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Where this idea comes from· Roozenbeek & van der Linden 2019
Practising the trick before it is played on you
The researchers Jon Roozenbeek and Sander van der Linden worked with the Dutch media group DROG on Bad News, a game where you play someone spreading fake news and learn six tricks: polarising, stirring emotions, conspiracy theories, trolling, deflecting blame and impersonating. About 15,000 players took a quiz before and after; afterwards they rated tweets using those tricks as less reliable.
One thing to hold: The idea of a "prebunk": seeing a weak dose of the trick first, so you know it when it comes for real.
Why it matters: Learning how a trick works is a better defence than being told what to believe.
What we don’t know: The first study had no control group and its players chose to join. A 2020 study with a control group found the same kind of effect.