Misinformed by images: How images influence perceptions of truth and what can be done about it

Abstract

We organize image types by their substantive relationship with textual claims and discuss their impact on attention, comprehension, memory, and judgment. Photos do not need to be false (altered or generated) to mislead; real photos can create a slanted representation or be repurposed from different events. Even semantically related non-probative photos, merely inserted to attract eyeballs, can increase message acceptance through increased fluency. Messages with images receive more attention and reach a wider audience. Text-congruent images can scaffold the comprehension of true and false claims and support the formation of correct and false memories. Standard laboratory procedures may underestimate the impact of images in natural media contexts: by drawing all participants' attention to a message that may be ignored without an image, they inflate message effects in the control condition. Misleading images are difficult to identify and their influence often remains outside of awareness, making it hard to curb their influence through critical-thinking interventions. Current concerns about deep fakes may reduce trust in all images, potentially limiting their power to mislead as well as inform. More research is needed to understand how knowing that an image is misleading influences inferences, impressions, and judgments beyond immediate assessments of the image's credibility.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); Cognitive fluency; Memory; Truth assessment; Truthiness; Visual misinformation.