23 April 2015
The Washington Post is the latest in an increasingly long list of international media outlets to cite the work of IMT academics (Alessandro Bessi, Fabiana Zollo, Michela Del Vicario, Antonio Scala, Guido Caldarelli, Walter Quattrociocch) ?Trend of Narratives in the Age of Misinformation?. This list already includes Wired UK, Slate and the MIT Technology Review (see full list here: http://csslab.imtlucca.it/node/94).
The researchers assert that in the era of globalization, misinformation spreads like wildfire. There are millions of users who join this universe of rumors and secret plots no matter their level of education and unfortunately, these theories have real world consequences. IMT Assistant Professor Walter Quattrociocchi, interviewed by the Post, explains in fact that ?once started, misinformation is really hard (if not impossible) to stop?.
Although the research paper in question only addresses Italian Facebook, the Post article explains that the same group is presently studying American users, finding that ?any attempt to debunk biased beliefs is not effective?, as ?attempts reach very few people and end up once again reinforcing the conspiracy theorists? beliefs.?
Follow the link below to see the full Washington Post article.
To download the full research paper, please visit: http://imt.lu/119
