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How shades of truth and age affect responses to COVID-19 (Mis)information: randomized survey experiment among WhatsApp users in UK and Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Santosh Vijaykumar

    (Northumbria University)

  • Yan Jin

    (University of Georgia)

  • Daniel Rogerson

    (Northumbria University)

  • Xuerong Lu

    (University of Georgia)

  • Swati Sharma

    (Independent Designer)

  • Anna Maughan

    (Northumbria University)

  • Bianca Fadel

    (Northumbria University)

  • Mariella Silva Oliveira Costa

    (Fiocruz Brasilia)

  • Claudia Pagliari

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • Daniel Morris

    (Independent Researcher)

Abstract

We examined how age and exposure to different types of COVID-19 (mis)information affect misinformation beliefs, perceived credibility of the message and intention-to-share it on WhatsApp. Through two mixed-design online experiments in the UK and Brazil (total N = 1454) we first randomly exposed adult WhatsApp users to full misinformation, partial misinformation, or full truth about the therapeutic powers of garlic to cure COVID-19. We then exposed all participants to corrective information from the World Health Organisation debunking this claim. We found stronger misinformation beliefs among younger adults (18–54) in both the UK and Brazil and possible backfire effects of corrective information among older adults (55+) in the UK. Corrective information from the WHO was effective in enhancing perceived credibility and intention-to-share of accurate information across all groups in both countries. Our findings call for evidence-based infodemic interventions by health agencies, with greater engagement of younger adults in pandemic misinformation management efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Santosh Vijaykumar & Yan Jin & Daniel Rogerson & Xuerong Lu & Swati Sharma & Anna Maughan & Bianca Fadel & Mariella Silva Oliveira Costa & Claudia Pagliari & Daniel Morris, 2021. "How shades of truth and age affect responses to COVID-19 (Mis)information: randomized survey experiment among WhatsApp users in UK and Brazil," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:8:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-021-00752-7
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-021-00752-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ian Skurnik & Carolyn Yoon & Denise C. Park & Norbert Schwarz, 2005. "How Warnings about False Claims Become Recommendations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 713-724, March.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ammara Malik & Faiza Bashir & Khalid Mahmood, 2023. "Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Sharing Behavior among Adults on Social Media during COVID-19," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    3. Annah Lake Zhu & Ruishan Chen & Jessica Rizzolo & Xiaodan Li, 2023. "The Politicization of COVID-19 Origin Stories: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Survey in China," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Cun Fu & Jinru Zhang & Xin Kang, 2024. "True or false? Linguistic and demographic factors influence veracity judgment of COVID-19 rumors," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-7, December.
    5. Ryan C. Moore & Ross Dahlke & Jeffrey T. Hancock, 2023. "Exposure to untrustworthy websites in the 2020 US election," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(7), pages 1096-1105, July.
    6. Divine Q. Agozie & Muesser Nat, 2022. "Do communication content functions drive engagement among interest group audiences? An analysis of organizational communication on Twitter," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.

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