Weaponized storytelling: How AI is helping researchers sniff out disinformation campaigns

Disinformation campaigns are using AI to tell false but compelling stories. AI tools are also helping counter the campaigns by detecting incongruities in usernames, cultural references and timelines.

Azwad Anjum Islam, Ph.D. Student in Computing and Information Sciences, Florida International University • conversation
May 29, 2025 ~10 min

Memes and conflict: Study shows surge of imagery and fakes can precede international and political violence

Visual content, including manipulated images, is a staple of propaganda and political messaging. AI analysis shows that a surge of these memes can precede the outbreak of wide-scale violence.

Ernesto Verdeja, Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Global Politics, University of Notre Dame • conversation
April 24, 2025 ~7 min


Digital imperialism: How US social media firms are using American law to challenge global tech regulation

Trump Media and Rumble joining X in legal fight against the Brazilian Supreme Court marks a new era of deregulation pushes.

Camille Grenier, Associated Expert at the Technology and Global Affairs Innovation Hub, Sciences Po • conversation
March 21, 2025 ~11 min

How right-wing media is like improv theater

Improv theater is known for improvisation, audience participation and riffing on memes and stories circulating on social and traditional media – all hallmarks of right-wing media.

Kate Starbird, Professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering, University of Washington • conversation
Dec. 4, 2024 ~11 min

How close are we to an accurate AI fake news detector?

AI are using data from neuroscience to try to get better at spotting fake news.

Magda Osman, Professor of Policy Impact, University of Leeds • conversation
Nov. 6, 2024 ~9 min

Misinformation really does spread like a virus, suggest mathematical models drawn from epidemiology

Going viral appears to be more than just a catchphrase when it comes to misinformation.

David Robert Grimes, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Public Health & Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin • conversation
Nov. 5, 2024 ~9 min

Misinformation is more than just bad facts: How and why people spread rumors is key to understanding how false information travels and takes root

Spreading rumors is human nature. It’s a way people try to make sense of a messy world. In the age of social media and disinformation campaigns, it’s also how people can be misled.

Stephen Prochaska, Graduate Research Assistant, Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington • conversation
Oct. 30, 2024 ~12 min

Readers trust journalists less when they debunk rather than confirm claims

Providing a correction can affect how the audience feels about the journalists trying to set the record straight.

Caroline Meyersohn, Ed.S. Student in School Psychology, California State University, Long Beach • conversation
Aug. 6, 2024 ~5 min


Unregulated online political ads pose a threat to democracy

Political ad transparency – who’s paying for ads and whether candidates stand behind them – is well-regulated for TV and radio. Online, not so much.

Steven Caplan, Adjunct Instructor of Communications and Marketing, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism • conversation
July 9, 2024 ~8 min

Generative AI at school, work and the hospital – the risks and rewards laid bare

We’ve tried to take a clear-eyed view of the pros and cons to help governments decide how to move forward.

Valerio Capraro, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology , University of Milano-Bicocca • conversation
June 14, 2024 ~7 min

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