FAKENEWS: Disinformation and People - Impacts of Societal Trust and Resilience (CPS/HSL)

Click here to read the detailed project description.

Project title (Norwegian): Desinformasjon og folket: en test av tillit og motstandsdyktighet

Objectives of the project

Primary objective:
To generate new data on civilian roles in crisis as well as provide a new resilience framework to better help predict the impact of disinformation within society.

Secondary objectives (linked to WPs):

Resilience framework: create theoretical framework for understanding the role of people in crisis management;
Media and the mind: understand media’s relationship with their audiences, influence of disinformation, and impact on societal trust;
Government gaps: examine Norwegian and Swedish’s government policy and legal frameworks for crisis, and impacts on people and their rights;
Listening to people: learn civilian insights regarding trust, resilience and security during crisis, and the impacts of disinformation, analysing in relation to intersectional categories;
Testing resilience: test scenario on basis of the indicators from all WPs 6.Including people: outreach to communities and education programme

Project summary

FAKENEWS applies an interdisciplinary focus – law, media studies and security studies (social sciences and humanities), technology and societal security, and health sciences (psychology) - to the ways civilians identify and react to the abstract and intangible threat of disinformation, and the subsequent interaction during crisis between civilians, civilian organisations and authorities, and at times, militaries. FAKENEWS does so through developing theory and methods of ”trust,” and "resilience," as well as understanding the nature of "threat," applied to Norwegian and Swedish case studies focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, and the civilian reactions to the migration crisis of 2015. The focus is on what people do in crisis, particularly in light of increased mis- and disinformation that can be used to mislead people and exacerbate, rather than reduce, a crisis situation. Norway and Sweden are both well known as societies with high trust levels. Sweden and Norway do not handle crisis in the same way, however. FAKENEWS examines the Norwegian and Swedish reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of disinformation during the migration crisis as a hybrid threat to create destabilisation in a society. We further examine to what degree Norwegians and Swedes contribute to societal resilience - the capability of resisting or mitigating a threat. We ask: How do civilian perceptions of threat and subsequent actions affect societal trust and resilience in the face of crisis? The data collected will be used to compare with institutional policies and legal measures, to expose any inconsistencies or contradictions between institutional and civilian practices of resilience. Through an extensive dissemination plan TRUSTING FAKENEWS will inform policy and training tools including scenarios and exercises, and add to academic and public debates.

Popular science presentation (written in English)

Did you ever read stories about 5G mobile masts spreading COVID 19? Or that the EU supports mass illegal immigration? If you have ever read a post on social media that seems to be fishing for a strong emotional reaction, especially fear, there is a good chance it was mis- or disinformation, or fake news. People like you and me are targeted with the intent to trigger our emotional reactions – from curiosity to disgust to fear – either to earn money from the number of clicks, but also those who use fear to increase our doubt in our own authorities and what we normally consider reliable sources of information. Our potential distrust in authorities, and our neighbours, can contribute to societal instability, especially during a crisis.
The FAKENEWS project focuses on what people do in crisis, particularly in light of increased mis- and disinformation that can be used to mislead people, increase doubt about authorities and each other, and exacerbate a crisis situation. We ask: How do civilian perceptions of threat and subsequent actions affect societal trust and resilience in the face of crisis? Norway and Sweden are both well known as societies with high trust levels. However, Sweden and Norway do not handle crisis in the same way. FAKENEWS examines the Norwegian and Swedish reactions to two crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2015 migration crisis, and how trust and resilience (our ability to withstand or adapt to changes due to crisis) were impacted during these two crises. We are particularly interested in the effects of mis- and disinformation on societal trust and resilience. The data collected will be used to compare institutional policies and legal measures, to how people themselves felt and reacted to these crises. Research results from our data analysis, scenario development and exercises will be shared openly via social media, seminars as well as with policy makers to contribute to academic and public debates.

Popular science presentation (written in Norwegian)

Har du noen gang lest historier om 5G -mobilmaster som sprer COVID 19? Eller at EU støtter masse ulovlig innvandring? Hvis du noen gang har lest et innlegg på sosiale medier som ser ut til å fiske etter en sterk følelsesmessig reaksjon, spesielt frykt, er det en god sjanse for at det var feil- eller desinformasjon eller falske nyheter. Folk som deg og meg har blitt et mål hvor noen ønsker å gi oss sterke følelsesmessige reaksjoner - fra nysgjerrighet til avsky eller frykt - enten for å tjene penger på antall klikk eller bruke frykt for å øke vår tvil til våre egne myndigheter og hva vi normalt ville vurdere som pålitelige informasjonskilder. Vår potensielle mistillit til våre myndigheter og/eller våre naboer kan bidra til sosial ustabilitet, spesielt under en krise.

FAKENEWS-prosjektet fokuserer på hva folk gjør i kriser, spesielt i lys av økt feil- og desinformasjon som kan brukes til å villede folk, øke mistillit til myndigheter eller andre og forverre en krisesituasjon. Vi spør: Hvordan påvirker de siviles oppfatninger av trussel og påfølgende handlinger samfunnets tillit og motstandskraft i møte med kriser? Norge og Sverige er begge kjent som samfunn med høy tillit. Sverige og Norge håndterer imidlertid ikke krise på samme måte. FAKENEWS undersøker de norske og svenske reaksjonene på to kriser: COVID-19-pandemien og migrasjonskrisen 2015, og hvordan tillit og motstandskraft (vår evne til å motstå eller tilpasse oss endringer på grunn av krise) ble påvirket under disse to krisene. Vi er spesielt interessert i virkningene av feil og desinformasjon på tillit i samfunnet og dertil hørende motstandskraft. Dataene som samles inn vil bli brukt til å sammenligne institusjonelle retningslinjer og juridiske tiltak, med hvordan folk selv følte og reagerte på disse krisene. Forskningsresultater fra vår dataanalyse, scenarioutvikling og øvelser vil bli delt åpent via sosiale medier, seminarer og med beslutningstakere for å bidra til akademiske og offentlige debatter.

Outcomes and impacts

FAKENEWS has the following outcomes and impacts:

consolidate a unique, multidisciplinary research environment at UiT and "The Grey Zone" research group, human and societal security with a focus on societal trust and resilience;
ensure longevity of scholarship and teaching beyond the project period due to this consolidation at UiT through teaching programme
inform policy and practice regarding preparation for and combating against disinformation during pandemic or hybrid threats using insights about what civilians do during crisis/conflict situations
solidify a unique scholarly foundation to today's threats through the production of three Post-doctoral fellows who would be prepared to enter senior research/leader positions
strengthen a nationally relevant security policy research agenda in northern Norway
strengthen civil society, including the general public, though open dialogue and non-militarized problem solving in crisis

Members

Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv - Project Leader - UiT, NOR (Email: gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no)

Holger Pötzsch - UiT, NOR (Email: holger.potzsch@uit.no)

Magne Frostad - UiT, NOR (Email: magne.frostad@uit.no)

Christer Henrik Pursiainen - UiT, NOR (Email: christer.h.pursiainen@uit.no)

Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert - PRIO, NOR (Email: margab@prio.org)

Jardar Gjørv - UiT, NOR (Email: jardar.e.gjorv@uit.no)

Vitaly Fedchenko - SIPRI, SWE (Email: fedchenko@sipri.org)

Ian Anthony - SIPRI, SWE (Email: anthony@sipri.org)

A. H. (Anja) van der Hulst - TNO, NLD (Email: anja.vanderhulst@tno.nl)

A.J.A. (Aiden) Hoyle - UvA, NLD (Email: a.hoyle@uva.nl)

Ali Bilgic - LU, GBR (Email: A.Bilgic@lboro.ac.uk)

Niklas Eklund - UU, SWE (Email: niklas.eklund@umu.se)

Thierry Tardy - NDC, ITA (Email: t.tardy@ndc.nato.int)

Advisory Board

Sten Rynning (Email: sry@sam.sdu.dk)

Sergii Glebov (Email: sergglebov@gmail.com)

Sebastian (Bas) (Email: Rietjens basrietjens@gmail.com)

Jane Freedman (Email: Jane.FREEDMAN@cnrs.fr)

Cedric De Coning (Email: cdc@nupi.no)

Christopher (Chris) Holshek (Email: holshek@hotmail.com)

Odd Jarl Borch (Email: odd.j.borch@nord.no)

Arild Bergh (Email: Arild.Bergh@ffi.no)

Ørjan Karlsson (Email: Orjan.Karlsson@dsb.no)