JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Rejection of science is a common phenomenon on social media, but little is known about the effects of videos by social media influencers who reject basic principles of science and how other users could effectively counter these false claims.

Objective:

The objective of our study was to assess the effects of an online video on social media that openly rejects facts of medical science on users' attitudes toward science and scientists as well as to explore whether different response strategies by other users in the commentary section are effective in the mitigation of these negative effects.

Methods:

For this experiment, N=470 adults were randomized to one of five groups. Each group watched either a video rejecting science related to medical research or footage unrelated to science. The science rejection video groups were also exposed to critical comments that focused on factual information, personal attacks on the influencer, a mix of these responses, or they received no comments. We collected data on trust, interest, and attitudes toward science and participants’ ratings of the presented video, influencer, and the comments of other users.

Results:

There were no differences between the five experimental conditions. However, in an additional exploratory analysis comparing all four science rejection groups with the control group, we found a decrease in interest in scientific research and an increase in trust in scientists. This can potentially be attributed to reactance to the science rejection content due to the sample consisting predominantly of individuals with high affinity toward science. Opposing user comments with factual information were perceived as most informative and trustworthy.

Conclusions:

Portrayals of science rejection in videos on social media have the potential to both reduce interest in scientific research and increase trust in scientists among users who have a high affinity for scientific research. Whereas fact-based user comments were considered more informative and trustworthy, none of the tested response strategies significantly changed the video's impact, highlighting the need for more research, particularly in individuals with little or no affinity toward scientific research who might be particularly vulnerable to the examined video content. Clinical Trial: German Clinical Trial Registry DRKS00033829; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00033829/details