Applying "Inoculation Theory" with SBCC to Build Resilience to Mis- and Disinformation at Scale Among Digital Audiences

Abstract for a Comm Talk from the 2022 International SBCC Summit in Morocco: 

"Developing effective SBCC strategies that help to build people's long-term resilience to mis- and disinformation at scale can help to counter it's multiple negative impacts. One of the most promising approaches to this work is 'inoculation theory', developed by academics at the University of Cambridge. Based on social psychology, it is designed to help people become more resilient to false and misleading information by exposing them to a weakened 'dose' of a persuasive argument or technique likely to be found in mis- and disinformation, pre-emptively refuting it, and helping people to develop psychological resistance against future manipulative persuasion attempts. Evidence suggests that this increases people's ability to spot false and misleading information and reduces sharing of such information, helping to build societal resilience to it. Using research to better understand the vulnerabilities of different audiences to mis- and disinformation in North Africa (research has been conducted in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, and may also be conducted in Morocco later this year), BBC Media Action is currently collaborating with The University of Cambridge to pilot SBCC communication based on 'inoculation theory' in North Africa. This Comms Talk will highlight why inoculation theory holds such promise, discuss how it can be adapted to SBCC and made relevant to different (Global South) contexts, provide emerging insights on the efficacy of the approach from this work and consider what this means for global efforts to tackle mis- and disinformation."