Sander van der Linden
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social
Professor of Social Psychology in Society at the University of Cambridge and Author of FOOLPROOF: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity (2023) + The Psychology of Misinformation (2024). Bad News Game.
www.sandervanderlinden.com
www.sandervanderlinden.com
He struck me as an extreme sceptic and cynic so that description doesn’t really resonate with me but I didn’t know him very well so I guess he could be but his mind didn’t really strike me as the gullible kind.
February 8, 2026 at 11:21 PM
He struck me as an extreme sceptic and cynic so that description doesn’t really resonate with me but I didn’t know him very well so I guess he could be but his mind didn’t really strike me as the gullible kind.
But Epstein’s conviction was already long public by then. The counter-intelligence required here would have been a simple google search…
February 8, 2026 at 11:09 PM
But Epstein’s conviction was already long public by then. The counter-intelligence required here would have been a simple google search…
Yes I mean for one of the world’s foremost intellectuals to claim “I didn’t do my research” is a hard pill to swallow. All so disappointing.
February 8, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Yes I mean for one of the world’s foremost intellectuals to claim “I didn’t do my research” is a hard pill to swallow. All so disappointing.
I think it will be very useful for those seeking to undermine democratic discourse
January 26, 2026 at 9:32 AM
I think it will be very useful for those seeking to undermine democratic discourse
In theory yes
January 24, 2026 at 6:33 AM
In theory yes
Thanks! We do have a recent paper implementing this in Swedish schools www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... but we didn't do longitudinal follow-ups. In general, we do know that people need "booster" shots to maintain the effect. How many before permanently "immunized" is an open question...
Bad News in the civics classroom: How serious gameplay fosters teenagers’ ability to discern misinformation techniques
Although the serious game Bad News has been used to inoculate citizens against misinformation, it has not been formally evaluated in traditional classrooms. We therefore evaluated its impact on 516...
www.tandfonline.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Thanks! We do have a recent paper implementing this in Swedish schools www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... but we didn't do longitudinal follow-ups. In general, we do know that people need "booster" shots to maintain the effect. How many before permanently "immunized" is an open question...
Thanks for sharing!
January 23, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Thanks for sharing!
Haha thanks and love that idea!
January 23, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Haha thanks and love that idea!
Reposted by Sander van der Linden
Key findings:
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
January 23, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Key findings:
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
Lots of caveats of course, including opt-in biases to the campaign and quiz so operational challenges remain but we hope it's a useful guide for rolling out and evaluating inoculation campaigns on social media feeds! Made possible by the great work of our partner Reality Team @deblavoy.bsky.social!
January 23, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Lots of caveats of course, including opt-in biases to the campaign and quiz so operational challenges remain but we hope it's a useful guide for rolling out and evaluating inoculation campaigns on social media feeds! Made possible by the great work of our partner Reality Team @deblavoy.bsky.social!
Key findings:
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
January 23, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Key findings:
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3
✅ Inoculated users showed a 21 ppt increase in their ability to spot emotional manipulation (baseline ability was low)
✅ These effects remained detectable 5 months.
✅ We also increased information-seeking behavior, treatment users were 3x more likely to click on the ad.
3/3