Correcting Misinformation About Neuroscience via Social Media

Abstract

The rapid spread of misinformation online is of growing concern to communication researchers. Scientific misinformation can lead to ill-founded educational practices, health trends, and public policies. In an online survey-based experiment ( N = 744), we corrected neuroscience myths via a mock Facebook newsfeed. We were able to reduce belief in the myths by presenting the subjects with corrective “related articles” immediately following the myth. We also found limited evidence that readers evaluate articles more positively when they are consistent with preexisting views. Our findings are consistent with previous research and extend research on corrective messaging strategies into a new context.