By Gavin Mackintosh And Sammie Jones-
A game capable of vaccinating people against fake news by teaching them how information can be manipulated for certain ends can be used in a range of different contexts, is being promoted by researchers from Cambridge University.
The game is apparently proficient in countering conspiracy theories and radicalisation to teaching students about bad science. Researchers developed the Bad News game in collaboration with the Dutch media collective DROG. It is based on inoculation theory which views fake news in a similar way a virus to which herd immunity needs to be developed.
The game has been played by several people since its launch online last year, but many members of the public have still not heard of it “People love playing and learning through games,” lead researcher Sander van der Linden, also Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab in the Department of Psychology said. Already, the game has won several design awards, its potential uses have been multiplying. Vinden is scheduled to hold a talk about the game next week.
FUNDING
The University is also pursuing funding for a version on bad science to inoculate students against questionable research practices. It is designed to equip students and members of the public with the right psychology to use in understanding when they are being manipulated by news that is fake. A spokesperson for Cambridge University told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”It helps teach media literacy in consistence with a scientific theory called inoculation theory. It teachws the skills that build people’s knowledge on how to tell whether they are being manipulated . It has a psychological element behind it by showing people how it works. It is used in helping students to detect the different scenarios in which it can help people know when they are being manipulated”.
A student P.H.D researcher by the name Jon Roozenbeek has impressively translated the game into 15 languages in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The outstanding researcherhas helped it to do large scale cross-cultural comparisons.
. The researchers are looking to continue to spread its reach wide to the public, using social media platforms. It has a Twitter version of the game and a WhatsApp version is being worked on. The researchers have been working with Whatsapp to counter fake news in the Indian elections, partnering with India’s Digital Empowerment Foundation. A children’s version (Bad News Junior) with more child-friendly content and have created a board game version for schools.
“It’s a new way to do social science research and, in addition to countering fake news, it has the potential to help inoculate people against radicalism and extremism,” says van der Linden. “It involves boiling down content to the main techniques used to persuade people so they can recognise the different stages of indoctrination, from targeting to grooming to activation, if they come up against them.”
In addition, van der Linden and Roozenbeek are working with partners in the Middle East, to enable them to inoculate young people who might be targets for extremists.
Van der Linden’s innovative idea that has led to the creation of this game does not stop there. The bright and proactive researcher also has a new book in the making, Risk and Uncertainty in a Post-Truth Society, out in June. The book, which he says is aimed at academics and policy makers is co-edited with Ragnar E. Löfstedt, Professor of Risk Management at King’s College London, and aims to rethink the concepts of risk and uncertainty in areas where truth is contested.
Van der Linden has worked with David Spiegelhalter, Cambridge’s Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, and the two academics will talk about the issues it raises at this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas in the autumn. Linden believes uncertainty is not that much a problem if it is measurable. “If you are very vague about the uncertainty of something that is where you see the big psychological impact,” van der Linden says.
ENGAGING
The game is also a good way of engaging with the public and explaining scientific research in an accessible way.. “There are small differences with regard to age, ideology and educational background, but everyone seems to be learning,” says van der Linden. “However, the inoculation is more effective the less you have been exposed to the virus.”
Researchers are still exploring the limitations of the game in terms of whether it works better in social media settings, or whether lessons learnt can be applied in various life situations situations drawing from real life experiences Van der Linden says: “We are focusing on the underlying techniques rather than specific contexts. Policymakers’ approaches to faknews, such as fact checking, tend to be more reactive. We want to be proactive and pre-bunk fake news.”
He adds that it is important that the game is ideologically neutral with players able to pick a side. “It’s not about liberal academics attempting to manipulate people about specific issues. It’s about helping people gain resistance against the techniques of manipulation,” he states. For instance, there is a Brexit version of the game in the London Design Museum where players can choose to be pro-Leave or pro-Remain.
This article was written with the contribution of both authors