Combating Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media: The Impact of a Positive Versus Transitional Character in Narrative Correction

This experimental study examines how character type and misinformation exposure influence narrative effects on promoting COVID-19 vaccination for children on social media. A 2 (misinformation exposure: present vs. absent) × 2 (character type: positive vs. transitional) between-subjects experiment was conducted with 374 parents of children aged 5–11. Results showed that the transitional character elicited greater identification overall but had no main effect on persuasion outcomes. Its persuasive advantage was conditional. Among participants with recent misinformation exposure, the transitional character elicited more favorable vaccine attitudes. When misinformation exposure was absent, character type did not significantly influence persuasion outcomes. This conditional advantage was associated with self-persuasion and positive affect generated during narrative exposure. Theoretical implications for narrative and misinformation correction research as well as practical implications are discussed.