Misinformation and Vaccine News: Using an Infographic as a News Literacy Intervention

Primary author: Shawn Domgaard
Faculty sponsor: Mina Park

Primary college/unit: Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

This study seeks to understand the effects of an infographic with news literacy skills as an intervention can have an effect on college student’s ability to verify the accuracy of a news story, with the proposed hypothesis that it will have a significant impact. First misinformation and false news as a current topic are explored, then the importance of news literacy is established, and the effectiveness of infographics as an educational and persuasive device is demonstrated. This was a between-groups experiment with three separate groups of randomized participants. Each group was separated into a control group, an infographic intervention, or a text only intervention. The participants were all shown a mix of four false and true news articles talking about vaccines, then either given an intervention or a control, and then asked to verify four more false and true news stories. The implications of using such a small priming message are discussed.