? and (ii) can technique-based inoculation confer cross-protection against misinformation that does not make use of any of the techniques against which people were inoculated? We find that playing a 15 min game confers psychological resistance against real-world misinformation that makes use of manipulation techniques against which people were inoculated (Cohen's d = 0.37, Cohen's U 3 = 64.4%, p < 0.001), and that cross-protection is achieved but at a reduced effect size ( d = 0.10, U 3 = 54.0%, p = 0.001).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technique-based inoculation against real-world misinformation

2022

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“…Despite the early avances of inoculation theory, researchers only recently began to explore inoculation within the context of its original conception: propaganda and misinformation (for detailed reviews, see Lewandowsky and van der Linden 2021; Compton et al 2021; van der Linden 2022). This exploration began with a foray into using inoculation to counter climate change misinformation but has since expanded into a variety of domains, including misinformation about COVID-19, political disinformation, and online extremism.…”

Section: Using Inoculation Theory To Counter Misinformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the proliferation of falsehoods about the virus led the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) to announce, “We are not just fighting an epidemic, we’re fighting an infodemic” (WHO 2020). Critically, belief in misinformation can have downstream effects on attitudes and behavior, such as undermining climate change mitigation (Cook, Lewandowsky, and Ecker 2017; van der Linden 2015), instigating violence (Jolley and Paterson 2020), and lowering vaccination intentions and compliance with public health guidelines (Loomba et al 2021; Roozenbeek et al 2020; van der Linden 2022). Accordingly, tackling critical societal issues such as climate change and COVID-19 will require a better understanding of how to effectively counter the spread of misinformation.…”

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confidence: 99%

Psychological Inoculation against Misinformation: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Traberg¹,

Roozenbeek²,

Linden³

2022

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

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Much like a viral contagion, misinformation can spread rapidly from one individual to another. Inoculation theory offers a logical basis for developing a psychological “vaccine” against misinformation. We discuss the origins of inoculation theory, starting with its roots in the 1960s as a “vaccine for brainwash,” and detail the major theoretical and practical innovations that inoculation research has witnessed over the years. Specifically, we review a series of randomized lab and field studies that show that it is possible to preemptively “immunize” people against misinformation by preexposing them to severely weakened doses of the techniques that underlie its production along with ways on how to spot and refute them. We review evidence from interventions that we developed with governments and social media companies to help citizens around the world recognize and resist unwanted attempts to influence and mislead. We conclude with a discussion of important open questions about the effectiveness of inoculation interventions.

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“…Originally created to entertain users, social media platforms have transformed the way social perceptions are constructed. In doing so, they influence the development of the public debate, especially on controversial issues [ 38 ], that pose a serious threat to the uptake of vaccination and compliance with public health guidelines [ 39 ]. Therefore, it is not surprising that the World Health Organization has been forced to redouble its efforts to combating both the epidemic and the infodemic [ 40 ].…”

Section: Changing Conditions Of Chemistry Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemophobia and passion: why chemists should desire Marcel Proust

Chalupa

Nesměrák

2022

Monatsh Chem

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In this article, we introduce a new communication strategy called the “communication success dimension” for the suppression and eradication of chemophobia. We explain, using recent examples, that chemophobia presents a danger not only to the science of chemistry but also to humankind. Based on the latest insights from communication research, we emphasize the need to bring more passion, dedication, and human factors into the communication of chemistry. We demonstrate the application of this new strategy by employing Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time to combat chemophobia. Graphical abstract

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Misinformation: susceptibility, spread, and interventions to immunize the public

Cited by 244 publications

References 125 publications

Technique-based inoculation against real-world misinformation

Technique-based inoculation against real-world misinformation

Psychological Inoculation against Misinformation: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Chemophobia and passion: why chemists should desire Marcel Proust

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