Nudging Against Misinformation : A Research-through-Design Approach
Date Issued
September 1, 2026
Advisor
Abstract
The last decade has witnessed an exponential rise of misinformation, which poses significant challenges at an individual (e.g., fuelling the headline stress disorder and other negative feelings), organizational (e.g., shaping echo chambers for the circulation of conspiracy theories like “PizzaGate”), and societal (e.g., undermining public debates for topics like Brexit) level. Misinformation proliferation is facilitated by different factors, including the openness and automation of social media platforms, the absence of custodians for establishing and preserving information credibility standards, and the extensive usage of malicious social bots.
While efforts have been intensified to tackle this phenomenon, many of the proposed interventions are based on the notion that simply providing corrective information will suffice in prompting better information-related behaviors, while ignoring the impact of systematic thinking errors on human behavior. Drawing on insights from Behavioral Science, nudging is a promising response to address misinformation by capitalizing on the influence of cognitive biases through choice architecture. Yet, existing digital nudge guidelines remain insufficient, while key design considerations (e.g., contextual factors, implementation choices) are overlooked.
In response, this doctoral thesis investigates how to efficiently design technology-mediated nudges against online misinformation, taking into consideration several key pillars: behavioral objectives nudges may pursue, possible reasons of behavioral failure, and ways for ensuring user autonomy. Rather than adopting approaches rooted in Health Psychology - typically addressing behavioral intervention development through a sequential process separating problem understanding from solution evaluation, this thesis advocates for a design-oriented approach. The Research-through-Design methodology is employed, which treats design activities as legitimate methods of scientific inquiry, and facilitates the co-evolution of problem reframing and solution seeking.
This methodology is structured around the Double-Diamond model, encompassing design space exploration and solution implementation. Within the first diamond, multiple nudging concepts are generated and assessed with relevant stakeholders, while in the second diamond, multiple variations of a particular fact-check nudge are prototyped, and its optimal design is evaluated for behavioral effectiveness.
Overall, this thesis contributes by expanding the design space of technology-mediated nudging against online misinformation through identifying behavioral objectives, reasons for failure, and approaches to preserving user autonomy. It further contributes by implementing and evaluating a fact-checking nudge intervention, demonstrating how design factors shape user responses and how context and target population influence effectiveness. Finally, it contributes by generating design knowledge in the form of novel anti-misinformation artefacts and intermediate-level knowledge to guide future nudge instantiations.
While efforts have been intensified to tackle this phenomenon, many of the proposed interventions are based on the notion that simply providing corrective information will suffice in prompting better information-related behaviors, while ignoring the impact of systematic thinking errors on human behavior. Drawing on insights from Behavioral Science, nudging is a promising response to address misinformation by capitalizing on the influence of cognitive biases through choice architecture. Yet, existing digital nudge guidelines remain insufficient, while key design considerations (e.g., contextual factors, implementation choices) are overlooked.
In response, this doctoral thesis investigates how to efficiently design technology-mediated nudges against online misinformation, taking into consideration several key pillars: behavioral objectives nudges may pursue, possible reasons of behavioral failure, and ways for ensuring user autonomy. Rather than adopting approaches rooted in Health Psychology - typically addressing behavioral intervention development through a sequential process separating problem understanding from solution evaluation, this thesis advocates for a design-oriented approach. The Research-through-Design methodology is employed, which treats design activities as legitimate methods of scientific inquiry, and facilitates the co-evolution of problem reframing and solution seeking.
This methodology is structured around the Double-Diamond model, encompassing design space exploration and solution implementation. Within the first diamond, multiple nudging concepts are generated and assessed with relevant stakeholders, while in the second diamond, multiple variations of a particular fact-check nudge are prototyped, and its optimal design is evaluated for behavioral effectiveness.
Overall, this thesis contributes by expanding the design space of technology-mediated nudging against online misinformation through identifying behavioral objectives, reasons for failure, and approaches to preserving user autonomy. It further contributes by implementing and evaluating a fact-checking nudge intervention, demonstrating how design factors shape user responses and how context and target population influence effectiveness. Finally, it contributes by generating design knowledge in the form of novel anti-misinformation artefacts and intermediate-level knowledge to guide future nudge instantiations.
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