Corrective Behaviour in Social Networks
Corrective comments, posted in response to observing shared false content in social networks, not only have been shown to be effective in reducing belief in the posted misinformation among those who observe the online interaction, but also serve as a publicly visible punishment of violation against the norm of sharing only the content of reliable accuracy. By visibly displaying punishing behavior, corrective comments have the potential to function as a norm-nudge, both on the level of the target behavior (sharing false content), as well as on the level of the punishing behavior (responding by a corrective comment).
We run an online experiment where participants observe an interaction reminiscent of an online discussion forum - an initial post (potentially containing false information) is followed by a line of comments - and ask the participants to join the discussion by leaving their own comment. We vary the number of corrective comments (those that explicitly dispute the accuracy of the post) following a false information post that participants observe, and measure the effect of this variation on participants' propensity to themselves engage in corrective behavior (both in the given situation, as well as, when subsequently encountering another false-content post absent any observable corrections) and on their sharing choices. Furthermore, we examine whether variation in observed correction has an impact on participants’ normative and empirical expectations regarding both sharing false content in social networks and engaging in corrective behavior. The experiment is currently under data collection phase. The detailed examination of the above effects can provide valuable policy recommendations. For example, should corrective comments have the capacity to positively impact perceived social norms regarding sharing behavior, and/or to motivate observers to engage in corrective behavior, trainings designed to increase media literacy and appeal to responsible behavior in online media could explicitly encourage individuals to leave corrective comments and provide them with the guidance on how to phrase them effectively.
We run an online experiment where participants observe an interaction reminiscent of an online discussion forum - an initial post (potentially containing false information) is followed by a line of comments - and ask the participants to join the discussion by leaving their own comment. We vary the number of corrective comments (those that explicitly dispute the accuracy of the post) following a false information post that participants observe, and measure the effect of this variation on participants' propensity to themselves engage in corrective behavior (both in the given situation, as well as, when subsequently encountering another false-content post absent any observable corrections) and on their sharing choices. Furthermore, we examine whether variation in observed correction has an impact on participants’ normative and empirical expectations regarding both sharing false content in social networks and engaging in corrective behavior. The experiment is currently under data collection phase. The detailed examination of the above effects can provide valuable policy recommendations. For example, should corrective comments have the capacity to positively impact perceived social norms regarding sharing behavior, and/or to motivate observers to engage in corrective behavior, trainings designed to increase media literacy and appeal to responsible behavior in online media could explicitly encourage individuals to leave corrective comments and provide them with the guidance on how to phrase them effectively.