Nudging people to pause and think about accuracy can help

Numerous studies(opens in a new tab) suggest that getting people to pause before they share online material might slow the spread of misinformation. Most people want to be accurate. But, as a recent study(opens in a new tab) found, “people often share misinformation because their attention is focused on factors other than accuracy.” Finding ways to shift attention to accuracy can increase the “quality of news that people subsequently share.” Indeed, there seems to be a range of accuracy prompts(opens in a new tab) that may be effective in this context. (July 26, 2021)