9 votes

Do you know the effects of using clickbait to combat misinformation?

Posted by updawg
Tags: technology, internet, social media, misinformation, clickbait, studies, author.jooyoung lee, author.emily booth, author.marian andrei rizoiu, source.the conversation
https://theconversation.com/a-new-study-finds-that-to-counter-misinformation-online-we-need-to-copy-its-style-293220

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Title
A new study finds that to counter misinformation online, we need to copy its style
Authors
Jooyoung Lee, Emily Booth, Marian-Andrei Rizoiu
Published
Oct 4 2026
Word count
873 words

3 comments

  1. [2]
    snake_case
    Link
    This is a really good start! Exciting stuff. It does annoy me though that the correct information has to sound like misinformation to be clicked on, it breaks my heuristic entirely. I’m able to...

    This is a really good start! Exciting stuff.

    It does annoy me though that the correct information has to sound like misinformation to be clicked on, it breaks my heuristic entirely. I’m able to navigate pretty well today because misinformation sounds clickbaity so it stands out to me as fake and thus gets ignored. If all info started sounding like that I’d get lost pretty quick.

    9 votes
    1. updawg
      Link Parent
      It doesn't have to sound like misinformation. It's that misinformers only care about visibility, whereas people who care about accuracy care about...accuracy.

      It doesn't have to sound like misinformation. It's that misinformers only care about visibility, whereas people who care about accuracy care about...accuracy.

      4 votes
  2. skybrian
    Link
    It’s a narrow finding: some kinds of headlines get more clicks. From the article:

    It’s a narrow finding: some kinds of headlines get more clicks. From the article:

    Our findings suggest communication style can help attract attention to reliable information.

    They don’t show that we changed anyone’s mind. We don’t know whether people read the linked pages, and Facebook’s delivery system influenced who saw each advertisement.

    5 votes