Analyzing and measuring the spread of fake content on twitter during high impact events
This paper introduces TweetCred, a semi-supervised ranking model that assigns real-time credibility scores to tweets, implemented as a browser plug-in. Over three months, TweetCred was used by 1,127 Twitter users, scoring 5.4…
Faking Sandy: Characterizing and identifying fake images on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy
The study focuses on how Twitter facilitated the propagation of deceptive images during Hurricane Sandy. It reveals that a small number of users were responsible for most retweets of fake image tweets…
Global crackdown on fake news raises censorship concerns.
The article discusses the growing trend of governments legislating against fake news due to its rapid and widespread impact despite the challenges of balancing such laws with free speech protections. It highlights…
The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories (Journal Article)
This article examines the psychological factors that contribute to the allure of conspiracy theories, focusing on epistemic, existential, and social motives. It demonstrates that these factors explain why individuals are drawn to…
The psychology of conspiracy theories (Book)
This book investigates the factors that make certain individuals more prone to believing in conspiracy theories, focusing on the psychological mechanisms that make these theories appealing. The book dismisses the notion that…
Don’t blame social media for conspiracy theories – they would still flourish without it
This opinion article argues that attributing the spread of conspiracy theories solely to the internet and social media is overly simplistic. While journalists, activists, and politicians blame social media for spreading such…
Science denial: Why it happens and 5 things you can do about it
This article examines the rise of science denial particularly during the COVID-19 outbreak, emphasizing the complex reasons behind why some people reject scientific explanations. It recognizes five psychological obstacles—social identity, cognitive shortcuts,…
How “fake news” was a tool of nineteenth century colonialism and conquest.
The concept of “fake news” through the selective framing or distortion of facts is not new, dating back to the inception of the printing press and the rise of popular journalism in…
Disinformation Annotated Bibliography
This report provides a detailed reading list and primer on digital disinformation, summarizing existing literature, categorizing key sources, and highlighting areas for future research. It presents nine categories, including academic articles, reports…
The methodological challenges of studying fake news
In an attempt to detect and analyze “fake news in two controversial Canadian news media outlets, (Global Research and Rebel News), this paper examines methodological challenges in fact-checking on top 400 news…
