TY - JOUR
T1 - Priming critical thinking
T2 - Simple interventions limit the influence of fake news about climate change on Facebook
AU - Lutzke, Lauren
AU - Drummond, Caitlin
AU - Slovic, Paul
AU - Árvai, Joseph
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan , and by the U.S. National Science Foundation under award number SES 1728807 to Decision Research and the University of Michigan.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, and by the U.S. National Science Foundation under award number SES 1728807 to Decision Research and the University of Michigan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - Fake news about climate change refers to fabricated information that mimics the appearance of legitimate reporting but is intended to mislead consumers. In light of concerns about fake news regarding climate change and other topics, researchers and media providers have been searching for ways to limit its spread and influence. This study tested the effect of two simple interventions, both of which primed critical thinking, on individuals’ evaluation of the credibility of real and fake news about climate change on Facebook. Through an online experiment (n = 2,750 participants), participants either read a series of guidelines for evaluating news online, or read and then rated the importance of each guideline; a control group was not exposed to guidelines of any type. We found that participants exposed to both types of guidelines reported a reduced likelihood to trust, like, and share fake news about climate change on Facebook. Importantly, exposure to these guidelines did not diminish individuals’ likelihood to trust, like, or share legitimate climate news. The effect sizes for both types of intervention were small. However, because of the scale and speed at which social media operates, even a small reduction in users’ likelihood to trust, like, and share fake news could be meaningful and impactful.
AB - Fake news about climate change refers to fabricated information that mimics the appearance of legitimate reporting but is intended to mislead consumers. In light of concerns about fake news regarding climate change and other topics, researchers and media providers have been searching for ways to limit its spread and influence. This study tested the effect of two simple interventions, both of which primed critical thinking, on individuals’ evaluation of the credibility of real and fake news about climate change on Facebook. Through an online experiment (n = 2,750 participants), participants either read a series of guidelines for evaluating news online, or read and then rated the importance of each guideline; a control group was not exposed to guidelines of any type. We found that participants exposed to both types of guidelines reported a reduced likelihood to trust, like, and share fake news about climate change on Facebook. Importantly, exposure to these guidelines did not diminish individuals’ likelihood to trust, like, or share legitimate climate news. The effect sizes for both types of intervention were small. However, because of the scale and speed at which social media operates, even a small reduction in users’ likelihood to trust, like, and share fake news could be meaningful and impactful.
KW - Climate change
KW - Critical thinking
KW - Facebook
KW - Fake news
KW - Social media
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U2 - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101964
DO - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101964
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85071226682
SN - 0959-3780
VL - 58
JO - Global Environmental Change
JF - Global Environmental Change
M1 - 101964
ER -