Do the right thing: Tone may not affect correction of misinformation on social media

Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review

Leticia Bode¹  Emily K. Vraga²  Melissa Tully³ 

[1] Communication, Culture, and Technology Program, Georgetown University, USA;Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, USA;School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa, USA;

关键词: fact-checking;    social media;    twitter;   

DOI  :  10.37016/mr-2020-026

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

An experiment conducted with 610 participants suggests that corrections to misinformation—pointing out information that is wrong or misleading and offering credible information in its place—on social media reduce misperceptions regardless of the correction’s tone (uncivil, affirmational, or neutral). There is also an opportunity to correct secondary but related misperceptions (dealing with the same topic but with a different specific fact) when responding to misinformation on social media. Our findings emphasize that correction on social media could operate as part of a broader strategy to reduce beliefs in misinformation, and users should be encouraged to bring additional relevant information into the conversation, using whatever tone feels most comfortable for them.

【 授权许可】

Unknown