Priming to a cleaner future

Misinformation has been spreading like a wildfire since the beginning of time. In the medical world, the spread of misinformation can be detrimental to a person's health. In "Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media" by John Bautista et al., the authors examine multiple ways healthcare professionals try to combat the misinformation. Simple rebuttal on a social media post from medical professionals has had some success, but Bautista et al. state that their "findings suggest that it may predispose healthcare professionals to harassment, especially to public rebuttal of health misinformation on sensitive health topics like vaccination." The authors go on to claim their study "suggests that priming can be an alternative means of disseminating correction." But what is priming? According to Understanding Priming effects in Social Psychology by Daniel C. Molden, priming is "incidentally activated social representations [effects of] subsequent thoughts and behaviors"(Molden 3). Priming can be seen as a psychologic way to trick your mind which is why it can be a controversial way to correct misinformation but Bautista et al.'s study "shows that priming can still correct misinformation". Will Priming become the new way misinformation can be cleaned up?

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