2.3. Discussion
Study 1 longitudinally explored the effectiveness of an inoculation intervention on misinformation discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, we confirmed that there were no significant differences between groups at baseline; then, our results showed a significant improvement in the ability to recognize misinformation in the priming group compared to the control group after completing the priming, and this positive effect persisted for one week (follow-up). The findings for the persuasive intent of misinformation also showed a significant improvement in the priming group after priming, whereas no significant change was observed in the control group; this remained consistent at follow-up.Based on these results, Study 2 was conducted using a self-serve online fake news game, which may be a more applicable intervention approach under the constraints imposed by the social distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It served to verify the effectiveness of online inoculation interventions through a randomized controlled trial and explore the mediating roles of perceived threat and persuasion knowledge.