This project was part of Dr Lauren Scott's PhD research. The idea was born from several personal experiences involving friends and family sharing misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges faced when attempting to correct and challenge these close ties. We know how close tie networks such as family WhatsApp groups can be a vector for misinformation transmission, and the close tie nature of these network can enhance the liklihood of misinformation being believed. However, leveraging these same trust relationships could be more effective in combatting misinformation belief formation, yet challenging close ties is difficult.
In this work, family members who had experienced misinformation spread in a digital family or friend network were interviewed to better understand their experiences. Surveys were conducted to understand the impact of culture and relationship strength on misinformation challenging behaviour, and co-design research exploring the design space for solutions to address the challenges in close ties correcting misinformation. Drawing across the interviews and surveys, a set of five behavioural archetypes were developed that allow us to identify how different types of individuals behave when exposed to misinformation.