In a surprising turn of events, a recent study claims that online searches actually increases the likelihood of believing in misinformation.
ONLINE SEARCHES AND BELIEF IN MISINFORMATION
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the study showcases a paradoxical outcome: rather than dispelling misinformation, the process of searching online to evaluate news contributes to a notable increase in belief in highly popular misinformation. Kevin Aslett from the University of Central Florida and Zeve Sanderson from New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP) led the study.
Zeve Sanderson points out that this phenomenon is particularly pronounced among individuals receiving lower-quality information from search engines.
DATA VOIDS AND THE PERILOUS PATH OF SEARCH ENGINE OUTPUTS
The study sheds light on the concept of ‘data voids,’ areas within the information ecosystem dominated by low-quality or false news. These voids, the researchers warn, might be influencing online search outcomes, leading to a scarcity of credible information and, alarmingly, the prominence of non-credible information in search results.
PROBING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE SEARCH BEHAVIOR
As part of the study, participants were recruited through tools like Qualtrics and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for a series of five experiments. The goal was to delve into the impact of a common behaviour encouraged by technology companies and government agencies alike: searching online to evaluate news (SOTEN).
UNMASKING THE PUZZLING DYNAMICS
The first four studies scrutinized various aspects of online search behaviour, including its impact on belief in both false and true news shortly after publication, its ability to change evaluations over time, and its influence on recent news about a significant topic—the Covid-19 pandemic. A fifth study combined survey data with web-tracking insights to identify the effect of exposure to different search-engine result qualities on belief in misinformation.
DOES THE VERACITY OF MISINFORMATION DIMINISH OVER MONTHS?
Contrary to expectations, the study revealed that the impact of searching online to evaluate news persisted over time. Whether it was shortly after publication or months later, the act of searching online consistently increased the belief in misinformation. Additionally, this effect was found to be more pronounced among individuals exposed to lower-quality search-engine information.
“The findings highlight the need for media literacy programs to ground recommendations in empirically tested interventions and search engines to invest in solutions to the challenges identified by this research,” suggests Joshua A. Tucker, co-director of CSMaP and one of the study’s authors.
