In the current digital landscape, fact-checking is essential in combating misinformation. Yet, for these corrections to have an impact, individuals need to engage with them.
A common belief is that corrections are most effective when delivered by someone who shares the recipient's political views. This assumption, however, is being questioned by recent research.
Dr. Mohsen Mosleh, an Associate Professor in Social Data Science at Oxford Internet Institute, states, "People were significantly more likely to reply to or otherwise engage with a correction when the corrector had interacted with them beforehand. Surprisingly, we found no evidence that shared political partisanship increased engagement on its own."
The study, titled 'Promoting engagement with social fact-checks online: Investigating the roles of social connection and shared partisanship,' suggests that social connections are important. A minimal social link, such as a follow or a like on social media, can significantly increase engagement with corrections, independent of political alignment.
The researchers, in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, conducted a large-scale field experiment on Twitter and controlled survey experiments. This approach highlighted the significance of even slight social gestures in encouraging engagement.
Dr. Mosleh comments, "What this suggests is that social norms—like the feeling that we should respond to someone who’s shown interest in us—may be more powerful than ideological alignment."
The study notes challenges with highly partisan users, where social connections might reduce engagement if the correction comes from someone with opposing political views. This underscores difficulties in reaching polarized users and suggests that political identity signals can sometimes hinder engagement.
In conclusion, this research offers insights for crafting interventions aimed at countering misinformation. It emphasizes the importance of considering not only the message but also the extent of the social relationship between the messenger and the recipient.