The digital witness: Exploring gestural misinformation in tele-forensic interviews with 5-8-year-old children

Abstract In 2016, approximately half of children aged 2–17 worldwide experienced child abuse. This number increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with timely face-to-face eyewitness interviews disrupted due to social distancing. While live-link interviews have been successful in legal and medical contexts, its potential for eyewitness interviews remains insufficiently studied, particularly in terms of non-verbal misinformation. This study explored tele-forensic interviewing (tele-FI) as an alternative to face-to-face interviews, with a focus on the gestural misinformation effect (GME). Forty-seven children were recruited ranging in age from 5- to 8-years-old (M = 6 years 11 months). Comparisons to face-to-face conditions were based on prior work by the author (N = 63, M = 7 years 2 months). Results find support for the GME during tele-FI, with 1.23 misinformation details recorded on average and tele-FI showing a similar response pattern as face-to-face interviews. Accuracy was shown to be comparable in tele-FI (M = 16.21) compared to face-to-face interviews (M = 14.02), with a notable increase in the amount of relevant information provided in the tele-FI condition. Age did not affect interview outcomes. This study provides further evidence for tele-FI as a viable alternative to face-to-face interviews and offers the first exploration of the GME in tele-FI. Discussion focuses on the benefits of tele-FI and the implications for police interview guidelines.