Inoculation Against Misinformation

The global spread of misinformation poses a threat to science and democracy. We explore how inoculation theory has been applied to tackle the spread of misinformation in society. We first discuss inoculation theory in the context of misinformation, followed by message-based interventions, the evolution of gamified (active) inoculation interventions, the implications of technique-level inoculation, and other emerging methods to inoculate against misinformation. Next, we discuss how inoculation theory has been applied by governments and other organizations to successfully counter misinformation at scale on social media. Finally, we discuss relevant implications of the memory-motivation model of inoculation: while threat and motivation have been key to the advancement of inoculation theory, memory is essential for inoculation longevity, which has important applied implications for misinformation interventions. We conclude that inoculation interventions are an effective tool to convey resilience against misinformation and discuss how boosters can make the effects last over time.