Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
Published on: January 31, 2017
Correcting misinformation about the Russia-Ukraine War reduces false beliefs but does not change views about the War
Ethan Porter1, R Bailey Scott1, Thomas J Wood2
1Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States of America.
Abstract:
We report results from simultaneous experiments conducted in late 2022 in Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The experiments focus on fact-checking misinformation supportive of Russia in the Russia-Ukraine War. Meta-analysis makes clear that fact-checking misinformation reduces belief in pro-Kremlin false claims. Effects of fact-checks are not uniform across countries; our meta-analytic estimate is reliant on belief accuracy increases observed in Russia and Ukraine. While fact-checks improve belief accuracy, they do not change respondents' attitudes about which side to support in the War. War does not render individuals hopelessly vulnerable to misinformation-but fact-checking misinformation is unlikely to change their views toward the conflict.
Related Concept Videos
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
Group Polarization
Confirmation Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error
Cause and Effect
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...

