What does the research say?
When faced with a statement or conversation in which misinformation is being shared, or the topic is contested and not well understood, it can be difficult to know how to engage and respond.
But a world of possibilities exist. Here are some that our team is exploring.
Analysis Frameworks
When it comes to analysis, engaging in a productive conversation can be helped by understanding the information better. Examples of different “lenses,” or interpretation frameworks, include:
Vaccine News Quality
How high quality is this information?
Online Misinformation Harms
How urgent is it to respond?
Community Trust Issues
What trust issues are brought up?
Psychological Misinformation Tactics
Are there persuasive or misleading tactics being used?
Response Modes
Responses can vary because of the topic being discussed, the context – relationship to the speaker, social media platform – and the conversational goal. In productive conversation, I might:
correct
co-verify
de-escalate
empathize
encourage healthy skepticism
encourage norms
listen
share
take perspective
… and other possibilities.