Project description DEENESFRITPL The health effects of fake news The debate on vaccines’ role in health and disease is a rowdy one. And it’s becoming even louder today with a growing number of parents questioning the benefits of vaccination and whether they indeed outweigh the risks. Much of this uncertainty stems from fake news – unverified health information – that has proliferated online in recent years. The EU-funded FAKEOLOGY project is studying how pseudo-scientific news is disseminated online and how it affects people’s perception, thinking and behaviour. The project will combine science communication with new media analytics technologies to develop an analytic digital tool to help blow the whistle on the intentional disinformation online. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective FAKEOLOGY draws links between pseudoscience, populism and health literacy and focuses on the anti-vaccination movement to provide a key venue wherein mis- and dis-information can be studied. Specifically, the project studies how pseudo-scientific news is diffused within social networks and how it affects human judgement and behaviour. FAKEOLOGY aims at enhancing the efficiency of science communication and at empowering public health policy makers to introduce fake-proof health literacy initiatives. Bridging large-scale social media data with news media (network analysis, content and discourse analysis) and behavioural data (focus groups, expert interviews, lab experiment), the project focuses on how pseudo-science propagates within the digital media ecosystem. Pseudoscience, and, specifically, the anti-vaccination movement, demonstrate a unique case study that indicates the longevity of the ‘fake news phenomenon’ as anti-vaccine myths started spreading decades ago and still feed the movement’s narrative. The popularity of vaccine hesitancy is growing, in spite of the scientific data that systematically debunk its claims, resulting in the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Within the digital terrain, anti-vaccination groups have even grown in visibility and volume and research demonstrates that Twitter constitutes a popular platform for anti-vaccination supporters. Using state-of-the-art media analytics technologies developed by the MIT Media Lab and building on science communication developed at the University of Zurich, the project contributes to cutting-edge research with an analytic model that can be fine-tuned to study veracity and falsity in the digital networked paradigm. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthmedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccinesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems Keywords fake news pseudoscience anti-vaccination movement social networks network theory discourse analysis focus groups ethnography human judgement Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2018 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2018 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator UNIVERSITAT ZURICH Net EU contribution € 278 840,64 Address RAMISTRASSE 71 8006 Zurich Switzerland See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 278 840,64 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY United States Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE 77 02139 Cambridge See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 177 265,92
