Role-Playing Games Emerge as Unexpected Tools Against Disinformation

In an era where misinformation floods social media feeds and AI-generated content blurs the line between fact and fiction, educators and government officials are turning to an unexpected ally in the fight for information literacy: tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons.

“There was this somewhat naive belief that if we’re able to just teach people how to figure out what the current information is, the problem will get better,” explains Jin Ha Lee, a professor with the University of Washington’s Information School. “But now we know that it didn’t get better. And if anything, it got worse.”

Lee, who specializes in information science, points to the structure of our digital ecosystem as a key factor. “Learning about how to discern the accuracy of information is important, but it’s just not enough to protect us from this overwhelming amount and flow of misinformation that we face every day.”

As an avid gamer herself, Lee has developed innovative approaches to tackling this problem, including creating escape rooms and games like “Euphorigen Investigation” that specifically address misinformation issues.

“If you try to just talk about misinformation in real life, people will often tell you, ‘Oh, I just go and watch cat videos, I don’t share any of these things,'” Lee notes. “We use games to create experiences where we can all fall for misinformation so at the end, you are in this mindset of ‘OK, anybody can fall for this.'”

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs—who goes by “Happy Tracker Meow Meow” at the gaming table—sees particular value in Dungeons & Dragons as an educational tool.

“Playing Dungeons and Dragons is collaborative storytelling,” Hobbs explains. “You can run scenarios in your adventure that can teach players a lesson. If they didn’t do some more insight checks—which is a thing you can do in D&D where you roll dice to check if somebody is lying—or maybe an intelligence check to verify a fact, then maybe the result is something the players didn’t want.”

Hobbs, who has played D&D since elementary school, has worked to get copies of the game into libraries and schools across Washington state, recognizing its potential beyond entertainment.

The connection between D&D mechanics and information literacy skills is surprisingly strong. The game’s emphasis on diverse character parties mirrors the importance of varied information sources. As Professor Lee explains, misinformation often thrives in echo chambers “because social media is so good at algorithmic targeting. You click on something, it’s gonna feed you more of that information, and it tends to get more and more extreme.”

In contrast, D&D adventures typically require a diverse party where each member brings unique skills and perspectives—similar to how healthy information consumption requires multiple viewpoints and sources.

Game mechanics like “intelligence checks” and “insight checks” also have real-world parallels. Intelligence checks represent factual investigation—verifying information before acting on it. Insight checks simulate applying wisdom and context to those facts, considering nuance before drawing conclusions.

Beyond these tactical skills, Lee emphasizes that countering misinformation isn’t simply about proving others wrong. “Instead of trying to make your point, really focus on listening to what the other person is saying and trying your best to understand where they’re coming from,” she advises.

“If you focus too much on proving them wrong or correcting the information, then they feel attacked and the conversation shuts down,” Lee continues. “Especially as a gamer, you always go in with this idea that ‘I need to win the argument.’ But the reality is the win position is not winning the argument. The win position is the long game. You want to figure things out together.”

Both Lee and Hobbs will participate in panels at the upcoming PAX West 2025 gaming convention, including “Dungeons and Disinformation: Games as Learning Environments for Disinformation Literacy,” which will explore these concepts further.

As AI technologies continue to advance, making fake news and manipulated content increasingly sophisticated, approaches like game-based learning may become vital tools in building societal resilience against misinformation. By framing information literacy as a collaborative adventure rather than an individual burden, educators hope to equip people with both the skills and motivation to navigate an increasingly complex information landscape.