Tackling misinformation: where do educationalists need to target their efforts?

Misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories pose growing challenges to educators world-wide. This study explores how education can help citizens embrace beneficial ideas while resisting those that are harmful. Using data from 7,000 respondents across seven European countries, it applies Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) and Factor Mixture Modelling (FMM) to examine how the varying nature of individuals’ social networks, prospective mindsets, and critical thinking influences their engagement with ideas. The findings identify four prospective mindset profiles, five social network profiles, and three critical thinking profiles. Individuals with a strong prospective mindset: characterized by future-oriented thinking and adaptive planning, as well as higher critical thinking ability, were more likely to engage with valid ideas and reject misinformation. Conversely, those embedded in dense, homophilic networks, valued ideas-engagement but showed greater vulnerability to misinformation: highlighting the risks of ‘information silos’. Lower education levels, routine-based jobs, and weaker critical thinking skills were linked to lower ideas-engagement and a greater belief in misinformation. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions to promote prospective mindsets, critical thinking, and balanced social networks: those which combine strong, trusted ties with diverse, idea-rich connections. By identifying key profile characteristics, the research provides a basis for evidence-based strategies for educators and policymakers to support citizens in navigating an increasingly complex information landscape.