Design of audio ads to prebunk misinformation and promote civil discourse

Introduction. This paper reports on an experimental pilot study, involving 99 student participants at a large southwestern US university, that measured the effectiveness of ads designed to prebunk, or increase scepticism, of audio misinformation to increase information literacy. Method. The research team created short prebunking advertisements based on audio recordings of theatrical sketches they developed, some further enhanced by AI-generated visualizations of the transcripts. The team then used new and existing measurement tools to gauge the effectiveness of one of the ads in increasing information literacy. Results. Prebunking ads were found to be effective in increasing information literacy overall, with ads involving AI-assisted visualization correlated with improved information literacy, and audio-only ad findings more mixed.