"Most tools designed to fight misinformation are built with Western audiences in mind. But what happens when you take those same tools somewhere else? We found that whether these games work depends not just on the content, but on culture, design choices, and how people actually engage with them."
"Prebunking is rooted in William McGuire's inoculation theory from the 1960s: expose people to a weakened version of misleading arguments so they can build cognitive resistance before encountering the real thing. It's a promising idea, and research shows it can be highly effective. But most prebunking research has been done on Western, English-speaking populations."
A study of approximately 1,600 people examined whether media literacy games designed to combat misinformation work equally across cultures. Researchers compared a Western-designed game with one specifically created for Indonesian audiences. Results showed that culturally tailored games substantially outperformed generic versions in improving discernment. An Indonesia-based peer-chat game successfully boosted media literacy in both countries, while Western satire failed to resonate with Indonesian players. The research demonstrates that engagement is critical to learning outcomes, and games designed to fit cultural contexts generate higher participation and more effective behavioral change. This challenges the assumption that misinformation-fighting tools developed for Western audiences translate universally.
Read at Psychology Today
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