Mobilizing Users: Does Exposure to Misinformation and Its Correction Affect Users’ Responses to a Health Misinformation Post?

Abstract

Misinformation spreads on social media when users engage with it, but users can also respond to correct it. Using an experimental design, we examine how exposure to misinformation and correction on Twitter about unpasteurized milk affects participants’ likelihood of responding to the misinformation, and we code open-ended responses to see what participants would say if they did respond. Results suggest that participants are overall unlikely to reply to the misinformation tweet. However, content analysis of hypothetical replies suggests they largely do provide correct information, especially after seeing other corrections. These results suggest that user corrections offer untapped potential in responding to misinformation on social media but effort must be made to consider how users can be mobilized to provide corrections given their general unwillingness to reply.