Narrative elaboration makes misinformation and corrective information regarding COVID-19 more believable

Joanna Greer; Kaitlyn Fitzgerald; Santosh Vijaykumar

doi:10.1186/s13104-022-06134-9

Narrative elaboration makes misinformation and corrective information regarding COVID-19 more believable

Joanna Greer^*, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, Santosh Vijaykumar

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

People gather information about health topics from online channels oftentimes awash with misinformation. Investigating this problem during the COVID-19 pandemic is important, as the misinformation effect occurs when misleading details are embedded in narratives and questions. This pilot study investigated whether narrative elaboration increases believability in misinformation statements about COVID-19, and willingness to share these statements online. Results from our online survey (n = 80) demonstrated that narrative elaboration increased believability in both misinformation and accurate statements, with a more pronounced effect on younger adults. Future research may investigate cognitive vulnerabilities imposed by elaborate narratives embedded in online health misinformation with increased attention on developing misinformation resilience among younger adults.

Original language	English
Article number	235
Number of pages	5
Journal	BMC Research Notes
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-022-06134-9
Publication status	Published - 28 Jun 2022

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s13104-022-06134-9Final published version, 866 KBLicence: CC BY

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title = "Narrative elaboration makes misinformation and corrective information regarding COVID-19 more believable",

abstract = "People gather information about health topics from online channels oftentimes awash with misinformation. Investigating this problem during the COVID-19 pandemic is important, as the misinformation effect occurs when misleading details are embedded in narratives and questions. This pilot study investigated whether narrative elaboration increases believability in misinformation statements about COVID-19, and willingness to share these statements online. Results from our online survey (n = 80) demonstrated that narrative elaboration increased believability in both misinformation and accurate statements, with a more pronounced effect on younger adults. Future research may investigate cognitive vulnerabilities imposed by elaborate narratives embedded in online health misinformation with increased attention on developing misinformation resilience among younger adults.",

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AB - People gather information about health topics from online channels oftentimes awash with misinformation. Investigating this problem during the COVID-19 pandemic is important, as the misinformation effect occurs when misleading details are embedded in narratives and questions. This pilot study investigated whether narrative elaboration increases believability in misinformation statements about COVID-19, and willingness to share these statements online. Results from our online survey (n = 80) demonstrated that narrative elaboration increased believability in both misinformation and accurate statements, with a more pronounced effect on younger adults. Future research may investigate cognitive vulnerabilities imposed by elaborate narratives embedded in online health misinformation with increased attention on developing misinformation resilience among younger adults.

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Narrative elaboration makes misinformation and corrective information regarding COVID-19 more believable

Abstract

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