The pervasive penetration of digital technology in the digital era has led to digital blind trust among students of Vocational High Schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan/SMK), whereby open encyclopedia platforms are often treated as absolute truth without verification. This quasi-experimental study aims to examine the effectiveness of a forensic investigation intervention targeting Wikipedia's open-editing architecture in reducing digital blind trust and enhancing students' Tabayyun resilience. Employing a nonequivalent control group design, the study involved 44 Grade X students at SMK UNITOMO Surabaya, divided into experimental and control classes. Data were collected through Likert-scale questionnaires administered at the pre-test and post-test phases. Subsequently, they analyzed using N-Gain, Shapiro-Wilk, Levene's Test, Welch's Independent Sample t-test, and Cohen's d. Statistical computations confirmed the statistically significant rejection of the null hypothesis (p < 0.001). The experimental class showed substantial cognitive improvement, with a mean N-Gain of 0.6166, in stark contrast to the control class, which exhibited a regression in competency (N-Gain = −0.0617). Effect size analysis yielded a Cohen's d value of 4.925, confirming a large intervention effect. In conclusion, direct deconstruction of vulnerabilities in digital information architecture demonstrates strong empirical potential to facilitate the transformation of Tabayyun from a moral recommendation into a measurable self-regulating behavior. These findings underscore the urgency of integrating critical digital literacy into the Islamic Religious Education curriculum as a vocational epistemological safeguard in the twenty-first century.
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