Researchers found that fact-checks work better after people read false headlines, compared to when fact-checks precede the headline or accompany it.
Participants rated news headlines for accuracy. Some were true, some had been debunked.
One group saw true and false labels before, during, and after reading headlines. Another group didn't. A week later, without true false labels, participants rated the same headlines again.
Debunking a claim after they were exposed to it proved the most effective. It may be due to our ability to retain both false information and corrections simultaneously. We might not be able to ignore false headlines, but are willing to update our beliefs about them. Results might have been different if participants had not rated headline accuracy when reading them — for example, if they were simply scrolling news feeds.
The work will help social media platforms and content providers label and limit the flow of misinformation.
Original article:
To combat false news, correct after reading
Original study: