Their AI Versus Our AI: Is There a Hostile AI Perception in Correcting Geopolitically Framed Climate Misinformation in China?

This study investigates whether hostile media perception extends to AI chatbots when correcting geopolitically framed climate misinformation. A 2 (correction source: foreign vs. domestic AI) × 2 (evidence disclosure: present vs. absent) + 1 (control) experiment was conducted among Chinese participants ( N = 998). Results show that AI corrections effectively reduced misinformation beliefs. However, foreign AI corrections were perceived as more biased and were less effective than domestic AI corrections. Disclosing the evidence underlying AI corrections reduced perceived bias and improved correction effectiveness. The study also examined how national narcissism and belief in machine heuristics moderated these effects.