Combating Fake News Using Implementation Intentions

Inaiya Armeen (), Ross Niswanger () and Chuan (Annie) Tian ()
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Inaiya Armeen: University of Alabama
Ross Niswanger: University of Houston-Clear Lake
Chuan (Annie) Tian: University of Alabama

Information Systems Frontiers, 2025, vol. 27, issue 3, No 12, 1107-1120

Abstract: Abstract The rise of misinformation on social media platforms is an extremely worrisome issue and calls for the development of interventions and strategies to combat fake news. This research investigates one potential mechanism that can help mitigate fake news: prompting users to form implementation intentions along with education. Previous research suggests that forming “if – then” plans, otherwise known as implementation intentions, is one of the best ways to facilitate behavior change. To evaluate the effectiveness of such plans, we used MTurk to conduct an experiment where we educated participants on fake news and then asked them to form implementation intentions about performing fact checking before sharing posts on social media. Participants who had received both the implementation intention intervention and the educational intervention significantly engaged more in fact checking behavior than those who did not receive any intervention as well as participants who had received only the educational intervention. This study contributes to the emerging literature on fake news by demonstrating that implementation intentions can be used in interventions to combat fake news.

Keywords: Fake news; Misinformation; Implementation intentions; User interventions; Fact checking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10796-024-10502-0

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