Abstract: Health-related rumors in social media under the failure of traditional “gatekeeper” mechanism face the problem of “rumor debunking-reappearing". Focusing on the characteristics of health-related rumors with mixed truths and emotions to explore the persuasive effect of health debunking information, this research provides a better understanding of the debunking information designing and provides useful reference for optimizing rumor management strategies. This research focuses on information presentation, through a 2 (Presentation content: one-sided content vs. double-sided content) ×2 (Presentation form: serious vs. humorous) ×2 (Rumor type: fear vs. hope rumor) online control experiment to analyze their influence on the persuasive effect of health-related rumor debunking information. Presentation content has significant influence on the persuasive effect of health-related rumor debunking information. One-sided (vs. double-sided) debunking information is more persuasive. Rumor type moderates the interaction effect of presentation content and presentation form on the persuasive effect. For hope rumors, it is better to use double-sided and humorous information or one-sided and serious information.

Key words: Health-related rumor debunking information, Information presentation, Presentation content, Presentation form, Persuasive effect, Online information governance