John Cook Profile picture
11 Dec, 12 tweets, 6 min read
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

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More from @johnfocook

10 Dec
Here’s a short but sweet supercut of bloopers by @Reasondisabled in the original Critical Thinking Cafe video.
This moment has become so iconic that the Ellertonesque “we’re done” has become a personal catchphrase for my wife & I, applicable in many everyday situations. Definitely worth an animated GIF!
The 1st Critical Thinking Cafe video by @Reasondisabled, @davekinkead & myself, was actually a video abstract for our @IOPenvironment paper on using critical thinking to deconstruct climate misinformation. Full video @ , full paper @ sks.to/criticalclimate
Read 4 tweets
7 Dec
Logic-based inoculation - explaining the rhetorical techniques used to mislead - is like a universal vaccine against misinformation. This is the approach used in the upcoming @crankyuncles game (coming Dec 15) crankyuncle.com/game 1/10
There are two main ways to inoculate people against misinformation: fact-based & logic-based. Fact-based corrections show how a myth is wrong by explaining facts. Logic-based corrections explain the technique or fallacy used by the myth. 2/10
When @PhilippMSchmid & @CorneliaBetsch tested both methods (calling them topic & technique rebuttals), they found both were effective edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php… 3/10
Read 10 tweets
6 Dec
The upcoming Critical Thinking Cafe video about the @crankyuncles game (coming Dec 15) will include an explanation of FLICC: the 5 techniques of science denial (fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, conspiracy theories) crankyuncle.com/game
FLICC is the backbone of the @crankyuncles game - players build up cranky points (on their way to becoming a fully fledged cranky uncle) by learning the techniques that Cranky Uncles use to deny science.
As you get further into the game, you unlock other denial techniques in the FLICC taxonomy. Each time you learn a new denial technique, you unlock more cartoon examples of each fallacy.
Read 6 tweets
5 Dec
We'll launch @crankyuncles game on Dec 15 - will also release a Critical Thinking Cafe video introducing the game. Shortly afterwards, will also release bloopers from the film shoot. Here's a teaser blooper of @Reasondisabled responding to my placeholder Skype sound effect.
IMO, the best moment in this blooper isn't @Reasondisabled laughing in the second take. It's his attempt to not laugh in the first take (look for the tiny suppressed smile).
To get notified when the game launches & any other @crankyuncles news, sign up at sks.to/crankynews
Read 4 tweets
15 Sep
Facebook claims to address their climate misinformation problem by releasing an information center, while doing nothing about climate misinformation being spread on their platform. This is like feeding a person poison while handing them a brochure about fresh vegetables. 1/9
Facebook are trying to greenwash their misinformation problem. Their platform is polluting the information landscape with climate misinformation & at the same time, they’re trying to distract us from their unwillingess to deal with the problem. 2/9
Their information center will likely have negligible impact for several reasons. First, misinformation is more viral than facts. Not being bound by reality, misinformation can be more emotive, shocking, extreme, & hence more likely to be shared. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
3 Sep
Wow! The EPA website features a webpage about global warming using a slideshow by climate denier Richard Linzen which is packed with old, well-debunked climate misinformation epa.gov/environmental-… h/t @bud_ward
He commits the false dichotomy fallacy arguing CO2 lagging temp in the past disproves greenhouse warming. This is debunked at sks.to/lag, (Denial101x MOOC) & (Cranky Uncle)
He argues that ocean cycles could be causing observed warming, despite the fact that they only move heat around while the planet is building up heat (at a rate of over 4 atomic bombs per second). skepticalscience.com/global-warming…
Read 6 tweets

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