Combating misinformation: The effects of infographics in verifying false vaccine news

Abstract

Objective: False news about vaccination shared in digital spaces is a major problem that harms informed health choices. Drawing from processing fluency theory, we propose that an infographic – a visual representation of information – reduces cognitive load, thereby helping people retain and process the necessary information to discern truth from falsehood in health news. Design: Web-administered experiment. Setting: US web-based experiment on Qualtrics. Method: A national sample of participants was randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: a news literacy infographic, the same information but text-only, or a control group (a blank page). After the short intervention, study participants were shown false news about vaccinations and asked to make judgements about this news. Results: Our study found that people in the infographic condition were better able to verify false news than others. They also showed lower trust in false news articles and higher confidence in their judgement than those in the control condition. Conclusion: Findings further our understanding of how visuals accompanied by text, such as an infographic, can improve the quality of health education. During the current problem of digital spaces filled with misinformation, using a short intervention with visuals can help audiences determine the credibility of information they encounter about vaccines.