Fakeology – Fake News and Pseudo-Science as Post-Modern Mythology: The Case of the Anti-Vaccination Movement

Using anti-vaccine myths as an example case, FAKEOLOGY studies how pseudo-scientific news is diffused within social networks and how it affects human judgement and behavior, aiming to enhance the efficiency of science communication and empower public health policy. It bridges large-scale social media data with news media (network analysis, content and discourse analysis) and behavioural data (focus groups, expert interviews, lab experiments).

Runtime: 2019-2022

Funding: European Union, Horizon 2020, Marie Curie Fellowship

Participants: Prof. Dr. Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou (UZH, Fellow and Leader), Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer (Host UZH), Prof. Dr. Deb Roy (Host MIT/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Total Sum: 278,840 EUR