Our Project
It addresses questions relating to these shifts, including:
- How has the concept of disinformation been re-defined in different political and cultural settings since the term was first coined in the late 19th-century?
- What role does the legacy of the Cold War play in shaping current understandings of disinformation and counter-disinformation activities?
- How are misleading narratives adapted to different audiences, according to their native languages, cultural profiles and political preferences?
- In what cultural environments are these narratives rooted and how does this affect the ways their credibility claims are bolstered across different media spaces?
- How are disinformation narratives appropriated by different audiences; how are they used to draw Self/Other distinctions and how do they relate to what other news sources audiences consume?
- How can counter-disinformation initiatives develop effective, culturally differentiated policy responses?
Based on material in 6 main languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Russian), with additional coverage of Mandarin, Serbian, Polish, Romanian and other languages, the project targets 5 distinctive disinformation arenas of topical importance: democratic elections; climate change; health crises; war and conflict; LGBTQ+ rights; and 2 events of the Cold War period (separate Soviet disinformation campaigns around the AIDS virus and European neo-Nazi extremism). For these case studies, a 6-person team with expertise in history, media analysis, audience research and translation studies will carry out in-depth textual study of news reports, social media posts, web clips and memes identified as disinformation, tracking the cross-language and cross-platform journeys of the associated narratives using a combination of automated computer tools and qualitative analysis. It will also research their reception among different global audiences through focus groups. The project team includes 2 partners from the leading UK think tank, Chatham House, which will help maximize the project’s potential to inform policy and generate public engagement. Outputs include policy reports and briefings, along with a research monograph and a range of articles in academic journals.