Mitigating misinformation on social media: A user-centered design approach

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master_Sangwan_Varun_2025.pdf (36.94 MB)

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School of Science | Master's thesis
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2025-05-26

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Human-Computer Interaction

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Master's Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences

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en

Pages

101

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Abstract

In today’s hyperconnected digital landscape, misinformation on social media has emerged as a systemic threat to democratic discourse, public health, and social cohesion. Traditional efforts to combat misinformation—primarily relying on content moderation, or post-hoc fact-checking are insufficient in addressing the deeper issue: the user’s lived experience within a platform environment optimized for virality rather than truthfulness. This thesis approaches misinformation as a failure of product and interaction design, arguing that empowering users through thoughtful interface-level interventions can mitigate its impact more meaningfully. A critical gap exists in current literature and platform responses—specifically, the absence of real-time, context-aware cues that assist users in evaluating the credibility of content as they consume it. To bridge this gap, this research employs a user-centered design (UCD) methodology, involving user research, user testing, and iterative prototyping. The study proposes six key interventions: content-type labeling (e.g., news vs. opinion), historical timelines for evolving stories, multi-source perspectives indicating political bias, improved misinformation flags, friction mechanisms when sharing misinformation, and verified expert commentary overlays. User testing revealed that these features significantly enhanced participants’ ability to reflect on content authenticity, reduced impulsive sharing behavior, and increased awareness of content origins. Features like post tone labeling and providing multiple sources to provide additional context were found to be intuitive and highly trusted. Introducing friction in sharing misinformation by a 30s delay was also found to be uniquely effective. The thesis further discusses how these design interventions can be integrated into existing social media ecosystems without compromising user experience. Ultimately, this research advocates for a paradigm shift: from platform control to user empowerment and incorporating ethical design as being critical to solve the problem. It also positions user-centered design not merely as a usability enhancement, but as a strategic tool in combating misinformation. By embedding critical thinking affordances directly into user interfaces, platforms can evolve into environments that promote informed decision-making and media literacy—restoring agency to users in an age of information overload.

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Supervisor

Keller, Barbara

Keywords

misinformation, social-media, user-centered-design, design-solutions, usability-testing, disinformation

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202506174824

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[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI