When web add-on correction comes with fear-arousing misinformation in public health crisis: focusing on the role of risk perception in belief in misinformation

Abstract

The goal of this research was to study how fear-arousing misinformation (FAM) elicits a backfire effect of web add-on correction and whether situational fear and situational threat appraisals intervene in the relationship. The study featured an online experiment (N = 167) with a 2 (misinformation: fear-neutral vs. fear-arousal) × 2 (presence of correction: no correction vs. web add-on correction) between-group factorial design. Results suggest that web add-on correction was effective in decreasing situational susceptibility when fear-neutral misinformation was displayed (but not when FAM was presented) and that this susceptibility is positively associated with belief in misinformation. The findings from this research highlight that emotional-laden misinformation and perceived susceptibility are key drivers of nullifying correction effects, thereby providing insight into mapping out strategies for mitigating persuasive effects misinformation in risky situations.