“Prebunking” strengthens a person’s awareness of the manipulative tactics that characterize misinformation.
An online game called “Go Viral!” teaches players how misinformation works, as they try to win by making fake news go viral.
Researchers find that prebunking games and infographics can help people spot manipulative, untrustworthy information.
“While fact-checking is vital work, it can come too late,” says Professor Sander van der Linden, Director of the Social Decision-Making Lab at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. “Trying to debunk misinformation after it spreads is often a difficult if not impossible task.”
However, research suggests that individuals can be “vaccinated” against the susceptibility to misinformation, preventing it from taking root in the first place.
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A short online game designed to fight conspiracies about COVID-19 boosts people’s confidence in detecting misinformation by increasing their ability to perceive its “manipulativeness” compared to genuine news, according to a study.
Go Viral!, developed by the University of Cambridge’s Social Decision-Making Lab in partnership with the UK Cabinet Office and media agency DROG, was launched last autumn as part of the UK government’s efforts to tackle coronavirus falsehoods circulating online.
The five-minute game puts people in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news, encouraging players to create panic by spreading misinformation about COVID-19 using social media – all within the confines of the game.
Credit: University of Cambridge
A short online game designed to fight conspiracies about COVID-19 boosts people s confidence in detecting misinformation by increasing their ability to perceive its manipulativeness compared to genuine news, according to a study.
Go Viral!, developed by the University of Cambridge s Social Decision-Making Lab in partnership with the UK Cabinet Office and media agency DROG, was launched last autumn as part of the UK government s efforts to tackle coronavirus falsehoods circulating online.
The five-minute game puts people in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news, encouraging players to create panic by spreading misinformation about COVID-19 using social media - all within the confines of the game.
Date Time
‘Pre-bunk’ tactics reduce public susceptibility to COVID-19 conspiracies and falsehoods, study finds
Latest research on digital interventions deployed by UK government and UNESCO suggests that exposing people to a “microdose” of techniques used by misinformation merchants helps “inoculate” them against fake news about the pandemic.
Cambridge University has provided solid backing for ‘pre-bunking’ misinformation and conspiracy theories propagated and reinforced during the pandemic Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO
A short online game designed to fight conspiracies about COVID-19 boosts people’s confidence in detecting misinformation by increasing their ability to perceive its “manipulativeness” compared to genuine news, according to a study.