Educating About the Misinformation Effect Prior to Reading Does Not Seem to Reduce It

Exposure to false information can impair the accuracy of our knowledge. In two experiments (N = 84, N = 133), this research investigates whether the misinformation effect – that is, readers’ reproduction of false information after being exposed to it, even when they knew the correct information beforehand – can be reduced by brief educational intervention on the effect prior to exposure. Prior knowledge on a variety of general knowledge questions was assessed before exposing participants to false information within fictional stories. Afterwards, the proportion of misinformation reproduced was assessed for items with exposure to false information as compared to items with no information (neutral; Experiment 1) or correct information (Experiment 2). In both experiments the misinformation effect was observed, but the educational intervention did reduce the effect. Furthermore, both reading false and reading neutral information did not change participants’ confidence in answers they previously knew correctly, whereas reading correct information increased their confidence.