Timing matters when correcting fake news.

Abstract

Countering misinformation can reduce belief in the moment, but corrective messages quickly fade from memory. We tested whether the longer-term impact of fact-checks depends on when people receive them. In two experiments (total <i>N =</i> 2,683), participants read true and false headlines taken from social media. In the treatment conditions, "true" and "false" tags appeared before, during, or after participants read each headline. Participants in a control condition received no information about veracity. One week later, participants in all conditions rated the same headlines' accuracy. Providing fact-checks after headlines (<i>debunking</i>) improved subsequent truth discernment more than providing the same information during (<i>labeling</i>) or before (<i>prebunking</i>) exposure. This finding informs the cognitive science of belief revision and has practical implications for social media platform designers.