Can a YouTube ad change your mind about disinformation?
“Prebunking” false information with short videos could nudge people to be more critical of it, suggests a new study from researchers at the University of Cambridge and Google’s Jigsaw division. The study is part of ongoing work in the field of mis- and disinformation, and it’s encouraging news for researchers hoping to improve the online information ecosystem — albeit with many caveats.
The Jigsaw and Cambridge study — which also involved researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Western Australia, Perth — is one of several attempts to “inoculate” or “prebunk” people against disinformation instead of debunking it after the fact. Published in Science Advances, it recounts the impact of a video series about common...