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Knowledge mitigates misinformation

With increasing global communications, we have experienced increasing misinformation. New research shows that mere exposure to misinformation about smart meters is related to perceptions of related risks. Increased knowledge about smart meters can reduce the impact of some misinformation but it does not work for all types.

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Fig. 1: Attention to media and relationships with support for smart meter policies.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the EPSRC who partly fund A. Spence through the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (EP/V00784X/1) and through Horizon Digital Economy Research (EP/T022493/1).

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Correspondence to A. Spence.

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Spence, A., Spence, K. Knowledge mitigates misinformation. Nat Energy 6, 329–330 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00794-w

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