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Effect of Social Media Fact-Checking Education on Identification of False Health Claims among University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

The widespread use of social media platforms has increased access to health information among university students in Nigeria, but it has also created opportunities for the rapid circulation of false, misleading, and unsupported health claims. False health information may influence students' health beliefs, encourage inappropriate self-treatment, promote harmful health practices, delay professional healthcare seeking, and contribute to public health misinformation. University students may encounter health claims through social networking sites, messaging applications, short-form videos, online communities, influencers, and other digital platforms, making the ability to critically evaluate online health information increasingly important. Social media fact-checking education provides an opportunity to equip students with practical skills for identifying questionable health claims, evaluating information sources, checking supporting evidence, comparing claims with credible sources, and determining whether information should be accepted or shared. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of social media fact-checking education on identification of false health claims among university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Information Literacy Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Health Belief Model. Information Literacy Theory emphasizes the ability to identify information needs, locate relevant information, evaluate the credibility and accuracy of information, verify evidence, and use information appropriately. Social Cognitive Theory explains how observational learning, practical demonstrations, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and social influences may shape students' ability to apply fact-checking skills when evaluating health information on social media. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of the risks associated with false health information, perceived benefits of fact-checking, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their willingness to verify health claims before accepting or sharing them. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how social media fact-checking education may influence identification of false health claims among university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate students aged 18 years and above enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible students. Social media fact-checking education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to fact-checking education sessions, frequency and duration of training, knowledge of fact-checking techniques, ability to assess source credibility, recognition of misleading headlines, examination of publication dates, identification of unsupported claims, checking of original sources, comparison with credible health organizations, use of independent fact-checking resources, recognition of manipulated images or videos, and understanding of common health misinformation techniques. Identification of false health claims will be assessed using students' ability to distinguish false, misleading, unsupported, and credible health claims presented through realistic social media scenarios. Additional indicators will include recognition of fabricated health information, identification of exaggerated claims, detection of misleading statistics, evaluation of claims without reliable evidence, and appropriate decisions regarding whether to accept, verify, reject, or share health information. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized digital health-literacy instruments, fact-checking knowledge assessments, and scenario-based tests containing realistic health-information claims. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic characteristics, social media use, sources of health information, exposure to misinformation, fact-checking knowledge, and ability to identify false health claims. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of social media fact-checking education on identification of false health claims. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, identification scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that social media fact-checking education has a significant positive effect on the identification of false health claims among university students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and practical fact-checking education are expected to demonstrate greater ability to distinguish false and misleading health information from credible health claims than students without comparable exposure. Education may improve students' ability to examine information sources, identify unsupported claims, assess evidence, verify information through credible health organizations, recognize misleading headlines, and detect manipulated or exaggerated content. Practical exercises using realistic social media health claims may strengthen students' confidence and ability to apply fact-checking skills in everyday digital environments. Improved fact-checking ability may also reduce the likelihood of students accepting or sharing false health information. However, high social media exposure, peer influence, confirmation bias, emotionally persuasive content, rapid information circulation, limited access to reliable sources, and sophisticated misinformation techniques may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects practical, continuous, digitally oriented, and context-specific social media fact-checking education to contribute significantly to improved identification of false health claims among university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on health misinformation, social media health information, fact-checking education, digital health literacy, information literacy, health communication, health education, media literacy, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, healthcare professionals, public health practitioners, digital health organizations, media and fact-checking organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students' ability to critically evaluate health information. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating social media fact-checking skills into university health education and digital literacy programmes, promoting the use of credible health-information sources, strengthening students' ability to identify false health claims, encouraging responsible health-information sharing, and developing sustainable interventions for reducing the spread and influence of health misinformation among university students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Social media fact-checking education, false health claims, university students, health misinformation, digital health literacy, information literacy, health communication, fact-checking, health education, Nigeria, public health.