In the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election, social media companies began experimenting with the concept of "pre-bunking."
The idea is meant to dispel misinformation or conspiracy theories in advance by alerting users to what to look out for.
In a study published on Wednesday, social scientists from Cambridge University and Google described experiments in which they showed people 90-second cartoons in a lab setting and as advertisements on YouTube.
It explained in straightforward, nonpartisan language some of the most common manipulation techniques.
With the assistance of Homer Simpson and other well-known fictional characters from pop culture, researchers have found evidence that the strategy is effective.
At least temporarily, they discovered that the cartoons succeeded in educating people about common misinformation techniques such as scapegoating and providing a false choice.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances and is part of a broader effort by internet companies, academia, and news organizations to develop new ways to restore media literacy, since traditional fact-checking has failed to curb the spread of online disinformation.
"Words like 'fact-checking' themselves are becoming politicized, and that's an issue, so you need to find a way around that," said Jon Roozenbeek, the study's principal author and a postdoctoral fellow at the Social Decision-Making Lab at Cambridge University.
The researchers compared the results to vaccination, which "inoculates" individuals against the negative impacts of conspiracy theories, propaganda, and other forms of misinformation.
There were roughly 30,000 participants in the study.
Google has adopted this strategy in three European nations - Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic - in an effort to "pre-debunk" anti-refugee sentiment around individuals fleeing Ukraine.
The company stated that it had no intentions to promote "pre-bunk" movies in the United States prior to the midterm elections this autumn, but that it may do so in the future.
Or it's a topic that an advocacy group, nonprofit organization, or social media celebrity could champion and fund independently, according to Google and the academics.
To avoid alienating political supporters, the researchers developed their five cartoons without utilizing any actual political or media figures, opting instead to use imaginary characters to illustrate their views.
One cartoon explains the concept of an ad hominem attack, in which an individual criticizes the person making an argument rather than the argument's merits.
Other cartoons include characters from "Star Wars," "South Park," and "Family Guy."
