This briefing focuses on fact checking online. There are at least three good reasons why how we communicate is just as important as what we say.
Reach – How we communicate affects how many people we reach. Adding an image to a Tweet can make the difference between a fact check that gets seen, and one that is outranked by more attention grabbing posts.
Learning – Presentation also affects what audiences learn, and even what they believe to be true.
Credibility – Finally, certain media, such as pictures and videos, have an intrinsic ability to make text appear more believable.
However, things quickly get complicated. Visual elements, which have a reputation for helping engage audiences online, can improve learning in some conditions. But they can also distract and fatigue, placing undue burden on our attention capacity.
To get the balance right in practice, this briefing recommends focusing on clearly written articles, while making careful use of imagery to generate social media engagement. We summarise the key points here:
•Despite the emergence of a multitude of media formats, evidence suggests that articles which place the most important information at the top, avoid jargon and keep distraction at a minimum, are the most effective way of communicating information.
•Including a relevant picture helps capture attention on social media. By one measure, articles with pictures are seen four times more than headlines alone. But visual stimuli are a double edged sword. An image that mirrors the content of the article can strengthen learning, by giving readers a “second dose” of the same information, but a discordant image can distract.
•Videos are a disputed tool. Despite their popularity, videos are less able to generate social media engagement than pictures, and are a questionable way of conveying information. Only one study investigated them in the context of fact checking, finding them moderately better for learning than text-only stories. Other literature indicates poorer learning outcomes than written articles, or articles with pictures, as well as a tendency to overload our attention and working memory.
It is important to acknowledge that there are limitations to what we know. The literature on fact checking is still small. The majority of studies on learning and veracity consist of lab experiments with US participants, who may resemble but are not representative of audiences worldwide. Field investigations focus on websites and social media, but there is much left to discover about the dynamics of direct messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Similarly, good presentation does not replace the need for clear and accessible content.
With this in mind, we see this briefing as the beginning of a conversation, which will be refined with further research and input from practitioners.