Accuracy prompts protect professional content moderators from the illusory truth effect

Content moderators review problematic content for technology companies. One concern about this critical job is that repeated exposure to false claims could cause moderators to come to believe the very claims they are supposed to moderate, via the “illusory truth effect.” In a first field experiment with a global content moderation company (N = 199), we found that exposure to false claims while working as moderators did indeed increase subsequent belief among (mostly Indian and Philippine) employees. We then tested an intervention to mitigate this effect: inducing an accuracy mindset. In both general population samples (N_India = 997; N_Philippines = 1184) and a second field experiment with professional content moderators (N = 239), we replicate the illusory truth effect in the control condition, and find that inducing participants to consider accuracy when first exposed to the claims eliminates any effect of exposure on belief in falsehoods. These results show that both the illusory truth effect and the protective power of an accuracy mindset generalize to non-Western populations and professional content moderators. These results highlight the importance of accuracy mindset interventions for ensuring a healthy internet for everyone.