Study Reveals Surprising Impact of Online Search in Believing Misinformation
A recent study published in the journal Nature challenges the widely held belief that online searches for misinformation lead to a reduction in belief in false news. The study revealed the opposite effect, indicating that searching online to evaluate the truthfulness of false news articles actually increases the probability of believing misinformation.
Conducted by a team of researchers, including Zeve Sanderson from New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP), the study delved into the impact of search engine outputs on user beliefs, an area relatively under-explored until now.
Sanderson commented: "Our study shows that the act of searching online to evaluate news increases belief in highly popular misinformation—and by notable amounts.” The findings hint at a concerning trend, suggesting that 'data voids'—areas dominated by low-quality or false news—play a significant role in influencing search results, potentially leading to the surfacing of non-credible information.
Lead author Kevin Aslett from the University of Central Florida and CSMaP explained that the study aimed to gauge the impact of the common behavior of searching online to evaluate news (SOTEN) through a series of experiments involving participants recruited through platforms like Qualtrics and Amazon's Mechanical Turk.
The experiments focused on various aspects of online search behavior and its impact, such as the effect of SOTEN on belief in false or misleading news, the persistence of its impact over time, and the effect on significant topics like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surprisingly, the study found that conducting online searches to assess news led to a significant increase in belief in misinformation, regardless of whether the search was conducted shortly after the article's publication or months later. Additionally, this effect was more pronounced among individuals receiving lower-quality search results.
The study highlights the crucial need for accurate media literacy programs and emphasizes the importance of search engines investing in solutions to address the challenges identified by this research.
