Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

Abstract

Regarding the impact of fact-checking, extensive research has been conducted on the correlation between fact-checking and individuals’ political beliefs, but this issue is difficult to address by policy. This study investigates the relationship between the effectiveness of fact-checking and literacy, as well as the relationship between the effectiveness of fact-checking and the types of media used to disseminate this information. These variables can be addressed through policy measures. We conducted the survey via the internet. Participants were tasked with making true or false judgments about real instances of misinformation before and after fact-checking. The results highlighted the significance of information literacy in achieving accurate perceptions through fact-checking. Secondly, in the case of COVID-19-related misinformation, fact-checking proved more effective on government websites than on social media. Thirdly, many individuals incorrectly identified misinformation as true even after fact-checking. These findings underscore the risk of indiscriminately disseminating fact-check results on social media, as doing so could potentially have the opposite effect if the recipients lack the requisite literacy.