Research Reviews

The social problems that have spread over the leading internet platforms are driven by more than just ineffective policies. A large body of research indicates that these ills are products of the economic structures that define the consumer internet industry, stemming from its uninhibited collection of data and the way it uses algorithms to manipulate users’ media experiences. This research review outlines the nature of the regulatory environment that gave rise to the business model that is commonly in place in the social media sector.

This research review addresses the concept of election interference, specifically online or digital election interference. The phenomenon has gained a great deal of popular and scholarly attention since 2014, particularly following the election of Donald Trump and accusations of foreign meddling in European elections.

Hate speech online is particularly disturbing for its commonness. This kind of speech is appropriated and shared by ordinary citizens, is used to support open confrontations between nations, and can be approved or encouraged by state governments. But what are the linkages between hate speech and disinformation?

What are the factors that cause misinformation to spread? To answer this question, researchers have focused on two broad areas. One is the social and psychological characteristics of audience members who decide what to consume and share. Another is the social media networks themselves, and the technologies that encourage and discourage user behaviors.

Commonly misnamed “revenge porn,” image-based abuse is the non-consensual creation and distribution of private images. Much more than “one-off” attacks that cause hurt feelings, image-based abuse has become a broad effort to silence and shame people in public spaces. This literature review brings together relevant research from the fields of law, communication, psychology, and public health to explain how image-based abuse has become an ever-present threat to privacy, safety, and speech.

The collision between a global pandemic and a world with global connectivity may be unprecedented, but scientists have a long tradition of trying to understand how societies respond to crisis. This research review examines the intersections of misinformation and public health, and explores how humans make sense of emergencies.