Pre-bunking Video for Misinformation

Overseen By Laura H Kwong, PhD

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, Berkeley

Disqualifiers: Prior workshop participation, Sensory impairments, others

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

472 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if a specially designed "prebunking" video can enhance understanding and confidence in vaccines. Participants will watch either this brief prebunking video or a video about safely disposing of medications. The trial targets individuals from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, or Singapore who speak Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Indonesia, regularly watch social media in these languages, and have stable internet access on a smartphone or laptop. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to important research on vaccine perception and confidence.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this pre-bunking video is safe?

Research has shown that prebunking videos are a safe and increasingly popular method to combat misinformation. These videos educate people on how false information spreads before they encounter it. No known risks exist, as viewers simply watch a video. Studies have found that these videos can alter how people respond to misinformation, increasing their awareness and understanding. In short, watching a prebunking video is as safe as watching any educational video online. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores the innovative use of a pre-bunking video to combat misinformation. Unlike traditional methods that often focus on correcting false information after it's spread, this approach aims to prevent misinformation from taking hold in the first place. By educating viewers beforehand, the pre-bunking video could empower individuals to recognize and resist misleading information, offering a proactive solution in the fight against misinformation. This could be a game-changer, making people more resilient to false claims from the start.

What evidence suggests that this pre-bunking video is effective for improving vaccine literacy and confidence?

Research has shown that prebunking videos, like the one participants in this trial will watch, can help people resist misinformation. These videos teach viewers to recognize misleading tactics before encountering them. For example, one study found that short videos improved people's ability to spot false information, particularly against tactics like creating division and spreading conspiracy theories. Another study demonstrated that psychological inoculation, such as prebunking, strengthens defenses against misinformation on social media. These findings suggest that prebunking videos can increase vaccine confidence by making people more informed and less likely to believe misleading vaccine information. ^{1 2 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Laura H Kwong

Principal Investigator

University of California, Berkeley

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for individuals within the Nusantara sociocultural sphere who may be exposed to misinformation about vaccines. The study aims to include a diverse group of participants from this region, but specific inclusion and exclusion criteria are not detailed in the provided information.

Inclusion Criteria

Access to stable Internet on smartphone or laptop to complete the experiment without interruption

I watch social media content in Bahasa every day.

I speak Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Indonesia fluently.

Exclusion Criteria

Individuals who were involved in the online human-centered design thinking workshops or the in-person focus-group discussions will not be eligible to participate in RCT. This exclusion criterion is put in place to prevent potential bias in the evaluation of the intervention's effectiveness.

Individuals who have difficulty in looking at social media on cellphone (even when they use prescription glasses), listening to the audio of social media content on cellphone (even with hearing aid), and typing within or engaging with social media content on cell phone are not eligible to participate in this study.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

Online consent form

Intervention

Participants watch either the pre-bunking video or the control video and respond to pre- and post-video questions

Approximately 20 minutes

Online participation

Debriefing

Participants are debriefed about the study's goals and asked about participation in a gift card drawing

Immediately after intervention

Online debriefing

Follow-up

Participants' data is collected and analyzed, and a drawing for gift cards is conducted

2 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Pre-bunking video

Trial Overview The trial is testing whether a 'prebunking' video tailored to local culture can improve vaccine literacy and confidence better than a control video on safe medication disposal. Participants will watch one of these videos and their vaccine literacy skills and confidence will be assessed.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Watch pre-bunking video Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants in this arm will watch a \~3-minute pre-bunking video

Group II: Watch video on safe disposal of medication Placebo Group 1 Intervention

Participants in this arm will watch a \~3-minute video that discusses safe ways to dispose of medication

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, Berkeley

Lead Sponsor

Trials

193

Recruited

716,000+

Citations

1. prebunking.withgoogle.com prebunking.withgoogle.com/docs/A_Practical_Guide_to_Prebunking_Misinformation.pdf

Misinformation Prebunking is a technique gaining prominence as a means to build preemptive resilience to misinformation. This guide was developed for.

2. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK609022/

Prebunking Against Misinformation in the Modern Digital Age In this chapter, we provide an overview of a long-term strategy for tackling misinformation in the modern digital age through the use of psychological ...

3. onlinelibrary.wiley.com onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.70015

Tune in to the prebunking network! Development and ... Three short inoculation videos (prebunks) against three common manipulation tactics used in misinformation: (1) polarization, (2) conspiracy theories, and (3) ...

4. science.org science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo6254

Psychological inoculation improves resilience against ... We show that psychological inoculation campaigns on social media are effective at improving misinformation resilience at scale.

5. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210312500099X

Norm-enhanced prebunking for actively open-minded ... Results showed that in both studies, the AOT inoculation significantly improved AOT relative to the control group, and in turn, reduced conspiracy beliefs and ...

6. npr.org npr.org/2022/10/28/1132021770/false-information-is-everywhere-pre-bunking-tries-to-head-it-off-early

False information is everywhere. 'Pre-bunking' tries to head ... The idea is to show people the tactics and tropes of misleading information before they encounter it in the wild — so they're better ...

7. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399125006202

Effectiveness and determinants of narrative-based ... Narrative-based corrections show the potential for addressing health-related misinformation; however, their effectiveness remains inconsistent.

8. nature.com nature.com/articles/s41598-024-71599-6

Investigating the role of source and source trust in ... The findings show that both interventions change four variables reflecting vulnerability to misinformation in the expected direction in almost all cases.