ERIC Number: EJ1371361
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0888-4080
EISSN: EISSN-1099-0720
Inoculation against Conspiracy Theories: A Consumer Side Approach to India's Fake News Problem
Iyengar, Ananya; Gupta, Poorvi; Priya, Nidhi
Applied Cognitive Psychology, v37 n2 p290-303 Mar-Apr 2023
We attempt to replicate Roozenbeek and van der Linden's Western-based study in India by employing the "Bad News Game," an online game, in which players take on the role of a misinformation tycoon. They are exposed to weakened doses of the strategies employed in conspiracy and fake news production with the aim to cognitively inoculate them against misinformation. The proliferation of inexpensive mobile connections coupled with a lack of digital literacy has resulted in a conspiratorial pandemic in developing countries like India. We test the game's impact on an Indian sample (n = 1002) using a within-subject design. We provide evidence of significant improvement in the ability of participants to identify the misinformation produced using "Conspiracy," "Impersonation," and to a lesser extent, the "Discrediting" technique, while observing greater truth discernment in correctly identifying true news. We also conduct sub-sample analyses. These findings have positive implications for methods that protect users from malignant online content.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Deception, News Media, News Reporting, Theories, Role Playing, Games, Digital Literacy, Developing Nations, Pandemics, Beliefs, Information Literacy, Cognitive Processes
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://github.com/AnanyaIyengar/MANOVA-on-R-for-GK-Fellowship