Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39865178›Full record

ArticleCommunications psychology2025

Inoculation reduces social media engagement with affectively polarized content in the UK and US.

Fintan Smith, Almog Simchon, Dawn Holford, Stephan Lewandowsky

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Psychological inoculation against climate doom.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. A Social Identity Theory of Digital Identity.Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Fintan Smith *School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-0011-2881
Almog Simchon *School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2629-2913
Dawn HolfordSchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6392-3991
Stephan LewandowskySchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. stephan.lewandowsky@bristol.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1655-2013

Funding

EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council) 101020961 PRODEMINFOEC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020) 964728 (JITSUVAX)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The generation and distribution of hyper-partisan content on social media has gained millions of exposure across platforms, often allowing malevolent actors to influence and disrupt democracies. The spread of this content is facilitated by real users' engaging with it on platforms. The current study tests the efficacy of an 'inoculation' intervention via six online survey-based experiments in the UK and US. Experiments 1-3 (total N = 3276) found that the inoculation significantly reduced self-reported engagement with polarising stimuli. However, Experiments 4-6 (total N = 1878) found no effects on participants' self-produced written text discussing the topic. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the literature on polarisation and previous interventions to reduce engagement with disinformation.

Identifiers

PMID39865178
PMCPMC11769841

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.