The Debunking Handbook 2020 advocates triggering a mental “immune response” to fake news. To do so we need pre-emptive exposure to weakened versions of the manipulative strategies used by peddlers of false facts. In so doing we can inoculate against, or “prebunk”, the misinformation.
For example, once you realise that some social media users, publications and other bodies can have hidden agendas and may therefore misrepresent studies and cherry-pick information, you are better placed to assess the facts for yourself. Indeed, the tobacco and oil industries rolled out “fake experts” to create doubt that smoking causes cancers and CO₂ emissions affects our climate, respectively.
In my opinion the excellent BBC Radio 4 programme “More or Less” is a particularly good mental vaccine against misinformation.
3. Debunk efficiently
In the midst of a debate it is probably too late to deploy any prebunking tactics. But be careful about launching into a myth-busting monologue. Simply repeating untruths risks making them stick in our memories, so instead focus your talking points on the positive outcomes of vaccinations (like the facts at the top of this article). Don’t be the first person to mention the myth.
Measles is on the rise due to vaccine misinformation. Zerbor/Shutterstock
But if in the course of the conversation some misinformation does get a mention you will need to call it out. Let’s imagine you are in the midst of a debate about COVID and someone makes the claim that the 5G network is the real cause of the disease. The key to getting this debunking right is limiting how often the lie gets a mention and making the truth more sticky than the myth. Here’s how to go about it.
a) Start by stating the truth in a clear, concise way. Don’t launch into a long explanation, instead imagine you are writing a headline.
COVID is spread in droplets generated when people exhale, particularly when they cough, sneeze, or shout.
b) Point out the misinformation, and be clear that it is a myth.
The mobile network is basically a series of radio transmitters, and viruses can’t travel by radio waves.
c) Explain why the myth is wrong. You might point out some science that refutes the myth, and call out the flaws in the argument.
Besides, the COVID virus has spread throughout countries, like Iran for example, that have no 5G network.
d) Restate the facts.
4. Think beyond facts
That said, facts alone will only go so far. The words we use are also important, they conjure up imagery that affect our response to the information we are being presented with. Consider “herds” and “communities”. Which of these would you like to be part of? Most people would say “communities”. So if you’re encouraging someone to get vaccinated, you may want to talk about their contribution to community immunity, rather than herd immunity.
Another important technique is storytelling, which can be much more effective than facts. Stories link cause and effect, making the conclusions that you want to present seem almost inevitable. For example, you may want to tell anti-vaxxers about a relative whose life was saved by a vaccine at a time when it wasn’t available to everyone.
Or you may, like the UK’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van Tam, want to stress that you have encouraged your own mother to take the vaccine, rather than just saying the elderly should take it.
This article authored by Professor Mark Lorch is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here. The views or opinions expressed by individuals do not necessarily reflect those of the University.