Epistemic Vaccination: Computational Disinformation, Inoculation Theory, and Critical Information Literacy

Abstract

The rapid adoption of the open internet and social media technologies for information seeking and sharing has led to the utilization of these technologies as vehicles for the spread of computational propaganda, disinformation, and misinformation. Scholars have investigated multiple avenues to combat the cognitive failure that results in acceptance and sharing of widespread misinformation. The most promising identified thus far is a psychological concept known as inoculation theory. This method can be conceptualized as a misinformation vaccine that can increase critical evaluation of newly encountered information and thereby increase the probability that this information will not be cognitively integrated and subsequently further shares within an individual's information network. This review aims to thoroughly discuss and synthesize the literature on disinformation and how inoculation theory fits within already utilized pedagogical paradigms as a potential antidote for this pertinent issue through the lens of critical information literacy.