A Study of User-Focused Design Interventions to Counter Misinformation on Social Media

This study examines how social media users interpret and respond to two transparent interface nudges designed to encourage more careful engagement with news content. Drawing on dual-process theory, social norm theory, and nudge theory, the study developed an interactive Facebook-style mobile prototype with an accuracy prompt triggered during sharing and a persistent social-norm message above posts. Using an exploratory, qualitatively driven Design Science Research approach, data were collected from 24 participants through click-stream logs, postsimulation survey responses, and seven semistructured interviews with intervention-group participants. The findings show that participants often described themselves as capable of identifying misinformation while relying in practice on emotional salience, familiarity, social cues, and low-effort forms of engagement. The social-norm message was more consistently noticed, whereas the share-triggered accuracy prompt had limited reach because sharing was infrequent. Participants generally perceived the nudges as nonintrusive, and some reported moments of hesitation or reconsideration. However, the study does not provide evidence of improved accuracy discernment, belief change, or direct System 2 processing. Its contribution lies in showing how established drivers of misinformation engagement shape the reception and limits of interface nudges in a simulated mobile-feed setting. The study offers design implications for developing transparent, autonomy-preserving interventions that better align with passive and socially cued forms of platform engagement.