Countering misinformation with targeted messages: Experimental evidence using mobile phones

Armand, A., Augsburg, B., Bancalari, A. and Kameshwara, K. 2021. Countering misinformation with targeted messages: Experimental evidence using mobile phones. Institute for Fiscal Studies.

TitleCountering misinformation with targeted messages: Experimental evidence using mobile phones
AuthorsArmand, A., Augsburg, B., Bancalari, A. and Kameshwara, K.
TypeWorking paper
Abstract

Widespread misconceptions can be critical, especially in times of crisis. Through a field experiment, we study how to address such wrong or inaccurate beliefs using messages delivered to individual citizens using mobile phones. We focus on misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a hard-to-reach population – India’s slum residents. We randomly allocate participants to receive voice and video messages introduced by a local citizen, the messenger, and in which medical practitioners debunk misconceptions. To understand the role of targeting, we randomly vary the signaled religious identity of the messenger into either Muslim or Hindu, guaranteeing exogenous variation in religion concordance between messenger and recipient. Doctor messages are effective at increasing knowledge of, and compliance with, COVID-19 policy guidelines. Changes in misconceptions are observed only when there is religion concordance and mainly for religious-salient misconceptions. Correcting misconceptions with information requires targeting messages to specific populations and tailoring them to individual characteristics. (JEL D04, D80, D83, I10, I15, Z12)

Year2021
PublisherInstitute for Fiscal Studies
Publication dates
Published02 Sep 2021
Web address (URL)https://ifs.org.uk/publications/countering-misinformation-targeted-messages-experimental-evidence-using-mobile-phones

Related outputs

Causal Inference
Kameshwara, K. and Gorman, E. 2025. Forthcoming. Causal Inference . in: Thomas, M., Jules, T., Shields, R. and Schweisfurth, M. (ed.) The Bloomsbury Handbook of Method in Comparative and International Education Bloomsbury.

Religious proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India
Armand, Alex, Augsburg, Britta, Bancalari, Antonella and Kameshwara, Kalyan Kumar 2024. Religious proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India. Journal of Health Economics. 96 102883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102883

Decentralisation in School Management and Student Achievement: Evidence from India
Kameshwara, K., Shields, R. and Sandoval-Hernandez, A. 2024. Decentralisation in School Management and Student Achievement: Evidence from India . The Journal of Development Studies. 60 (1), pp. 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2023.2273800

Immigrants and School Achievement Levels in the United Kingdom
Kameshwara, K. 2023. Immigrants and School Achievement Levels in the United Kingdom. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting. Chicago, USA 13 - 16 Apr 2023 AERA. https://doi.org/10.3102/ip.23.2010165

Social proximity and misinformation: Experimental evidence from a mobile phone-based campaign in India
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

Marxism in Comparative and International Education
Shields, R. and Kameshwara, K. 2021. Marxism in Comparative and International Education. in: The Bloomsbury Handbook of Theory in Comparative and International Education Bloomsbury. pp. 53-67

The double pendulum
Shields, R., Swati Banerjee, S., Shajahan, P.K., Singh, G.B., Bista, M.B., Krishna, G., Paudel, M., Singh, A., Sandoval-Hernández, A., Carney, S., Kameshwara, K. and Dhanda, K.R. 2021. The double pendulum. International Journal of Educational Development. 84 102438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102438

Survey Data on the Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Engagement Across 23 Countries
Eliana Maria Osorio Saez, Nurullah Eryilmaz, Andrés Sandoval-Hernández, Yui-yip Lau, Elma Barahona, Adil Anwar Bhatti, Godfried Caesar Ofoe, Leví Astul Castro Ordóñez, Artemio Arturo Cortez Ochoa, Rafael Ángel Espinoza Pizarro, Esther Fonseca Aguilar, Maria Magdalena Isac, K.V. Dhanapala, Kameshwara, K., Ysrael Alberto Martínez Contreras, Geberew Tulu Mekonnen, José Fernando Mejía, Catalina Miranda, Shehe Abdalla Moh'd, Ricardo Morales Ulloa, Kayon Morgan, T Lee Morgan, Sara Mori, Forti Ebenezah Nde, Silvia Panzavolta, Lluís Parcerisa, Carla Leticia Paz, Oscar Picardo, Carolina Piñeros, Pablo Rivera-Vargas, Alessia Rosa, Lina Maria Saldarriaga, Adrián Silveira Aberastury, YM Tang, Kyoko Taniguchi, Ernesto Treviño, Carolina Valladares Celis, Cristóbal Villalobos, Dan Zhao and Allison Zionts 2021. Survey Data on the Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Engagement Across 23 Countries. Data in Brief. 35 106813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.106813

The Research Schools Programme in Opportunity Areas: Investigating the Impact of Research Schools in Promoting Better Outcomes in Schools
Gu, Q., Seymour, K., Rea, S., Knight, R., Ahn, M., Sammons, P., Kameshwara, K. and Hodgen, J. 2021. The Research Schools Programme in Opportunity Areas: Investigating the Impact of Research Schools in Promoting Better Outcomes in Schools. The Education Endowment Foundation.

Improving cross-cultural comparability: Does school leadership mean the same in different countries?
Eryilmaz, N., Kameshwara, K. and Sandoval-Hernández, A. 2021. Improving cross-cultural comparability: Does school leadership mean the same in different countries? Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference: Social Responsibility within changing contexts. Virtual 25 May - 02 Jun 2021 CIES.

Can head teacher autonomy mitigate the effects of COVID-19 school closures in India?
Moore, R. and Kameshwara, K. 2021. Can head teacher autonomy mitigate the effects of COVID-19 school closures in India? NORRAG Special Issue. 06, pp. 26-31.

Social Justice Perspectives on Education, Skills, and Economic Inequalities
Shields, R. and Kameshwara, K. 2020. Social Justice Perspectives on Education, Skills, and Economic Inequalities. in: Papa, R. (ed.) Handbook on Promoting Social Justice in Education Springer. pp. 1-15

Exploring trends in the relationship between child labour, gender and educational achievement in Latin America
Middel, A., Kameshwara, K. and Sandoval-Hernández, A. 2020. Exploring trends in the relationship between child labour, gender and educational achievement in Latin America. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación. 84 (1), pp. 85-108. https://doi.org/10.35362/rie8413987

Teachers’ Pedagogical Autonomy, Professional Development and Students’ Digital Skills: New Evidence from Italy
Kameshwara, K., Eryilmaz, N., Tian, M. and Sandoval-Hernández, A. 2020. Teachers’ Pedagogical Autonomy, Professional Development and Students’ Digital Skills: New Evidence from Italy. Autonomie Locali e Servizi Sociali. 2, pp. 421-439. https://doi.org/10.1447/98729

A false promise? Decentralization in education systems across the globe
Kameshwara, K., Sandoval-Hernandez, A., Shields, R. and Dhanda, K.R. 2020. A false promise? Decentralization in education systems across the globe. International Journal of Educational Research. 104 101669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101669

Challenging the Conventional Wisdom vis-à-vis Teacher Characteristics: Evidence from Linear Mixed Effects Analysis of Secondary School Survey in India
Kameshwara, K. 2019. Challenging the Conventional Wisdom vis-à-vis Teacher Characteristics: Evidence from Linear Mixed Effects Analysis of Secondary School Survey in India. International Conference on Interdisciplinarity of Knowledge, Education and Research [iKER-2019]. Pilani, India 08 - 09 Feb 2019

Effects of Decentralisation in School Management on Student Learning: Empirical Analysis of Young Lives Survey Data Using Multi-Level Modelling
Shields, R., Kameshwara, K. and Sandoval-Hernández, A. 2019. Effects of Decentralisation in School Management on Student Learning: Empirical Analysis of Young Lives Survey Data Using Multi-Level Modelling. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference 2019. San Francisco, USA 14 - 18 Apr 2019 CIES.

An Unequal Playing Field: Extra-Curricular Activities, Soft Skills and Social Mobility
Michael Donnelly, Predrag Lažetić, Andrés Sandoval-Hernández, Kameshwara, K. and Samuel Whewall 2019. An Unequal Playing Field: Extra-Curricular Activities, Soft Skills and Social Mobility. Social Mobility Commission.

Towards Social Justice in Institutions of Higher Learning: Addressing Gender Inequality in Science & Technology through Capability Approach
Kameshwara, K. and Shukla, T. 2017. Towards Social Justice in Institutions of Higher Learning: Addressing Gender Inequality in Science & Technology through Capability Approach. Administrative Sciences. 7 (3) 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7030022

Role of Socio-Economic Inequality in Learning Outcomes of Youth
Kameshwara, K. 2016. Role of Socio-Economic Inequality in Learning Outcomes of Youth. Young Scholars’ Conference 2016. South Asian University, New Delhi, India 20 - 21 Oct 2016

Education Outcomes & Child’s Work: A Case Study of Children in Slum
Kameshwara, K. and Shukla, T. 2016. Education Outcomes & Child’s Work: A Case Study of Children in Slum. Educational Quest: An International Journal of Education and Applied Social Sciences. 7 (2), pp. 117-124. https://doi.org/10.5958/2230-7311.2016.00028.3

Envisioning a Road to Social Justice: Addressing Gender Inequality in Science & Technology through Capability Approach
Shukla, T. and Kameshwara, K. 2016. Envisioning a Road to Social Justice: Addressing Gender Inequality in Science & Technology through Capability Approach. 2nd World Conference on Women’s Studies 2016. Colombo, Sri Lanka 05 - 06 May 2016

Dynamic Constructs and Static Gender: Constructing Higher Education by Deconstructing Well-Being
Shukla, T. and Kameshwara, K. 2015. Dynamic Constructs and Static Gender: Constructing Higher Education by Deconstructing Well-Being. in: Dubey, A. and Shukla, A. (ed.) Mental Health: Psycho-Social Perspectives (Volume 2: Multi Group Analysis) Concept Publishing Company. pp. 231-247

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w13vw/countering-misinformation-with-targeted-messages-experimental-evidence-using-mobile-phones


Share this

Usage statistics

83 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.