Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Not yet recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07803380

Cognitive and Emotional Inoculation Against Nutrition-Related Misinformation in Young Adults

This study aims to examine the effects of cognitive and emotional inoculation interventions on young adults' ability to identify and respond to nutrition-related misinformation on social media. The study will compare two game-based inoculation approaches-a cognitive inoculation intervention and an emotional inoculation intervention-with a control condition. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 2 weeks later.

Not yet recruiting

Trial opening soon.

Get Notified

Key information

Conditions

Health Misinformation Behavior Communication Digital Health Literacy Health Communication Misinformation

Age range

18 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Beijing Normal University

Zhuhai, Guangdong, 519087, China

About this study

Nutrition-related misinformation is increasingly disseminated through social media and may influence how young adults perceive and make decisions about food, diet, and health. Such misinformation may rely not only on inaccurate or unsupported claims but also on persuasive communication techniques, including appeals to authority, unrealistic promises, fear appeals, conspiracy narratives, and absolute or dichotomous framing. These techniques may influence judgments by eliciting trust, desire, anxiety, anger, or decision-related pressure.

This three-arm randomized controlled trial will compare two game-based inoculation interventions-a cognitive inoculation intervention and an emotional inoculation intervention-with a control condition. Participants will encounter common persuasive techniques used in nutrition-related misinformation and receive condition-specific feedback. The cognitive intervention is designed to promote recognition of misleading techniques and verification of supporting evidence. The emotional intervention is designed to promote recognition of emotional cues associated with manipulative messages and reflection on how such cues may influence judgment. The study will assess participants' responses to nutrition-related social media posts at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 2 weeks later to examine both immediate and sustained effects.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged 18 to 30 years.
  • Able to read and understand Chinese.
  • Able to access and independently complete the online intervention game and study questionnaires.
  • Has access to WeChat for study communication and follow-up reminders.
  • Provides electronic informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Younger than 18 years or older than 30 years.
  • Unable to read Chinese or independently complete the online study procedures.
  • Does not provide electronic informed consent.

Treatment and study plan

Cognitive Game-Based Inoculation.

Behavioral

Participants will complete a five-level interactive game designed to build resistance to nutrition-related misinformation on social media. In each level, participants act as a health-content creator and choose between an original social media post and alternative titles that may use misleading persuasive techniques. The game addresses five techniques: fake authority, impossible expectations, fear appeals, conspiracy framing, and false dichotomies. After each decision, participants receive cognitive feedback explaining how the misleading technique operates, the linguistic cues that may indicate its use, and how to evaluate whether the claim is supported by verifiable evidence.

Emotional Game-Based Inoculation.

Behavioral

Participants will complete a five-level interactive game designed to build resistance to nutrition-related misinformation on social media. The game uses the same scenarios and addresses the same five misleading techniques as the cognitive inoculation intervention: fake authority, impossible expectations, fear appeals, conspiracy framing, and false dichotomies. After each decision, participants receive emotional feedback designed to help them recognize and reflect on the emotional cues triggered by manipulative messages, including unwarranted reassurance, desire, anxiety, anger, and pressure to make extreme choices. The feedback explains how these emotional responses may influence judgment of nutrition-related information.

General Nutrition Health Education.

Behavioral

Participants will read eight brief sections of general nutrition health education adapted from the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2022). This condition provides credible healthy-diet information without instruction about nutrition-related misinformation, persuasive techniques, evidence verification, fact-checking, or emotional manipulation cues. The sections cover dietary variety; energy balance and physical activity; fruit and vegetable intake; animal-source foods; limiting salt, oil, sugar, and alcohol; regular meals and adequate hydration; food selection, label reading, and food hygiene; and sustainable dietary practices.

Primary outcomes

  1. Perceived Credibility of Nutrition-Related Misinformation

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in perceived credibility of nutrition-related misinformation will be assessed using simulated social-media posts about diet and health. Participants will rate the extent to which they consider the information credible on a 7-point scale. Lower scores indicate lower perceived credibility of nutrition-related misinformation.

  2. Manipulation-Technique Recognition Accuracy

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in the accuracy of recognizing manipulation techniques in nutrition-related social-media information will be assessed using simulated posts containing both misleading and accurate content. Participants will identify the persuasion or manipulation technique used in each post, or indicate that no misleading technique is present. Higher scores indicate better recognition accuracy.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Intention to Share Nutrition-Related Misinformation

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in willingness to share nutrition-related misinformation will be assessed using simulated social-media posts about diet and health. Participants will rate their willingness to share the information with others on a 7-point scale. Lower scores indicate lower intention to share nutrition-related misinformation.

  2. Intention to Fact-Check Nutrition-Related Information

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in intention to verify nutrition-related information will be assessed using simulated social-media posts about diet and health. Participants will rate the extent to which they would check whether the information is accurate or supported by reliable evidence on a 7-point scale. Higher scores indicate greater intention to fact-check nutrition-related information.

  3. Perceived Manipulativeness

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in perceived manipulativeness will be assessed by participants' ratings of the extent to which nutrition-related social-media posts are perceived as deliberately attempting to influence or guide their judgment. Ratings will be made on a 7-point scale. Higher scores indicate greater perceived manipulativeness.

  4. Perceived Emotional Manipulation

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in perceived emotional manipulation will be assessed in response to nutrition-related social-media posts. Participants will rate the extent to which the posts rely on emotional appeals rather than factual information.Ratings will be made on 7-point scales.

  5. Perceived Perceived Threat

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in perceived threat will be assessed in response to nutrition-related social-media posts. Participants will rate the extent to which the posts evoke concerns about personal health.Ratings will be made on 7-point scales.

  6. Counterarguing in Response to Nutrition-Related Misinformation

    Time frame: Baseline (T0), immediate post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in counterarguing will be assessed by participants' self-reported tendency to generate thoughts that question, challenge, or critically evaluate the claims made in nutrition-related social-media posts. Responses will be rated on a 7-point scale. Higher scores indicate greater counterarguing.

  7. Misinformation-Detection Self-Efficacy

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in confidence in detecting false, exaggerated, or insufficiently supported nutrition-related information and in verifying its source will be assessed using self-report items rated on 7-point scales. Higher scores indicate greater misinformation-detection self-efficacy.

Other outcomes

  1. Critical and Electronic Health Literacy

    Time frame: Baseline (T0) and 2-week follow-up (T2).

    Change from baseline in critical and electronic health literacy will be assessed using self-report items addressing participants' ability to find, evaluate, and apply online diet- and health-related information, including the ability to identify omissions, exaggeration, or weak evidence. Responses will be rated on 7-point scales. Higher scores indicate higher critical and electronic health literacy.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Xue Weng

CONTACT

[email protected]

3621259

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Beijing Normal University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Cognitive and Emotional Inoculation Against Nutrition-Related Misinformation in Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
Sep 3, 2026
Registry last updated
Sep 3, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.