MMTC Research Seminar presented by Tim Risse, Madeleine Marie Meurer, and Matthias Waldkirch.

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)