A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Continued Influence of Misinformation in the Face of Correction: How Powerful Is It, Why Does It Happen, and How to Stop It?

Authors

Nathan Walter, Northwestern University
Riva Tukachinsky, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-22-2019

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the extent of continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction and the theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. Aggregation of results from 32 studies (N = 6,527) revealed that, on average, correction does not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation (r = –.05, p = .045). Corrective messages were found to be more successful when they are coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview, and delivered by the source of the misinformation itself. Corrections are less effective if the misinformation was attributed to a credible source, the misinformation has been repeated multiple times prior to correction, or when there was a time lag between the delivery of the misinformation and the correction. These findings are consistent with predictions based on theories of mental models and offer concrete recommendations for practitioners.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Communication Research in 2019, available online at DOI: 10.1177/0093650219854600. It may differ slightly from the final version of record.

Recommended Citation

Walter, N., & Tukachinsky, R. (2019). A meta-analytic examination of the continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction: How powerful is it, why does it happen, and how to stop it? Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219854600

Copyright

Taylor & Francis