Countermeasures for Mitigating Digital Misinformation: A Systematic Review

This Synthesis Report provides a formal systematic review of scientific literature on countermeasures for mitigating digital misinformation. We focus on 588 peer-reviewed publications, drawn from around the world and many disciplines, to highlight the most effective countermeasures for mitigating potential effects of misinformation, disinformation and a range of related phenomena.

First, according to the scientific literature, the four most often endorsed countermeasures include corrective information materials, information & media literacy content, content moderation, and content labeling.

Second, research reveals several patterns in the investigation of counter measuresfor combating misinformation across disciplines.

Third, there is no substantial geographic variation in what researchers are finding.

Fourth, we identify five important limitations in current research.

The connection between misinformation and real-life consequences is difficult to determine, and research on the effects of exposure to misinformation requires higher-quality data than technology firms currently provide. Moreover, studies on the efficacy of proposed countermeasures, especially on combinations of interventions by creators and consumers of online misinformation, require further investigation.