Funding company

The development of systems that can automatically detect false information and prevent its propagation is very challenging since information can be manipulated in several different ways to confuse the readers. Still, a good amount of research has been done in the automatic detection of disinformation. One of the most important sources of information for the systems can be extracted from the content of the news article, but in this case, it is essential to distinguish divergent or critical thinking from conspiracy theories, as the former enriches public debate while the latter seeks to jeopardise public debate. The new phenomenon in relation with conspiracy theories is that they have spilled over the social boundaries of those minorities that have traditionally adopted this worldview.

The goal of the project is to provide relevant knowledge to public and private actors to deal with disinformation processes in general and in particular in the field of health. For this purpose, the project goals are the following:

Goal 1. Describe the mechanisms of persuasive communication in conspiracy theories and identify strategies to minimise the impact of disinformation on individuals and societies.
Goal 2. Examine and map how the spillover effect of disinformation occurs and how this phenomenon increases social vulnerability to disinformation among special groups of the population.
Goal 3. Develop mechanisms for early alert in order to contain the spillover effect of disinformation in a particular moment.
Goal 4. Empower the general public, with a special emphasis on young people, to identify the toxic nature and poor quality of health information content.