Supplementary materials for: How to debunk health-related misinformation? An experimental online study of text structures and headline formats

The spread of misinformation hinders prominent societal issues such as pandemics and climate change to be tackled. Texts following a “truth sandwich” format have been suggested to debunk misinformation, but their effects are yet to be comprehensively tested. To evaluate the impact of text structure and headline format on the text’s ability to debunk misinformation, its credibility and perceived social impact and to explore underlying mechanisms via evaluation of the presented information and trust in science. A representative sample of 4904 participants will be recruited via the PsychLab platform. Experimental online study with a 2 structure (truth sandwich/ bottom-heavy text) x 2 headline (question/ statement) x 2 topic (genetically modified crop plants/ vaccination) between-subjects design. Primary outcome is the agreement with six statements containing misinformation, of which two were addressed by the experimental manipulation; secondary outcomes are the evaluation of the presented information and its perceived social impact.

Misinformation is a crucial problem, particularly online, and the success of debunking messages has so far been limited. In this study we experimentally test how debunking text structure (truth sandwich vs. bottom-heavy) and headline format (statement vs. questions) affect the belief in misinformation across topics of the safety of COVID vaccines and GMO foods. A representative German sample of 4906 participants were randomly assigned to reading one of eight debunking messages in the experimentally varied formats and subsequently rated the acceptance of this message and the agreement to misinformation statements about the mentioned topics and an unrefuted control myth. While the debunking messages specifically decreased the belief in the targeted myth, these beliefs and the acceptance of the debunking message were unaffected by the text structures and headline formats. Yet, they were less successful when addressing individuals with strong pre-existing, incongruent attitudes and distrust in science.

The spread of misinformation hinders prominent societal issues such as pandemics and climate change to be tackled. Texts following a “truth sandwich” format have been suggested to debunk misinformation, but their effects are yet to be comprehensively tested. To evaluate the impact of text structure and headline format on the text’s ability to debunk misinformation, its credibility and perceived social impact and to explore underlying mechanisms via evaluation of the presented information and trust in science. A representative sample of 4904 participants will be recruited via the PsychLab platform. Experimental online study with a 2 structure (truth sandwich/ bottom-heavy text) x 2 headline (question/ statement) x 2 topic (genetically modified crop plants/ vaccination) between-subjects design. Primary outcome is the agreement with six statements containing misinformation, of which two were addressed by the experimental manipulation; secondary outcomes are the evaluation of the presented information and its perceived social impact.