Cambridge game 鈥榩re-bunks鈥 coronavirus conspiracies
11 October 2020Go Viral! is a new game developed by Cambridge psychologists in partnership with the UK government to help fight the 鈥榠nfodemic鈥: the deluge of false information about COVID-19.
Go Viral! is a new game developed by Cambridge psychologists in partnership with the UK government to help fight the 鈥榠nfodemic鈥: the deluge of false information about COVID-19.
An early example of fake news has been found in the 3000-year-old Babylonian story of Noah and the Ark, which is widely believed to have inspired the Biblical tale. Nine lines etched on ancient clay tablets that tell the Gilgamesh Flood story can now be understood in very different ways 鈥 according to a Cambridge academic.
Study of thousands of players shows a simple online game works like a 'vaccine', increasing skepticism of fake news by giving people a 鈥渨eak dose鈥 of the methods behind disinformation.聽
A new experiment, launching today online, aims to help 鈥榠noculate鈥 against disinformation by providing a small dose of perspective from a 鈥渇ake news tycoon鈥. A pilot study has shown some early success in building resistance to fake news among teenagers.聽聽聽
New evidence shows that a 鈥榮ocial fact鈥 highlighting expert consensus shifts perceptions across US political spectrum 鈥 particularly among highly educated conservatives. Facts that encourage agreement are a promising way of cutting through today鈥檚 鈥榩ost-truth鈥 bluster, say psychologists.