Inoculation theory

Pre-bunking attempts to prepare people before they encounter the manipulation.

The idea draws upon inoculation theory, originally developed by William Maguire.

Just as a weakened biological challenge can prepare immune response, exposure to a weakened persuasive technique combined with an explanation of how it works may increase resistance to later attempts.

Modern misinformation research has adapted this idea by teaching people to recognize techniques such as false dichotomies, emotional manipulation, impersonation, scapegoating, conspiracy framing, and the use of fake experts.