Immunize the Public against Disinformation Campaigns: Developing a Framework for Analyzing the Macrosocial Effects of Prebunking Interventions

Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Pohl, Janina; Boberg, Svenja; Grimme, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten


Abstract

The rapid spread of disinformation through online environments challenges the development of suitable solution approaches. The scientific evaluation of various intervention strategies shows that until now, no magic bullet has been found that can overcome the problem in all relevant dimensions. Due to the effective impact at the individual level, research highlights the potential of prebunking interventions as a promising coping approach to achieve herd immunity to disinformation on a macrosocial level. Inside a detection system, prebunking interventions can curb the spread of disinformation campaigns early. The identification of turning points at which preventive intervention in (dis)information diffusion is necessary for implementation first requires an exploration of the effectiveness of the diffusion of prebunking interventions in social networks. We present a framework for analyzing the macrosocial effects and patterns of the effectiveness of prebunking interventions in the context of three different attack scenarios of stereotypical disinformation campaigns using agent-based modeling. 

Keywords
Disinformation; Campaigns, Intervention Strategies; Prebunking; Agent-Based Modelling



Publication type
Research article in proceedings (conference)

Peer reviewed
Yes

Publication status
Published

Year
2023

Conference
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)

Venue
Lahaina, HI

Book title
Proceedings of the 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)

Editor
Bui, Tung X.

Start page
2411

End page
2420

Publisher
ScholarSpace

Place
Honolulu, HI, USA

Language
English

ISSN
2572-6862

ISBN
978-0-9981331-6-4

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