Heed the Warning Signs: The Effectiveness of Message Popup Warnings for Deterring the Spread of Misinformation

Author:
Description:
As false news can propagate to others rapidly, social media platforms employ multiple methods to combat misinformation. Debunking techniques are warning features embedded into a platform’s interface that alert readers of misinformation. These warnings have two goals: to “debunk†false information and to prevent the further spread of misinformation. Researchers have evaluated the effectiveness of debunking techniques to understand how users increase their awareness of misinformation, and what users do with the information given in warning messages. Message popup warnings are a newer and understudied type of debunking technique. The overarching research question of this study was: Are message popup warnings effective for deterring the spread of misinformation? The research goal was to determine the effectiveness of message popup warnings in the context of the user’s choice behaviors of liking, sharing, or commenting on misinformation. Four sub-questions explored: (RQ1) to what extent users read the full content of posting, with or without warnings (user engagement), (RQ2) what differences occur in user’s choice responses to the posting, with or without warnings (effectiveness), (RQ3) how users rate the credibility of the posting, with and without warnings, and (RQ4) how users rate the usability and usefulness of message popup warnings as a debunking technique. The study was conducted as a between-subjects experimental design using an online interactive scenario and survey (ISS). The participants (N = 109) were recruited from the student population at Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) and were randomly assigned to either the control or treatment group. The ISS combined interactive Facebook-like scenarios (i.e., postings) that contained links to the full text of an article to be read and an embedded survey that prompted users to take an action or no action with the posting. By adapting questions from the Perceived Usefulness Measurement Scale (PUMS) and the System Usability Scale (SUS), the treatment ...
Publisher:
NSUWorks
Year of Publication:
2024-01-01T08:00:00Z
Source:
CCE Theses and Dissertations
Document Type:
dissertation ; [Doctoral and postdoctoral thesis]
Subjects:
Computer Sciences
DDC:
005 Computer programming, programs & data (computed)
Relations:
URL:
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/1192
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/context/gscis_etd/article/2191/viewcontent/Greenberg_scisnova_1191A_10667.pdf
Content Provider:
Nova Southeastern University: NSU Works  Flag of United States of America