Epistemic vigilance online: Textual inaccuracy and children's selective trust in webpages

In this age of 'fake news', it is crucial that children are equipped with the skills to identify unreliable information online. Our study is the first to examine whether children are influenced by the presence of inaccuracies contained in webpages when deciding which sources to trust. Forty-eight 8- to 10-year-olds viewed three pairs of webpages, relating to the same topics, where one webpage per pair contained three obvious inaccuracies (factual, typographical, or exaggerations, according to condition). The paired webpages offered conflicting claims about two novel facts. We asked participants questions pertaining to the novel facts to assess whether they systematically selected answers from the accurate sources. Selective trust in the accurate webpage was found in the typos condition only. This study highlights the limitations of 8- to 10-year-olds in critically evaluating the accuracy of webpage content and indicates a potential focus for educational intervention. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Children display early epistemic vigilance towards spoken testimony. They use speakers' past accuracy when deciding whom to trust regarding novel information. Little is known about children's selective trust towards web-based sources. What does this study add? This study is the first to examine whether textual inaccuracy affects children's trust in webpages. Typos but not semantic errors led to reduced trust in a webpage compared to an accurate source. Children aged 8-10 years show limited evaluation of the accuracy of online content.