The Dynamics of Narrative Inoculation Against Misinformation in Political Discourse

Drawing inspiration from Wang & Leng (2025), who show that dialogic coherence and emotional storytelling influence health behaviors, this project would experimentally apply similar narrative techniques in political contexts. The aim: to see whether emotionally compelling and coherent counter-narratives can "inoculate" users against misinformation, not just in health but in political arenas. Using randomized controlled trials on social media, the study would test which narrative features (e.g., emotional appeal, dialogic engagement) best foster skepticism toward falsehoods and promote civic resilience. This approach diverges from fact-checking or algorithmic interventions by focusing on the persuasive, story-driven mechanisms that actually drive engagement and belief. If successful, it could offer actionable insights for combating polarization and disinformation using more human-centered strategies.

References:

1. Dialogue pathways and narrative analysis in health communication within the social media environment: an empirical study based on user behavior—a case study of China. Xinke Wang, Xinchen Leng (2025). Frontiers in Public Health.