• Fact Checks Effectively Counter COVID Misinformation

    New study finds that journalistic fact checks are a more effective counter to COVID-19 misinformation than the false news tags commonly used by social media outlets. “We find that more information may be an antidote to misinformation,” conclude the authors of the study.

  • DHS’s ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ Assailed by Lawmakers

    A proposed new DHS working group focusing on countering disinformation has run into a buzzsaw of opposition from members of Congress. Some have characterized the would-be Disinformation Governance Board as an Orwellian body threating free speech. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a congressional hearing, scrambled to defend the new board.

  • Does Free Speech Protect COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation?

    “The Supreme Court has held that many kinds of false statements are protected speech under the First Amendment,” says Stanford University’s Michelle Mello. “The Supreme Court’s general finding is that false statements can often be valuable in terms of allowing people to challenge widely held beliefs without fear of repercussions, and that things could go pretty wrong if the government had a wider berth to regulate them.”

  • Research Exposes Long-Term Failure of Russian Propaganda in Ukraine's Donbas Region

    A study of the propaganda that flooded Donbas for years reveals a failure to build pro-Russian “in-group” identities in the region, despite Putin’s claims of support.

  • What Research Reveals About Disinformation and How to Address It

    Stanford scholars from across the social sciences are studying the threats disinformation poses to democracy. Here is some of their research.

  • Trump Appointee Twice Delayed Report on Russian Election Interference, Federal Watchdog Says

    A just-published DHS IG report says that a senior Trump appointee twice delayed the release of a report detailing Russia’s interference in the 2020 election, interference aimed to help the Trump campaign. Moreover, in order to dilute the significance of the information about Russia’s interference, other DHS officials added a so-called “tone box” describing efforts by Chinese and Iranian influence actors to promote unsubstantiated narratives questioning the mental health of then-President Donald Trump. With the exception of the added tone box itself, China and Iran are not mentioned in the report.

  • Why Public Trust in Elections Is Being Undermined by Global Disinformation Campaigns

    Public trust in elections is being targeted around the world by a series of disinformation campaigns from a range of international players. There are often similar campaigns run by domestic political players, as has been the case, for example, in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. These campaigns are giving rise to an increasing lack of trust in how votes are counted. The overall purpose is to create mistrust of the core institutions of liberal democracy, including parliaments, mainstream media, elections, and the judiciary.

  • Holocaust Analogies Frequently Used as Fodder for Social and Political Commentary

    The Holocaust stands out as a preeminent example of modern-day state-sponsored mass murder. Despite the Holocaust’s distinctive status, or perhaps because of it, politicians, activists, and other public figures often invoke inappropriate Holocaust comparisons to highlight the ostensible “danger” of a social or political act.

  • Russian Trolls Tried to Distract American Voters with Entertainment

    In a finding that has implications for the 2022 midterm elections, Cornell researchers found Russia tried to distract liberal voters during the 2016 presidential campaign with a seemingly innocent weapon – tweets about music and videos – taking a page from its domestic disinformation playbook.

  • Domestic Extremists’ Social Media Habits

    A new study, bridging two leading databases on extremist hate and violence, found that individuals in both have been influenced by social media, and their web platform choices may mirror those of the general population.

  • How Extremism Operates Online

    Since the early days of the internet, radical groups and movements across the ideological spectrum have demonstrated their intent and ability to harness virtual platforms to perform critical functions. Recent demonstrations and violent attacks have highlighted the need for an improved understanding of the role of internet-based technologies in aiding and amplifying the spread of extremist ideologies.

  • The Role of Violent Conspiratorial Narratives in Violent and Non‐Violent Extreme Right Manifestos Online, 2015‐2020

    Much research remains to be done on the precise qualitative difference between the structures and linguistic markers that are evident in violent and non‐violent conspiratorial language, especially on the extreme far right, and how this encourages an individual to violent action. A new report offers findings which are both striking and, in some cases, unexpected.

  • Google Autocomplete Helps Mislead Public, Legitimize Conspiracy Theorists

    Google algorithms place innocuous subtitles on prominent conspiracy theorists, which mislead the public and amplify extremist views, according to researchers.

  • Facebook Posts Linking to Problematic Sites at Alarming Rates

    Over a hundred million American adults read news on social media. In the wake of the crisis in Ukraine, antisemitism, hate speech, and disinformation have spread widely on Facebook. Researchers found evidence of the continued presence of problematic posts on the platform, the most popular site for getting news, as well as the prevalence of external links directing users to alternative platforms and sites popular among extremists.

  • True or False: Work Practices of Professional Fact-Checkers

    Online misinformation is a critical societal threat . While fact-checking plays a role in combating the exponential rise of misinformation, little empirical research has been done on the work practices of professional fact-checkers and fact-checking organizations.