Abstract

Social media is increasingly used to spread false information (mis/disinformation) at scale, with potentially broad-reaching societal effects. The Facebook data made available via Social Science One gives us a unique opportunity to observe how such content spreads and how users share or interact with it. In this work, we will leverage the Facebook URL Shares and CrowdTangle datasets to conduct formative research at the foundation of the current mis/disinformation phenomenon. Specifically, we will study (1) user behaviors on Facebook (e.g., reactions and clicks) in response to mis/disinformation or related content and (2) potential behavior differences between different groups or types of users. In addition to being of independent scientific and societal interest, our results will support the development of interventions (e.g., user interface designs or user education efforts) to help people interact thoughtfully with potential mis/disinformation and ultimately to curb its spread.

Principal Investigator

Franziska Roesner

Associate Professor, University of Washington

Bio

Franziska (Franzi) Roesner is an associate professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where she codirects the Security and Privacy Research Lab. Her research focuses broadly on computer security and privacy for end users of existing and emerging technologies. She is the recipient of an MIT Technology Review "Innovators Under 35" Award, an Emerging Leader Alumni Award from the University of Texas at Austin, a Google Security and Privacy Research Award, and an NSF CAREER Award. She received her PhD from the University of Washington in 2014 and her BS from the UT Austin in 2008.