Topic description and stories

Fueling the Fire of Misinformation - stock photo

News article or big oil ad?

06 Mar 2025

A sneaky form of advertising favoured by oil giants influences public opinion with climate action misperceptions, but researchers are studying...

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Teenager holding a smartphone

Cambridge leads governmental project to understand impact of smartphones and social media on young people

16 Jan 2025

Cambridge researchers are leading the first phase of a new research project that will lay the groundwork for future studies into the impact on...

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Time alone heightens ‘threat alert’ in teenagers – even when connecting online

13 Nov 2024

Scientists say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the...

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Solidarity drives online virality in a nation under attack, study of Ukrainian social media reveals

01 Oct 2024

While divisive social media posts get more traction in countries such as the US, a new study shows that celebrating national unity is the way to go...

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Emissions and evasions

20 Dec 2023

How Big Oil influences climate conversations on social media.

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The Misinformation Susceptibility Test

29 Jun 2023

New 2-minute test launched; developed using ChatGPT technology and validated by expert panel and series of experiments involving thousands of...

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Rewarding accuracy instead of partisan pandering reduces political divisions over the truth

06 Mar 2023

Researchers argue that the findings hold lessons for social media companies and the “perverse incentives” driving political polarisation online.

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Person using a smartphone

Social media posts around solar geoengineering ‘spill over’ into conspiracy theories

28 Feb 2023

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have analysed more than 800,000 tweets and found that negative emotions expressed about geoengineering...

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People installing a living roof in 2012

COP must reverse rising pessimism over building sector decarbonisation

17 Nov 2022

Social media engagement with climate policy events is vital to reducing building emissions and ensuring environmental justice, research led by...

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Screen shot from Logan Paul's controversial YouTube video filmed in Japan

Fervent fans keep faith with heroes even after ‘immoral acts’, study finds

06 Sep 2022

Analysis of posts from thousands of social media users either side of a scandal – the dramatic fall of YouTube celebrity Logan Paul – shows how hard...

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How to 'inoculate' millions against misinformation on social media

24 Aug 2022

Briefly exposing social media users to tricks behind misinformation boosts awareness of dangerous online falsehoods – even amid intense ‘noise’ of...

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Boy using a smartphone

Scientists find that the impact of social media on wellbeing varies across adolescence

28 Mar 2022

Girls and boys might be more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media use at different times during their adolescence, say an international...

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