Countering Narrative Misinformation: Investigating the Effects of Narrative Corrections and Character Trust on Story-Related Knowledge of HPV

Guided by the entertainment overcoming resistance model (EORM), participants (N = 334) were exposed to narrative correction strategies designed to reduce reliance on a character that portrayed misinformation about HPV within a narrative. In a 2 x 2 experiment, participants were randomly assigned to either read a warning about an untrustworthy character or a description of the show and to view a post-show video where hosts discussed the motives and actions of that character or a control clip. Both narrative correction strategies reduced individuals' trust of the protagonist and, in turn, increased the number of correct answers on an HPV knowledge test. Identification moderated the indirect relationship between exposure to the post-show discussion and HPV knowledge. For those who reported greater identification with the protagonist, the post-show discussion reduced character trust whereas those who reported low identification were not impacted by this narrative correction strategy. The effect of the pre-show warning did not depend on level of identification. The results build on previous studies concerning narrative correction strategies as well as extend the EORM to narrative correction outcomes.