Armand, A., Augsburg, B., Bancalari, A. and Kameshwara, K. K. 2022. Social proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India. Institute for Fiscal Studies. https://doi.org/10.1920/wp.ifs.2022.1822
| Title | Social proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India |
|---|---|
| Authors | Armand, A., Augsburg, B., Bancalari, A. and Kameshwara, K. K. |
| Type | Working paper |
| Abstract | We study how social proximity between the sender and the receiver of information shapes the effectiveness of preventive health behaviour campaigns and the persistence of misinformation. We implement a field experiment among a representative sample of slum residents in two major Indian cities characterized by Hindu-Muslim tensions. We show that informative messages are effective at improving evidence-based behavior, but not non-evidence-based behavior. These findings do not differ by social proximity, signalled by religion. However, when sender and receiver share the same religion, the intervention significantly reduces misinformation carrying in-group salience, highlighting the role of social proximity in fighting misinformation. (JEL codes: C93; D91; I12; I15; O12) |
| Keywords | Misinformation |
| Religion | |
| Identity | |
| Social proximity | |
| India | |
| Social media | |
| COVID-19 | |
| randomized field experiment | |
| Year | 2022 |
| Publisher | Institute for Fiscal Studies |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 08 Jun 2022 |
| Funder | International Growth Centre |
| ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy | |
| Web address (URL) | https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/output_url_files/WP202218-Social-proximity-and-misinformation-experimental-evidence-from-a-mobile-phone-based-campaign-in-India.pdf |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1920/wp.ifs.2022.1822 |
| Journal citation | 22/18 |
| Publisher's version | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |