 - Observation brings attention to the misinformation and its correction.
 - Observation challenges credibility of misinformation and its correction.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Tendency for people to evaluate an issue more accurately after observing someone else being corrected on the same issue, generally over social media.

Observational Correction

Kim, S. C., Vraga, E. K., & Cook, J. (2021). An Eye Tracking Approach to Understanding Misinformation and Correction Strategies on Social Media: The Mediating Role of Attention and Credibility to Reduce HPV Vaccine Misperceptions. Health communication, 36(13), 1687–1696. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1787933

An Eye Tracking Approach to Understanding
Misinformation and Correction Strategies on
Social Media: The Mediating Role of Attention and
Credibility to Reduce HPV Vaccine Misperceptions


Causes of Observational Correction

 - Fact-based: Explains relevant facts that conflict with the misleading claims
 - Source-based: Identifies untrustworthy motives and characteristics of the misinformation source
 - Logic-based: Uses rhetorical approaches to identify flawed reasoning in the misleading claims

Types of Observational Correction

 - Facilitates serious discourse by making the concepts easier to consume
 - Engages audiences that are less engaged on a topic
 - Enhances perceived credibility of the messenger

Ways that Humor Uses Observational Correction

A Twitter interaction exhibiting a logic-based correction to the harmfulness of the HPV vaccine was presented with two conditions: One used a humorous image, while the other used a non-humorous—but equally informative—image.

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