Countering Misinformation Early: Evidence from a Classroom-Based Field Experiment in India

CASI Seminar

in partnership with the South Asia Center & Political Science Dept

Sumitra Badrinathan
Assistant Professor Politics, Governance & Economics, American University
Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics
133 South 36th Street, Blank Forum (2nd Floor)
Philadelphia PA 19104-6215

About the Seminar:
Misinformation poses serious risks for democratic governance, conflict, and health. This seminar evaluates whether sustained, classroom-based education against misinformation can equip schoolchildren to become more discerning consumers of information. Partnering with a state government agency in Bihar, India, Sumitra Badrinathan et al conducted a field experiment in 583 villages with 13,500 students, using a 4-month curriculum designed to build skills, shift norms, and enhance knowledge about health misinformation. Intent-to-treat estimates demonstrate that treated respondents were significantly better at discerning true from false information, altered their health preferences, relied more on science, and reduced their dependence on unreliable news sources. She resurveyed participants four months post-intervention and found that effects persisted, as well as extended to political misinformation. Finally, she observed spillover effects within households, with parents of treated students becoming more adept at discerning information. As many countries seek long-term solutions to combat misinformation, these findings highlight the promise of sustained classroom-based education.

About the Speaker:
Sumitra Badrinathan is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Department of Politics, Governance, and Economics at American University’s School of International Service. Her research examines misinformation, media, and politics, with a regional focus on South Asia. Methodologically, she relies on field experiments, original surveys, and primary data collection, and often collaborates with civil society organizations and government institutions to design projects that evaluate policy impacts and produce actionable evidence. Her work has been published in academic journals American Political Science Review and PS: Political Science and Politics, as well as popular media outlets The Washington Post, The Hindu, Scroll, and Hindustan Times. She was a 2020-21 CASI Sobti Family Fellow and earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

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The Nand & Jeet Khemka Distinguished Lecture Series is an endowed public program of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI). Launched in the 2007-08 academic year, and made possible through the generous support of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, the series brings renowned India specialists to the Penn community and serves as a critical forum for analyzing and understanding the complex economic, political, social, and cultural changes that the world’s largest democracy is experiencing, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
The Saluja Global Fellows Program has been made possible by the generous gift from Vishal Saluja ENG’89 W’89. CASI was excited to launch the program during the 2022–23 academic year, coinciding with the Center’s 30th Anniversary. This new program enables CASI to invite eminent leaders and rising experts on contemporary India preferably from the fields of media, culture, law, and contemporary history to be in residence for one to two weeks at CASI.