Knowledge versus Skills: Evidence from a Field Study on Health Information in Sierra Leone

Evaluating the truthfulness of new information is important for knowledge building and often influences the decision to share information. This study compares two approaches to improving judgments of whether information is reliable. The first, grounded in existing literature, teaches individuals to identify specific signals that indicate truthfulness. The second method builds domain-specific knowledge—in this case, about vaccines—to help individuals assess information based on its content. To compare these two approaches, we randomize social media users in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to receive a short interactive training program focusing on i) hand-washing (a placebo health topic for (Control), ii) how to spot typical features of misinformation (Misinformation Skills}), or iii) how vaccines work (Vaccine Knowledge). We examine outcomes immediately after training to assess treatment effects on information discernment, sharing, and vaccine knowledge. Following the training session, we monitor on-platform (WhatsApp) behaviors for one month and evaluate the persistence of immediate treatment effects, as well as treatment effects on vaccine uptake and healthcare utilization one month post-training.