We experimentally test whether expert organizations on social media can correct misperceptions of the scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified (GM) food for human consumption, as well as what role social media cues, in the form of “likes,” play in that process. We find expert organizations highlighting scientific consensus on GM food safety reduces consensus misperceptions among the public, leading to lower GM misperceptions and boosting related consumption behaviors in line with the gateway belief model. Expert organizations’ credibility may increase as a result of correction, but popularity cues do not seem to affect misperceptions or credibility.

我们通过实验测试社交媒体上的专家组织是否可以纠正对转基因食品对人类食用安全性的科学共识的误解，以及社交媒体以“喜欢”形式暗示的作用。处理。我们发现专家组织强调了关于转基因食品安全的科学共识，从而减少了公众对共识的误解，从而降低了对转基因的误解，并根据门户信念模型促进了相关的消费行为。纠正的结果是，专家组织的信誉可能会增加，但是人气提示似乎并不会影响误解或信誉。