Images and distorted facts

Social media has made it easier to spread information – and lies – than ever before, and understanding how we comprehend the world is the key to sifting facts from fiction.

Breaking the “illusion of consensus”

UNSW psychology researchers have produced guidelines for better communication of key messages and ways to avoid misinformation.

Does misinformation matter?

Are many of the beliefs about the problem of conspiracy theories and misinformation on the internet myths in themselves?

Booting up AI to combat misinformation

Machine learning could hold the key to understanding and combating online misinformation on climate change and other vital issues.

Wake up sheeple

Information may be changing as quickly as the COVID-19 virus mutates, but being open and transparent about it fosters trust and social cohesion despite a flood of misinformation online.

We need herd immunity against vaccine misinformation

A new study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE revealed over 103 million people globally liked, shared, retweeted or reacted with an emoji to misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.

Defending democracies from disinformation and foreign interference

Democracies can take steps to mitigate the risks of cyber-enabled foreign interference, and increase their power by banding together to attribute, raise costs and deter interference by hostile states.

Fact-checking the fact-checkers: Platforms are failing the misinformation test

Social media platforms still aren’t doing enough to tackle the misinformation spread by bots, foreign propagandists and conspiracy peddlers.

Vaccinating against misinformation

Australia’s top scientists urge Australians to continue to consult reputable sources of evidence-based information about COVID-19 vaccines.

China’s COVID origins cover-up

The Chinese Communist Party continues to resist attempts to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and persecute citizens who told the truth about it, while pushing falsehoods through its worldwide media machine.

Why it’s so hard to fight online misinformation

Before sharing something, think carefully about where it came from. Verify the source and its evidence, double-check with independent other sources, and report suspicious content to the platform directly. Now, more than ever, we need information we can trust.

The virus of misinformation

Chinese and Russian propaganda which skews the Coronavirus outbreak against the West is being shared and spread by Western conspiracy theorists and threatens to undermine the fight against the disease, as well as rewrite its origins to turn fact into fiction.