Table 1 Ways of spinning information to influence people
From: Health communication in and out of public health emergencies: to persuade or to inform?
Factors that can affect a decision | Spin to influence people to behave in a desired way |
|---|---|
The effects of behaving in the desired way compared to other options | Emphasize or exaggerate the benefits of behaving in the desired way |
Ignore or downplay the harms or undesirable effects of behaving in the desired way | |
Ignore or downplay uncertainty about the benefits, and emphasize or exaggerate uncertainty about the harms | |
Neglect to consider or point out that people may weigh desirable and undesirable outcomes differently | |
Assume or imply that the desirable effects far outweigh the undesirable effects | |
Costs of behaving in the desired way compared to other options | Ignore or downplay the costs and emphasize or exaggerate the savings of behaving in the desired way |
Ignore or downplay uncertainty about the savings and emphasize or exaggerate uncertainty about the costs | |
Ignore, assume or imply the intervention is cost-effective, and ignore uncertainty | |
Alternatives to the desired option | Misinform or leave out information about relevant alternatives |