Several members of our research team will be attending the 2023 International Communication Association conference in Toronto, where they will be presenting their latest research and engaging with other experts in the field of communication.
Misinformation has become one of the key threats to healthy political communication in recent years, but no one is clear on what the most effective countermeasures are to misinformation. To bridge this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-reviewed research about misleading information on digital media platforms. We focus on factors that may be effective in mitigating the effects of misinformation, disinformation, and a range of related phenomena. We identify 3,303 peer review publications from the domain of politics, communication and health, 664 of which have empirical methods that make them eligible for analyses, and 412 of which satisfy the rigorous PRISMA protocols for a systematic review and 12 of which allow for aggregation through meta-analysis. The most commonly recommended solutions to the problem of misinformation include publishing corrections, literacy campaigns, content moderation, and content labeling. How effective are these interventions? Our meta-analysis from 12 publications on the effect of content labeling reveals that content labeling has a strong positive effect on the perception of political and health information published on social media platforms. In addition, exposure to corrective materials reduces the misperception of information, though this effect is less pronounced. These findings help clarify which suggested misinformation countermeasures have been researched and the effectiveness of misinformation countermeasures.
Source: “Responding To Digital Misinformation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Effective Countermeasures”
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
