A Story is Better Told With Collective Interests: An Experimental Examination of Misinformation Correction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose

To examine strategies that help motivate social correction behaviors to combat COVID-19-related health misinformation on social media.

Design

2 (message types: narrative vs statistics) x 2 (social frames: individual vs collective) between-subjects experiment.

Setting

Qualtrics-based online experiment via Lucid.

Subjects

The final sample consisted of 450 participants (M _age = 45.31).

Measures

Manipulation check, discussion and correction intentions, and need for cognition (NFC).

Analysis

ANCOVA and PROCESS model 3 were used to analyze the data.

Results

Significant interaction effects emerged between message types and social frames on discussion intention, F (1, 442) = 5.26, P = .022, and correction intention, F (1, 442) = 4.85, P = .028. Collectively framed narrative correction (M_discussion = 3.15, M_correction = 3.17) was more effective than individually framed narrative correction (M_discussion = 2.73, M_correction = 2.77). Individually framed statistical correction (M_discussion = 3.10, M_correction = 2.95) was more persuasive than collectively framed statistical correction (M_discussion = 2.89, M_correction = 2.69). The interaction effects were more evident for people low on NFC, P = .031.

Conclusion

In motivating social correction behaviors, a story is better told with an emphasis on collective interests, and numbers are better presented with personal gains and losses. Future interventions should identify the target audience based on the level of NFC.