Work

Feedback and education improve human detection of image manipulation on social media

Year: 2025

Type: article

Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of educational interventions and feedback on users' ability to detect manipulated images on social media, addressing a gap in research that has primarily focused on algorithmic approaches. Through a pre-registered randomized and controlled experiment, we found that feedback and educational content significantly improved participants' ability to detect manipulated images on social media. However, the educational content did not result in a significantly greater improvement compared to feedback alone. These findings underscore feedback as a powerful tool for enhancing digital literacy, with practical implications for combating misinformation.

Source: Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review

DOI: 10.37016/mr-2020-175

Authors: Adnan Hoq, Matthew Facciani, Tim Weninger

Institution: University of Notre Dame

Language: English

Topic: Misinformation and Its Impacts

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: United States Agency for International Development