Thwarting Deceptive Front-group Stealth Campaigns: Testing Inoculation’s Blanket of Protection

• In Event: New Insights into Inoculation

Abstract

This experimental study tested the theoretical boundaries of inoculation theory to determine if forewarning of one front-group’s deceptive stealth message strategies could confer resistance to that same front-group and all-together-different front-group stealth campaigns. The results reveal that inoculation treatments generate threat, anger toward front-group stealth messages, lower ratings of front-group credibility. No difference was observed between inoculation controls on counterarguing output, or resistance to front-group stealth messages. Theoretical implications for inoculation theory are discussed.

Authors

• Kylie Robertson, University of Oklahoma

• Michael Pfau, University of Oklahoma

• Joshua Averbeck, University of Oklahoma

• Glenn Hansen, University of Oklahoma

• Katherine M. Kelley, University of Oklahoma

• Jackline M. Eckstein, University of Oklahoma