Collaborative Research: SaTC: CORE: Large: Multi-Disciplinary Analyses of the Nature and Spread of Unsubstantiated Information Online

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

Americans need reliable information to make decisions that can improve national security, public health, community resilience, economic competitiveness, and quality of life. Online media platforms make it possible for misinformation on these topics to spread with unprecedented speed and scale. To counter the deleterious effects of misinformation, it is important to understand how it spreads and the conditions under which people believe it. This interdisciplinary project examines these dynamics in ways that have the potential to help people make better decisions about what kinds of information will help them make better decisions. The research design focuses on how different ways of presenting misinformation affect people’s attitudes, beliefs, and social identities. The design will show how psychological predispositions, moral values, sociocultural attitudes, social identity, group affinities and other factors influence who believes misinformation -- and who rejects or ignores it. The project also examines how network structures shape where and how false beliefs spread. The project’s research will be broadly disseminated to help scholars, policy experts, and social media designers create more contexts that empower more people to base their decisions on accurate facts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.