Filippo Menczer – 4 Reasons Why Social Media Make Us Vulnerable to Manipulation

When: 2021-11-08 17:00-19:00 (Tallinn time)
Where: CUDAN Open Lab (online)

Websites: osome.iu.edu & cnets.indiana.edu/fil
Video of the seminar: https://youtu.be/_Le6Gaax8JQ

Abstract – As social media become major channels for the diffusion of news and information, it becomes critical to understand how the complex interplay between cognitive, social, and algorithmic biases triggered by our reliance on online social networks makes us vulnerable to manipulation and disinformation. This talk overviews ongoing network analytics, modeling, and machine learning efforts to study the viral spread of misinformation and to develop tools for countering the online manipulation of opinions.

Joint work with collaborators at the Indiana University Observatory on Social Media (osome.iu.edu). This research is supported by the National Science Foundation, McDonnell Foundation, DARPA, Democracy Fund, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and Knight Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these funding agencies.