Abstract
The widespread dissemination of misinformation has become a global concern. A recommended solution is to improve people’s ability to discern true from false information through appropriate media literacy education programs. This meta-analysis quantitatively synthesized the results of 49 experimental studies (N = 81,155) that examined the efficacy of media literacy interventions in mitigating misinformation. This study finds that media literacy interventions generally improve resilience to misinformation (d = 0.60). Specifically, the interventions reduce belief in misinformation (d = 0.27), improve misinformation discernment (d = 0.76), and decrease misinformation sharing (d = 1.04). Moreover, media literacy interventions have stronger effects (1) when multiple sessions rather than a single session are implemented, (2) in high (vs. low) uncertainty avoidance cultures, and (3) among college students than among adults recruited from online crowdsourcing platforms (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk). These findings enrich our understanding of inoculation theory and provide valuable guidance for the design of future media literacy intervention programs. © The Author(s) 2024
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Communication Research |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Online published - 4 Oct 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Full text of this publication does not contain sufficient affiliation information. With consent from the author(s) concerned, the Research Unit(s) information for this record is based on the existing academic department affiliation of the author(s)Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Teaching Development Grant from the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong (Project No. 6000856).
Research Keywords
- misinformation
- media literacy
- intervention program
- cultural dimension