Replication Data for: Sustaining Exposure to Fact-Checks: Misinformation Discernment, Media Consumption, and Its Political Implications

Exposure to misinformation can affect citizens’ beliefs, political preferences, and compliance with government policies. However, little is known about how to durably reduce susceptibility to misinformation, particularly in the Global South. We evaluate an intervention in South Africa that encouraged individuals to consume biweekly fact- checks—as text messages or podcasts—via WhatsApp for six months. Sustained exposure to these fact-checks induced substantial internalization of fact-checked content, while increasing participants’ ability to discern new political and health misinformation upon exposure—especially when fact-check consumption was financially incentivized. Fact-checks that could be quickly consumed via short text messages or via podcasts with empathetic content were most impactful. We find limited effects on news consumption choices or verification behavior, but still observe changes in political attitudes and COVID-19-related behaviors. These results demonstrate that sustained exposure to fact-checks can inoculate citizens against future misinformation, but highlight the difficulty of inducing broader behavioral changes relating to media usage.

接触错误信息会影响公民的信念、政治倾向以及对政府政策的遵从度。然而，目前学界对如何持久降低人们对错误信息的易感程度知之甚少，这一问题在全球南方（Global South）尤为突出。我们评估了南非的一项干预措施：该措施鼓励民众通过WhatsApp每两周接收一次事实核查（fact-check）内容，形式包括短信或播客（podcast），持续时长为六个月。持续接触此类事实核查内容，可促使参与者大幅内化经核查的信息，同时提升他们在接触新的政治与健康类错误信息时的辨别能力——当事实核查内容的接收伴有经济激励时，这一效果尤为显著。可通过短文本快速浏览，或是以共情式内容呈现的播客形式传递的事实核查内容，效果最为突出。我们发现该干预对新闻消费选择或信息核查行为的影响有限，但仍观察到参与者在政治态度与新冠（COVID-19）相关行为上出现了变化。上述研究结果表明，持续接触事实核查内容可使公民对未来的错误信息产生“免疫”，但同时也凸显了诱导民众在媒体使用方面产生更广泛行为改变的难度。