Thread by @johnfocook

It’s challenging debunking misinformation in polarized issues like climate change or COVID. The @crankyuncles game tackles this problem with a critical thinking approach known as logic-based inoculation. crankyuncle.com/game 1/12

We inoculate people against misinformation by exposing them to a weakened form of misinformation. In other words, warn of the threat of being misled & explain the techniques used to mislead. I researched this approach in sks.to/inoculation 2/12

I found that climate misinformation was most effective on political conservatives (orange line). But inoculating people by explaining the denial technique neutralized the misinformation across the political spectrum (blue line). 3/12

Whether people are conservative or liberal, no one likes being misled. Aversion to being tricked is bipartisan. This is why warning of the threat of being misled is such an important element to inoculating messages. 4/12

The other intriguing aspect of this research was my inoculating message focused on tobacco misinformation rather than climate change. But it neutralized climate misinformation. As well as work across issues, the logic-based approach has another benefit… 5/12

Logic-based inoculation can help overcome a big psychological hurdle in countering science denial - motivated reasoning. By explaining general fallacies, we can potentially avoid triggering cultural biases such as political resistance to climate change information. 6/12

My next step was developing a way to identify rhetorical techniques & logical fallacies in misinformation. For this, I turned to critical thinking philosophers @reasondisabled & @davekinkead (full video @ , full paper @ sks.to/criticalclimate) 7/12

Pete & Dave introduced me to parallel argumentation - explaining logical fallacies by transplanting the flawed logic into analogous situations. I realized cartoons were the perfect delivery mechanism for inoculating parallel arguments. 8/12

This led me to write & draw the book @crankyuncles vs. #climatechange, debunking the most common climate myths using cartoon analogies & critical thinking. crankyuncle.com/book 9/12

But there was one more psychological hurdle - critical thinking is hard! How do we make critical thinking - spotting misleading techniques in misinformation - faster & easier? Through practice! 10/12

That’s where gamification comes in. By combining cartoon parallel arguments with gameplay, players repeatedly practise critical thinking. This turns the difficult task of critical thinking into a quick, effortless mental shortcut. 11/12

Well, that’s the science of @crankyuncles. As for actually playing the game, that comes next Tuesday Dec 15! To get notified the moment the game & video drop + any other @crankyuncles news, sign up at sks.to/crankynews 12/12