Designing Artefacts to Build Resilience against Misinformation
Mentor: Tilman Dingler, t.dingler@tudelft.nl
Background: Algorithms increasingly curate the information we see online, prioritising attention and engagement. By catering to personal preferences, they confirm existing opinions and reinforce cognitive biases. When it comes to polarising topics such as climate change or abortion rights, the combination of algorithmic information curation and cognitive biases can easily skew people’s perceptions and, thus, undermine critical thinking abilities while creating a thriving ground for misinformation. The first line of defence: people’s inherent abilities to identify and critically examine misinformation.
But how can we create experiences that build critical thinking capabilities? How can technologies be designed so that they educate and equip users with prosocial behaviours, i.e., behaviours that benefit other people or society as a whole? Examples range from the Debunking Handbook [3] to thematic inoculation through mobile apps [2] and escape rooms that build general resilience [1].
Goal: In this project, we explore the use of digital and tangible artefacts as well as entire experiences to help people build inherent resilience against misinformation.
Methods: Through desktop research, ideation, and prototyping, students will design digital or tangible artefacts that can be tested for their efficacy.
Impact: Misinformation is a serious problem in social computing systems and in online spaces as it polarises and undermines democratic institutions by influencing decision-making. Equipping people with critical thinking skills can fortify individuals against manipulation attempts.
Relevance: Misinformation campaigns are currently run by individuals (scams), groups (political messaging), and state actors (propaganda). We need an informed public that can tell fake from fact.
References
[1] Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington. Escape rooms and other play-based activities for building resilience to misinformation: https://lokisloop.org/.
[2] Cook, J. Cranky Uncle: https://crankyuncle.com/.
[3] Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Ecker, U., Albarracín, D., Kendeou, P., Newman, E. J., ... & Zaragoza, M. S. (2020). The debunking handbook 2020.
