Corrections as Risk Communication and Community Engagement on Social Media: How Observing Corrections of Misinformation from the WHO Increases Support for the WHO

Declining trust in public health organizations has (not coincidentally) coincided with a rise in health misinformation on social media. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) strategically employed corrective communications to counter common misinformation as an important aspect of its risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) efforts. Whereas past research focuses mainly on the ability of corrections to reduce misperceptions, we turn attention to the broader question of whether and how they affect perceptions of the WHO. We analyze an online survey experiment (N = 1343) with a 2 × 2 design: correction approach (preemptive vs. responsive) × source (WHO vs. user) as compared to a control condition. Results suggest that the corrective infographic significantly improved public approval of the WHO’s communication efforts and its credibility, but only when it was shared by a WHO information bot in direct response to a misinformation post. Interestingly, these same benefits did not accrue to the WHO when a social media user shared the WHO’s graphics. Moreover, individuals initially critical of the WHO’s performance increased their ratings of the WHO’s credibility after seeing the corrective infographic from the WHO. The findings inform WHO’s future RCCE efforts during a crisis and also highlight the potential of AI-driven bots affiliated with expert organizations to support corrective efforts.