Abstract
When users unknowingly interact with false information online, they may be susceptible to the influence of misinformation. Using a fact-checker to analyze whether the information presented is accurate or misleading can help users identify false information. The present study examined two different methods: use of a correction or warning, presented by a fact-checker, to identify which is more effective in reducing misinformation. One hundred and twenty-four participants were recruited from MTurk and Introductory Psychology courses to participate in the study. Participants were asked to read short stories, followed by statements that are related to the short stories (e.g., media posts about the short stories) that were or were not verified by a fact-checker. Then, participants were asked to answer questions related to the original short story to measure their memory of the information as well as the number of references to the misinformation. At the end of the study, participants were asked to rate their level of trust in online information sources and the fact-checker used in the present study, which always provided accurate information. Results showed that participants used a fact-checker about 70% of the time when one was made available to them. Having a choice to use a fact-checker increased participants’ accuracy scores on a memory check test, and the presence of a fact-checker reduced the number of references to misinformation.
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Su, C., Diep, T., Vu, KP.L. (2022). Which Method of Fact-Checking is Beneficial in Fighting Misinformation?. In: Yamamoto, S., Mori, H. (eds) Human Interface and the Management of Information: Visual and Information Design. HCII 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13305. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06424-1_11
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