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Debunking “Fake News” on Social Media: Short-Term and Longer-Term Effects of Fact Checking and Media Literacy Interventions

Author

Listed:
  • Lara Marie Berger
  • Anna Kerkhof
  • Felix Mindl
  • Johannes Münster

Abstract

We conduct a randomized survey experiment to compare the short- and longer-term effects of fact checking to a brief media literacy intervention. We show that the impact of fact checking is limited to the corrected fake news, whereas media literacy helps to distinguish between false and correct information more generally, both immediately and two weeks after the intervention. A plausible mechanism is that media literacy enables participants to critically evaluate social media postings, while fact checking fails to enhance their skills. Our results promote media literacy as an effective tool to fight fake news, that is cheap, scalable, and easy-to-implement.

Suggested Citation

  • Lara Marie Berger & Anna Kerkhof & Felix Mindl & Johannes Münster, 2023. "Debunking “Fake News” on Social Media: Short-Term and Longer-Term Effects of Fact Checking and Media Literacy Interventions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10576, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10576
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp10576.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Guy Aridor & Rafael Jiménez-Durán & Ro'ee Levy & Lena Song, 2024. "The Economics of Social Media," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1422-1474, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid; Facebook; fact checking; fake news; media literacy; misinformation; nutrition; social media; supplements; survey experiment; vaccine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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