Rhyme or reason: medium-term effects of heuristic and traditional media literacy interventions

Media literacy interventions are at the forefront of anti-misinformation policy. Current interventions are often complex, time-consuming, and lack a clear theoretical basis, which might negatively affect their (longer-term) effectiveness. This study draws on Protection Motivation Theory to design and test a novel ‘heuristic intervention’ that is meant to be easily remembered and carried out. Since there is only limited information about the longer-term effectiveness of traditional interventions, this study uses a two-wave experimental design to test the immediate and medium-term effectiveness of heuristic interventions against the traditional approach regarding accuracy in discernment. Results show that the heuristic intervention shows promise by outperforming the control group and the traditional intervention, but only in the immediate term. Findings advance our understanding of how to design effective, theory-based, and potentially lasting interventions, offering insights into mitigating strategies addressing misinformation.