The global effectiveness of fact-checking: Evidence from simultaneous experiments in Argentina, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 118(37)2021 09 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1569335
ABSTRACT
The spread of misinformation is a global phenomenon, with implications for elections, state-sanctioned violence, and health outcomes. Yet, even though scholars have investigated the capacity of fact-checking to reduce belief in misinformation, little evidence exists on the global effectiveness of this approach. We describe fact-checking experiments conducted simultaneously in Argentina, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, in which we studied whether fact-checking can durably reduce belief in misinformation. In total, we evaluated 22 fact-checks, including two that were tested in all four countries. Fact-checking reduced belief in misinformation, with most effects still apparent more than 2 wk later. A meta-analytic procedure indicates that fact-checks reduced belief in misinformation by at least 0.59 points on a 5-point scale. Exposure to misinformation, however, only increased false beliefs by less than 0.07 points on the same scale. Across continents, fact-checks reduce belief in misinformation, often durably so.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Communication
/
Recognition, Psychology
/
Information Dissemination
/
Global Warming
/
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Reviews
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
/
South America
/
Argentina
/
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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