MMTC breakfast information meeting

Tim, Madeleine, and Matthias are presenting their research titled as “Digital sherlocks vs. fake news: how online communities collectively identify deceptive narratives”.

“It’s the frailty of genius. It needs an audience” (Sherlock Holmes)

Deceptive narratives, such as fake news, spread quickly on digital platforms and pose significant challenges to society by distorting public discourse and influencing political and social outcomes based on misinformation. However, although mostly portrayed as passive consumers of narratives, digital audiences are not powerless in the face of deceptive narratives – they possess collective knowledge, can use critical thinking and community-driven efforts to discern and counteract false information. In two studies, we examine, based on Truth Default Theory (TDT), how audiences actively engage in deception detection. In Study 1, we analyze 1’941 conversations on Reddit where ‘fake news’ had been detected, using LDA topic modeling and selective qualitative insights. This allows us to identify recurring conversation patterns related to audiences’ active role in detecting deceptive narratives. Connecting these insights and TDT, we create propositions on the ‘sherlocking’ of audiences that allows for deception detection.  In study 2, we test these propositions based on a quantitative analysis of around 163 million Reddit posts. Together, these studies provide insights into how audiences engage with and scrutinize narratives. Furthermore, we extend TDT, which traditionally focuses on individual deception detection in face-to-face interactions, by considering the collectivism of audiences.

The seminar will run in a hybrid format, you can join in room B6046 or on Zoom (see outlook invitation for the zoom link or contact imran.ilyas@ju.se)

Join us for an insightful online seminar hosted by the Data Methods Initiative, featuring Mathilda Åkerlund from Umeå University. Mathilda will present her research on far-right perceptions of Sweden. Engage in a live Q&A with Mathilda, to learn more about her methodological blend of topic modeling, social network analysis, and discourse analysis.

Details of the seminar: May 22, 2024, from 1:15 to 2:45 PM (CET). Delivered in partnership with the Media, Management, and Transformation Centre at Jönköping International Business School.

The Data Methods Initiative aims to make data methods more accessible and encourage researchers in the social sciences to use them in their work. Through our seminars you can discover how to harness machine learning and AI advancements to analyze media across texts, images, videos, and audio more effectively.

As an interdisciplinary group, we are open to researchers with diverse backgrounds and complementary skills. We are curious about applications in many areas, especially business and organization studies, economics, information systems, law, media and communication studies, psychology, political science, sociology, and others.

Visit www.datamethodsinitative.org for registration and access to the Zoom link.

MMTC Research Seminar - more info to come