Using Speculative Design to Explore Technology-Facilitated Misinformation Correction

While misinformation spreads through social circles both on and offline, prior work suggests that corrections from close social ties can be more effective than platform-based interventions, yet individuals often face relational and social barriers when challenging misinformation shared by friends or family. We use speculative design to explore how technology might support social misinformation correction by augmenting or extending features of existing communication platforms. Through two design workshops (N = 12) exploring speculative interventions across face-to-face conversations, mobile instant messaging, and social media, we find that participants emphasised three tensions shaping technology-facilitated correction: concerns around platform surveillance and user autonomy, the need for transparent and independent information sources to establish trust, and differing preferences for proactive versus reactive interventions. These findings highlight the need for privacy-preserving, transparent, and socially sensitive designs that support misinformation correction within close-tie networks.