Countering “fake news” through public education and advertisements: An experimental analysis
By: Winger, Gregory H. et al
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: Political Research Quarterly Description: 77(2), Jun, 2024: p.518-531.Subject(s): Disinformation—Public awareness, Fake news—Skepticism, Media literacy—Advertising, Public opinion—Disinformation, Counter-disinformation strategies, Survey experiments—Disinformation, Advertising—Social impact, False information—Perception, Bayesian additive regression trees—Public opinion, Statistical modeling—Disinformation research, Information credibility—Public perception, Misinformation—Behavioral effects, Communication campaigns—Disinformation, Psychological effects—Fake news, Media influence—Public trust, Political communication—Disinformation, Social psychology—Information processing, Experimental research—Disinformation, Public education—Media literacy, Cognitive bias—Disinformation exposure
In:
Political Research QuarterlySummary: This paper examines whether proactive efforts to educate people about disinformation through advertisements can successfully increase skepticism towards false headlines or if such efforts do more harm than good by inadvertently increasing belief in false information. We analyze a survey experiment that employed three different advertisements that directly addressed “fake news.” We find that all advertisements were effective at increasing skepticism towards “fake news” headlines. We also find no evidence of backfire effects occurring. However, subsequent analysis using Bayesian additive regression trees (BART) finds significant heterogeneity within these treatment effects. While all advertisements were effective, each ad was effective in different ways despite common themes and content. This suggests a more complicated understanding of the counter-disinformation process and highlights BART’s utility in public opinion research.- Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10659129231224084
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 77(2), Jun, 2024: p.518-531 | Available | AR132473 |
This paper examines whether proactive efforts to educate people about disinformation through advertisements can successfully increase skepticism towards false headlines or if such efforts do more harm than good by inadvertently increasing belief in false information. We analyze a survey experiment that employed three different advertisements that directly addressed “fake news.” We find that all advertisements were effective at increasing skepticism towards “fake news” headlines. We also find no evidence of backfire effects occurring. However, subsequent analysis using Bayesian additive regression trees (BART) finds significant heterogeneity within these treatment effects. While all advertisements were effective, each ad was effective in different ways despite common themes and content. This suggests a more complicated understanding of the counter-disinformation process and highlights BART’s utility in public opinion research.- Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10659129231224084
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