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To quell misinformation, use carrots — not just sticks

Social-media platforms should reward users for reliable, accurate and trustworthy posts.
  1. Tali Sharot

    1. Tali Sharot is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, where she directs the Affective Brain Lab.

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In 2020 alone, social-media shares, likes and similar interactions with misleading online news doubled to 17% of all engagements. This staggering growth has consequences: polarization, violent extremism, racism and resistance to climate action and vaccines. Social-media companies have taken some steps to combat misinformation by using warnings and ‘sticks’, such as removing a few virulent spreaders of falsities and flagging misleading content. Facebook and Instagram users can report concerning posts, and Twitter prompts users to read articles before retweeting them.

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Nature 591, 347 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00657-0

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