@matthewfacciani
Social Scientist studying misinformation, media literacy, & AI. Author of Misguided: https://amzn.to/48zTs59 https://matthewfacciani.substack.com www.matthewfacciani.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/misguided-the-podcast/id1792074637
"Artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic has filed a first of its kind lawsuit against the US government over claims that it is a "supply chain risk".
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Our research found that a media literacy game designed for Indonesia worked well not only in Indonesia, but also in the US. The Western-designed game, however, didn’t work as well in Indonesia. What this tells us about designing media literacy tools that can travel across cultures:
It’s so frustrating to live in a time when we have the resources and technology to end and prevent immense suffering, yet our social biases and short-term thinking keep us from doing so.
New study finds even when people can tell a political deepfake is fake, it still makes them think worse of the politician being attacked. Fact-checks can help people spot the deception, but they can't undo the damage to that politician's reputation.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Listen to the full podcast episode here:
matthewfacciani.substack.com/p/the-hidden...
Psychologist @cecilietraberg.bsky.social describes the power of storytelling in science communication and education. If you want people to remember scientific ideas or boost their media literacy, you can’t just present data, you need to make them feel the story behind it.
The big takeaway:
Fighting misinformation isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Cultural fit drives engagement, and engagement drives learning.
Full breakdown + paper in my latest Substack post.
matthewfacciani.substack.com/p/can-media-...
In the U.S., both games worked.
But surprisingly, the simple WhatsApp-style game from Indonesia worked just as well as Harmony Square.
Simple, familiar formats traveled better than expected.
In Indonesia, only the culturally tailored game worked.
Players who used Gali Fakta were less likely to share false headlines.
Harmony Square had basically no effect.
The games used prebunking: teaching people to recognize misinformation tactics before they encounter them.
• Gali Fakta: a WhatsApp-style chat game built for Indonesia
• Harmony Square: a game built for American-style political satire where you play the villain
Most misinformation tools are designed for Western audiences.
But what happens when you use them somewhere else?
We tested two media literacy games in the U.S. and Indonesia with ~1,600 participants. The results were surprising. 🧵
"Nintendo of America is suing the US government over President Trump’s tariffs and is demanding a “prompt refund, with interest” of any duties that it has paid"
www.theverge.com/games/890861...
A new survey of 25 countries finds that Americans rate their fellow citizens as the least morally good, with 53% of U.S. adults saying Americans have bad morals and ethics.
www.pewresearch.org?attachment_i...
Kristi Noem is no longer Homeland Security Secretary. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
This paper argues that misinformation research needs to move beyond studies of a few wealthy countries and online samples to include diverse, real-world information environments worldwide in order to produce more accurate and effective insights. I agree!
misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/towa...
New study finds that a Latin America–adapted version of the prebunking game Bad News significantly reduced the perceived reliability of social media misinformation.
ijoc.org/index.php/ij...
Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei argues that as AI takes over more technical tasks, uniquely human qualities (communication, empathy, critical thinking, and a humanities-based understanding of people) will become more important than ever in the workplace.
fortune.com/2026/02/07/a...
A new large-scale study provides strong long-term evidence that HPV vaccination effectively prevents invasive cervical cancer, particularly when administered at younger ages.
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
I’ve been thinking about writing a related post connecting this to research on critical ignoring, as well as the broader structural challenges we’re facing such as education systems and the erosion of third spaces in particular.
I especially appreciate her practical recommendations: adding “good friction” to our lives, engaging in AI governance, and intentionally using AI as a tool to strengthen rather than replace human reasoning.
This is an excellent essay by Shae Omonijo describing how the decline in critical thinking began long before the recent rise of AI, and that AI is accelerating existing trends.
shaeomonijo.substack.com/p/something-...
“Interruption of scientific research on vaccine hesitancy and promotion is unprecedented and dangerous, but government officials, universities, and private funders can step up to protect it.”
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
Claude is now the top app in the iPhone store.
Just 27% of Americans approve of Trump's attack on Iran.
Another study finds that people judge political misinformation based on their own political beliefs. Since very few people actually fact-check, politicians can make unverified claims because most voters won’t check them or hold them accountable.
misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/peop...
New study finds that logic-based messages that point out faulty reasoning are more effective than fact-based corrections at reducing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, especially among people who distrust the CDC.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Claude was already gaining ground due to its performance, but Anthropic standing up to protect their safeguards has clearly resonated with a wide audience.
Claude is now the top productivity app, taking over ChatGPT.
“Kennedy’s record, 1 year in, has been a failure by most measures, especially his own”
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
