Abstract
The rapid proliferation of fake news poses a significant challenge to information ecosystems, particularly in digital and social media environments. This study investigates the effectiveness of chatbot interventions in assisting users with fake news detection within human-computer communities. Grounded in the Heuristic-Systematic Model, the study employs a 6 (fake news type) × 3 (chatbot intervention strategy) mixed design to examine how different chatbot strategies - fact-checking, contextual explanations, and authority endorsements - affect users’ ability to identify various types of fake news. The results show that fact-checking is most effective for detecting fabrication and photo manipulation, contextual explanations enhance recognition of satire and parody-based fake news, and authority endorsements are particularly useful in countering propaganda. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring chatbot interventions to specific fake news types.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
