Reducing the belief-boosting impact of misleading graphs with inoculation.

Visual content (e.g., graphs) can serve as potent misinformation. Across two experiments (total N = 478), we examined how misleading graphs affect belief in false claims, and whether these impacts can be reduced by an inoculation—a pre-emptive intervention that explained misleading data-visualisation techniques. Participants received the inoculation or no intervention, then rated their belief in accurate and misleading headlines, half of which were accompanied by a supporting graph. Graphs consistently boosted belief in misleading headlines but had inconsistent effects on accurate headlines. An inoculation focusing on multiple misleading visualisation techniques was ineffective at reducing the impact of misleading graphs, instead inducing general scepticism. A single-technique inoculation focusing on dual axes reduced the influence of misleading graphs using that technique; this benefit did not, however, transfer to graphs using cherry-picking. Findings demonstrate that graphs can boost false beliefs and suggest that a specific technique-focused inoculation can reduce this impact.