Debunking A Meta-Analysis of the Psychological Efficacy of Messages Countering Misinformation
This meta-analysis investigated the factors underlying effective messages to counter attitudes and beliefs based on misinformation. Because misinformation can lead to poor decisions about consequential matters and is persistent and difficult to correct, debunking it is an important scientific and pu...
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Published in | Psychological science Vol. 28; no. 11; pp. 1531 - 1546 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Los Angeles, CA
Sage Publications, Inc
01.11.2017
SAGE Publications SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This meta-analysis investigated the factors underlying effective messages to counter attitudes and beliefs based on misinformation. Because misinformation can lead to poor decisions about consequential matters and is persistent and difficult to correct, debunking it is an important scientific and public-policy goal. This meta-analysis (k = 52, N = 6,878) revealed large effects for presenting misinformation (ds = 2.41–3.08), debunking (ds = 1.14–1.33), and the persistence of misinformation in the face of debunking (ds = 0.75–1.06). Persistence was stronger and the debunking effect was weaker when audiences generated reasons in support of the initial misinformation. A detailed debunking message correlated positively with the debunking effect. Surprisingly, however, a detailed debunking message also correlated positively with the misinformation-persistence effect. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 Author Contributions: M. S. Chan and C. R. Jones reviewed and coded all relevant studies. M. S. Chan analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. M. S. Chan, K. Hall Jamieson, and D. Albarracín provided critical revisions. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. |
ISSN: | 0956-7976 1467-9280 |
DOI: | 10.1177/0956797617714579 |