Refuting misinformation: Examining theoretical underpinnings of refutational interventions

Abstract

With the proliferation of misinformation have come toolkits that include refutation strategies to target the beliefs of individuals that can be employed preemptively (prebunking) or reactively (debunking). Whereas the theoretical lineage of prebunking is well established within the literature on inoculation theory, the theoretical underpinning of debunking is not. Recent advances in inoculation theory include fostering resistance to a type of message rather than to the content of a message as well as application of messages in both prophylactic and therapeutic situations. Theoretically rooted within studies of conceptual change, fresh insights on debunking interventions derive from knowledge revision models, the Misinformation Receptivity Framework, as well as empirical evidence on the efficacy of narrative correctives and counters.

Keywords: Corrections; Debunking; Disinformation; Fact-checking; Inoculation theory; Knowledge revision; Misinformation; Narratives; Prebunking; Refutations.