Tools- of Changes

The Debunking Handbook

Misinformation can be a significant barrier to action. It damages society in a number of ways, having consequences for public health, the environment, and democracy. But undoing misinformation is difficult! Fortunately researchers have published a torrent of research into how to counter misinformation over the last decade and the field has made considerable progress.

This handbook summarizes the insights from decades of research into countering misinformation, offering a variety of strategies for preemptive interventions and corrections. Society is drenched in misinformation, which can range from inadvertent inaccurate reporting to deliberate dissemination of outlandish conspiracy theories for political ends. This handbook helps explain how best to combat misinformation, namely through intensive debunking or inoculating people against misleading information before it is encountered.

See also:

• The Conspiracy Theory Handbook http://sks.to/conspiracy
• The Debunking Handbook  https://skepticalscience.com/Debunking-Handbook-now-freely-available-download.html
• A series of videos on climate misinformation, communication and debunking at http://sks.to/climatevids