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.