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Don't believe them! Reducing misinformation influence through source discreditation
Ullrich K H Ecker1,2, Toby Prike3,4, Antonia B Paver3
1School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), Perth, 6009, Australia. ullrich.ecker@uwa.edu.au.
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications
|August 25, 2024
Summary
Attacking the credibility of misinformation sources, known as source discreditation, can reduce reliance on false information. Combining source discreditation with message correction is the most effective strategy to counter misinformation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Misinformation continues to influence reasoning even after corrections.
- Applied cognitive research seeks effective misinformation countermeasures.
- Source discreditation is a proposed but under-tested strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the effectiveness of source discreditation in reducing reliance on misinformation.
- To compare source discreditation with message-focused correction and combined strategies.
- To examine the impact of different source types (person vs. media) and discreditation reasons (conflict of interest vs. poor track record).
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted using fictional event-related misinformation.
- Experiment 1 compared source discreditation (person source, conflict of interest) with message correction and a combined approach.
- Experiment 2 compared discreditations targeting person vs. media sources, citing conflict of interest or poor track record.
Main Results:
- Source discreditation alone was effective but less so than message correction.
- A combination of message correction and source discreditation was most effective.
- Discreditations were effective for both person and media sources.
- Track-record discreditations were less effective for media sources compared to person sources.
Conclusions:
- Source discreditation is a broadly applicable misinformation countermeasure.
- Both social and cognitive factors shape the continued influence of misinformation.
- Combined strategies of message correction and source discreditation offer optimal effectiveness.
Keywords:
Continued influence effectDebunkingDerogationDisinformationMisinformationSource discreditationMore Related Videos
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