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Social media platforms offer users the opportunity to engage with fact-checking posts aimed at countering misinformation surrounding political figures. However, limited research considers how the efficacy of fact-checking messages hinges on individuals’ perceptions and acceptance of the information, with user comments and individuals’ pre-existing partisan viewpoints both presenting possible barriers to positive reception of fact-checking messages.

To bridge this research gap, this study conducted a 2 (misinformation exposure types: partisan worldview-consistent misinformation vs partisan worldview-inconsistent misinformation) × 4 (correction exposure types: a fact-checking post with no comments vs a fact-checking post with negative comments vs a fact-checking post with positive comments vs no fact-checking post) between-subject online experiment.

We found significant main effects of user comments and partisan worldview on political misbelief and political attitudes. Importantly, among participants exposed to worldview-inconsistent misinformation, negative comments significantly decreased voting support compared to positive comments or no comments.

This research is significant for the theoretical examination of the interaction between user comments and partisan worldview in influencing the effectiveness of political fact-checking messages. In addition, it has practical implications for fact-checking organizations and comment moderation in the fight against political misinformation.

This study presents original research examining the impact of social media user comments beneath a fact-checking post on beliefs in misinformation and evaluations of political candidates. While prior research has demonstrated how partisan worldview affects the effectiveness of corrections, the interaction between social media user comments and partisan worldview has not yet been explored.

In-game advertising continues to increase in importance for both industry and academia. However, game difficulty – an important, real-world factor – has received little attention as a specific game-related factor that might impact the effectiveness of in-game advertisements. This study aims to investigate the influence of game difficulty on players’ affective response and subsequent memory of in-game ads, which were presented as either gain- or loss-framed messages.

Three experiments were conducted. Study 1 and Study 3 implemented a 2 (difficulty: easy/difficult) × 2 (ad framing: gain/loss) design. Study 2 implemented a 2 (background music: calm/stressful) × 2 (ad framing: gain/loss) design. All experiments took place in a research laboratory in which participants consented to the study, completed a pre-test questionnaire, played a video game, completed a post-test questionnaire and were debriefed.

More difficult game play led to greater negative affective response. A different game-based attribute – background music – did not influence affective response. A significant interaction in Study 1 revealed that brand recognition increased as players in a more negative affective state were exposed to the loss-framed message. The results were explained to occur via the congruency effects that game difficulty exerts on players’ affective and cognitive states.

The studies are the first to incorporate both videogame difficulty and ad framing into one study, which two real-world factors that can influence advertising’s effectiveness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.