A few years ago researchers at the University of Cambridge developed a game to help players identify fake news. The game puts the player in the shows of the budding propagandist to hopefully give an insight into the strategies and motivations behind misinformation campaigns. The aim is to provide a level of ‘immunity’ to fake news.
It’s a theme that has been re-mined in the creation of a second game, called Go Viral!, which again puts players in the shoes of someone attempting to spread fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic. The game is based on recently published research, which shows that giving people exposure to the tactics used to spread misinformation can help them to identify and disregard such fake news. The research suggests that a single play of the game can often be enough to make a big difference.
“Fake news can travel faster and lodge itself deeper than the truth,” the researchers say. “Fact-checking is vital, but it comes too late and lies have already spread like the virus. We are aiming to pre-emptively debunk, or pre-bunk, misinformation by exposing people to a mild dose of the methods used to disseminate fake news. It’s what social psychologists call ‘inoculation theory’.”
Misinformation 101
The game provides players with an introduction to the various tactics used, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. These techniques include the use of emotionally charged language to generate fear or outrage, the use of fake experts to sow doubt, and the use of conspiracy theories.
“By using a simulated environment to show people how misinformation is produced, we can demystify it,” the team says. “The game empowers people with the tools they need to discern fact from fiction.”
The original game was played over a million times since its launch in 2018, with a solitary play found to help with the development of a form of immunity to fake news. Playing helped players to gain a better understanding of what is fake and what isn’t, as well as developing their trust in this instinct. The team was particularly pleased with the apparent longevity of this “inoculation”.
“We were very encouraged by the new results on longevity,” they say. “In a society with ever-changing manipulation threats, the unique approach of interventions such as Bad News and Go Viral! can offer long-lasting effects not found when using a simple fact-check.”
The game was fine-tuned using COVID specific examples in a bid to counter what are estimated to be the several thousand deaths linked to COVID misinformation in the first few months of 2020. Players discover how real news gets discredited and false rumors are promoted.
The Go Viral! project began with seed funding from Cambridge University’s COVID-19 rapid response fund, and was then supported and backed by the UK Cabinet Office.
The collaboration is aiming to get out translations of the game right across the globe (the French and German translation are out now). The research team are working on further evidence-gathering through randomised experiments with national samples.
