The challenge
Debunking after the fact is slow; people need resistance to misinformation before they meet it.
The case
In February 2018 researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Dutch media-literacy platform DROG released Bad News, a free browser game based on 'inoculation theory'. In about 15 minutes, players take on the role of a fake-news producer and practise six tactics such as impersonation, emotional language, polarisation and conspiracy theories. In the three months after launch, about 15,000 players completed surveys built into the game, rating the reliability of real and fake headlines before and after play. The 2019 study in Palgrave Communications had no control group. Cambridge reported that the perceived reliability of fake headlines fell by an average of 21%, while ratings of real news did not change, and that the most susceptible players improved the most.
Why it worked
Letting people practise the tricks in a safe setting builds a general ability to spot manipulation without making them distrust everything; the self-selected, survey-based sample means real-world effects may be smaller.
Sources
- Roozenbeek, J. & van der Linden, S. (2019). Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation. Palgrave Communications, 5, 65.
- University of Cambridge (2019). Fake news 'vaccine' works: 'pre-bunk' game reduces susceptibility to disinformation.
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