Navigating persuasive strategies in online health misinformation: An interview study with older adults on misinformation management

by Wei Peng, Jingbo Meng, Barikisu Issaka

Online health misinformation commonly includes persuasive strategies that can easily deceive lay people. Yet, it is not well understood how individuals respond to misinformation with persuasive strategies at the moment of exposure. This study aims to address the research gap by exploring how and why older adults fall into the persuasive trap of online health misinformation and how they manage their encounters of online health misinformation. Using a think-aloud protocol, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-nine older adults who were exposed to articles employing twelve groups of common persuasive strategies in online health misinformation. Thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed that some participants fell for the persuasive strategies, yet the same strategies were detected by others as cues to pin down misinformation. Based on the participants’ own words, informational and individual factors as well as the interplay of these factors were identified as contributors to susceptibility to misinformation. Participants’ strategies to manage misinformation for themselves and others were categorized. Implications of the findings are discussed.