The Effect of a Protective Message on Critical Evaluation of Fake News
The Effect of Source Type and Protective Message on the Critical Evaluation of News Messages on Facebook: An Experimental Study in the Netherlands.
1 other identifier
interventional
400
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Background: Disinformation has become an increasing societal concern, especially due to the speed that news is shared in the current digital era. In particular in the healthcare sector disinformation can lead to serious casualties, as the current COVID-19 crisis clearly shows. Objective: The main aim of this study was to experimentally examine the effects of information about the source's and a displayed protective warning message on users' critical evaluation of news items, as well as the perception of accuracy of the news item. Methods: A 3(unreliable versus reliable versus no identified source) x 2 (protective message: with versus without) between subject design has been conducted among 307 participants (mean age = 29 years, SD = 10.9 years).
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started May 2019
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
May 10, 2019
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
June 20, 2019
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
July 1, 2019
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 3, 2021
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
September 1, 2021
CompletedSeptember 5, 2025
August 1, 2021
1 month
August 3, 2021
September 4, 2025
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Critical evaluation of source and news
questionnaire
immediately after exposure, 5 minutes
Study Arms (3)
unreliable source
EXPERIMENTALIn this condition participants receive a news message from an unreliable source
reliable source
EXPERIMENTALIn this condition participants receive a news message from an reliable source
no source
EXPERIMENTALIn this condition participants receive a news message without a source
Interventions
The main intervention was the source of the news that was shown to participants
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Facebook user
- older than 18
- Dutch
You may not qualify if:
- younger than 18 years
- no facebook
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences
Tilburg, Netherlands
Related Publications (1)
Folkvord F, Snelting F, Anschutz D, Hartmann T, Theben A, Gunderson L, Vermeulen I, Lupianez-Villanueva F. Effect of Source Type and Protective Message on the Critical Evaluation of News Messages on Facebook: Randomized Controlled Trial in the Netherlands. J Med Internet Res. 2022 Mar 31;24(3):e27945. doi: 10.2196/27945.
PMID: 35357314DERIVED
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- FACTORIAL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Assistant professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 3, 2021
First Posted
September 1, 2021
Study Start
May 10, 2019
Primary Completion
June 20, 2019
Study Completion
July 1, 2019
Last Updated
September 5, 2025
Record last verified: 2021-08