Established on 15 July 1845, The Straits Times is the oldest surviving newspaper in Singapore and the most prominent news source in the country for 177 years. Owned by Singapore Press Holdings, the news source is regulated and fact-checked by government-appointed editors before the release of articles. On 1 January 1994, the Straits Times website was launched, and now provides access to exclusive digitised articles on a subscription basis. Although traditional newspapers are still produced and sold regularly, many news-readers are now turning to online platforms to stay updated on current affairs. Since online sources function as a key platform for the dissemination of news, it is important that users of this medium are able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information. However, as individuals may not be equipped with the ability to discern the online sources presented to them, the need for ‘nudges’ to guide decision-making could be beneficial.

In ‘Nudge Effect of Fact-Check Alerts: Source Influence and Media Skepticism on Sharing of News Misinformation in Social Media’ (Social Media + Society, 2020), the efficacy of fact-check alerts in influencing users is assessed. Associate Professor Elmie Nekmat (NUS Department of Communications and New Media) examines whether nudges, such as pop-up banners and tags, alter the likelihood of users sharing dubious news on social media platforms. This study looks at the news sharing behaviour of Singaporeans when articles from reputable and non-conventional news sources are flagged for misinformation.

Participants in the study are randomly assigned to either an article that imitates the legacy news source, The Straits Times, or an article by a made-up unconventional source named Red Dot Review. Both articles are titled ‘Fall in HIV cases’ and present the same fabricated news. For each source, participants are exposed to a fact-check alert, in the form of a pop-up, which cautions them against the misinformation in the article. After being exposed to the articles, the participants respond to a survey which gauges their likelihood of sharing the article on social media.

A/P Nekmat’s analysis of the survey responses reveals fact-check alerts do deter some users from sharing contentious articles, and that news from an unknown alternative source has a lower probability of being shared than news from a highly regarded source. On the other hand, fact-check alerts have a higher probability of dissuading people from sharing misinformation from a mainstream source than an unfamiliar one. This results from the greater scepticism users often have towards conventional news sources, due to the mistrust associated with their agendas. Overall, fact-check alerts are indeed able to deter the spread of false news.

Read the full article here.