RRU in the Media: Navigating conversations about misinformation

In her most recent article in The Conversation, Jaigris Hodson, associate professor and Canada Research Chair for Digital Communication for the Public Interest, shares that her research indicates that misinformation is strongly resistant to being corrected by way of evidence, and suggests other approaches to foster conversation, such as the AIMS method. 

She goes on to further explain this strategy in this excerpt: 

“Motivational interviewing is a proven method of pushing back against another type of polarizing misinformation: health misinformation. 

AIMS stands for Announce, Inquire, Mirror and Secure. It provides a way to address misinformation while building the sort of connection and trust that people need to reduce the anxiety that is the trigger for believing misinformation in the first place. 

Combating any misinformation, and especially political misinformation, is not a quick or easy process. It may have to take place in repeated discussions over a long period of time. 

But if you engage in motivated interviewing this election season, you may make a small difference. At the very least, you will help to preserve relationships with friends and loved ones that are often frayed when political misinformation enters the picture.” 

Read the whole article in The Conversation.