Combating misinformation on social media

Last registered on December 12, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Combating misinformation on social media
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012480
Initial registration date
November 12, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 18, 2023, 6:03 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
December 12, 2023, 11:28 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Ghana
Region
Country
Kenya
Region
Country
Nigeria
Region
Country
South Africa
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Kristine Koutout
Affiliation
Stanford University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Susan Athey
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
PI Name
Dean Karlan
PI Affiliation
Northwestern University
PI Name
Nils Wernerfelt
PI Affiliation
Northwestern University
PI Name
Michael Luca
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
PI Name
Szymon Sacher
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
PI Name
Ruth Appel
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
PI Name
Utsav Manjeer
PI Affiliation
Meta

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-11-13
End date
2024-02-29
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We are conducting a study to learn about the effects on social media behavior of interventions that educate social media users about how to identify and avoid sharing misleading information online. To date, studies of these interventions have predominantly used survey outcomes, which are subject to known concerns with experimenter demand effects. We test three previously evaluated interventions to learn whether these interventions also change real-world behavior on social media.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Appel, Ruth et al. 2023. "Combating misinformation on social media." AEA RCT Registry. December 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12480-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-13
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Details in Pre-Analysis Plan attached.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Details in Pre-Analysis Plan attached.
Experimental Design Details
We will first identify a target sample of Facebook users using six weeks of pre-experiment data, then create an ad campaign on Facebook that targets those users with ads to recruit them to the research study. Our Meta team members will implement a ""lift test'' on that ad campaign that will divert 10% of users to a control group that will not be shown ads. Users who are shown an ad, and subsequently click on it will be directed to our chatbot on Messenger, which will deliver one of four interventions. The interventions are a placebo text message course and three treatment interventions: 1) the Bad News game, 2) the Inoculation Science videos, and 3) the Emotions text message course. After exposure to the intervention, all participants will respond to questions about six hypothetical Facebook posts.

Participants who complete the chatbot will be paid $1 (in local currency) mobile airtime. Approximately one day later, we will ask participants who complete the chatbot if they would like to be notified about additional paid surveys. Six weeks later, participants who complete the first chatbot will be invited to complete an additional survey in the chatbot, in which they will respond to questions about another six hypothetical Facebook posts. Participants who complete the follow-up chatbot will be paid $1 (in local currency) mobile airtime.

Our primary focus will be analyzing how the interventions change on-platform behavior such as sharing and engagement. We will also evaluate the survey outcomes elicited in the chatbot, and correlate those outcomes with the on-platform behavior we observe.
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a server.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
20,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
5,000 in each of four treatment arms
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Details in Pre-Analysis Plan attached.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Stanford University
IRB Approval Date
2023-11-03
IRB Approval Number
67586
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials