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Introducing computing and IT
Introducing computing and IT

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4.3 Countering myths

The number of myths that were countered varied between the three search terms. Websites returned by negative searches countered an average of 3.00 myths apiece. Pages found by neutral searches countered 3.27, but, surprisingly, positive searches were the least effective, countering just 2.87 myths on each page.

The researchers also studied how many myths were countered compared with those that they perpetuated. As you might expect, negative web searches were the least effective at countering myths about vaccination. These sites countered 1.55 myths for each myth they perpetuated. Neutral searches were much better, countering 6.17 myths for every myth perpetuated. Positive searches were the most effective, countering 7.18 myths for each one perpetuated.