Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences
Tilburg, Netherlands
Completed
NCT Number: NCT05030883
The Effect of a Protective Message on Critical Evaluation of Fake News
Background: Disinformation has become an increasing societal concern, especially due to the speed that news is shared in the current digital era. In particular in the healthcare sector disinformation can lead to serious casualties, as the current COVID-19 crisis clearly shows.
Objective: The main aim of this study was to experimentally examine the effects of information about the source's and a displayed protective warning message on users' critical evaluation of news items, as well as the perception of accuracy of the news item.
Methods: A 3(unreliable versus reliable versus no identified source) x 2 (protective message: with versus without) between subject design has been conducted among 307 participants (mean age = 29 years, SD = 10.9 years).
Completed
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Notify MeKey information
Conditions
Age range
18 year and older
Sex eligibility
All sexes
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Not applicable
Primary location
Who can participate
Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes
Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.
Inclusion criteria
- Facebook user
- older than 18
- Dutch
Exclusion criteria
- younger than 18 years
- no facebook
Treatment and study plan
Source of news
BehavioralThe main intervention was the source of the news that was shown to participants
Primary outcomes
-
Critical evaluation of source and news
Time frame: immediately after exposure, 5 minutes
questionnaire
Sponsors and collaborators
Lead sponsor
Tilburg University
Other
Registry information
Official study title
The Effect of Source Type and Protective Message on the Critical Evaluation of News Messages on Facebook: An Experimental Study in the Netherlands.
Important dates
- Study start
- 2019
- Primary completion
- 2019
- Study completion
- 2019
- First posted
- Sep 1, 2021
- Registry last updated
- Sep 5, 2025
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.