abstract: The pervasive use of social media gives it a crucial role in helping the public perceive reliable information. Meanwhile, the openness and timeliness of social networking sites also allow for the rapid creation and dissemination of misinformation. It becomes increasingly difficult for online users to find accurate and trustworthy information. As witnessed in recent incidents of misinformation, it escalates quickly and can impact social media users with undesirable consequences and wreak havoc instantaneously. Different from some existing research in psychology and social sciences about misinformation, social media platforms pose unprecedented challenges for misinformation detection. First, intentional spreaders of misinformation will actively disguise themselves. Second, content of misinformation may be manipulated to avoid being detected, while abundant contextual information may play a vital role in detecting it. Third, not only accuracy, earliness of a detection method is also important in containing misinformation from being viral. Fourth, social media platforms have been used as a fundamental data source for various disciplines, and these research may have been conducted in the presence of misinformation. To tackle the challenges, we focus on developing machine learning algorithms that are robust to adversarial manipulation and data scarcity. The main objective of this dissertation is to provide a systematic study of misinformation detection in social media. To tackle the challenges of adversarial attacks, I propose adaptive detection algorithms to deal with the active manipulations of misinformation spreaders via content and networks. To facilitate content-based approaches, I analyze the contextual data of misinformation and propose to incorporate the specific contextual patterns of misinformation into a principled detection framework. Considering its rapidly growing nature, I study how misinformation can be detected at an early stage. In particular, I focus on the challenge of data scarcity and propose a novel framework to enable historical data to be utilized for emerging incidents that are seemingly irrelevant. With misinformation being viral, applications that rely on social media data face the challenge of corrupted data. To this end, I present robust statistical relational learning and personalization algorithms to minimize the negative effect of misinformation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2019

The aim of this research is to determine the extent to which the framing of information can reduce the persistence of misinformation. The overall research consists of two experiments of which the first has been conducted and is described in this paper. It investigates the strength of differently framed statements and the degree to which the regulatory focus fit the participants experienced influenced their preference for certain statements. 52 participants have completed the survey in which they were presented several statements containing the same facts but framed differently based on the principles of valence message framing. The research found the positive goal frame, positive valence frame and the company s original statement to be most effective. These statements will form the basis for the second experiment which aims to combine the different frames in such a manner that the continued influence effect will be reduced.

Detection of insider threats is vital within cybersecurity. Techniques for detection include honeytokens, which most often are resources that, through deception, seek to expose intruders. One kind of insider that is detectable via honeytokens is the masquerader. This project proposes implementing a masquerader detection technique where honeytokens are placed within users’ filesystems in such a way that they also provide Two Factor Authentication(2fa) functionality. If a user’s second factor – the honeytoken –is not accessed within a specified timeframe after login, this indicates a potential intrusion, and only a “fake” filesystem will remain available. An alert is also triggered. The intention is to deter insiders from masquerading since they are aware that they must access a uniquely located honeytokena fter logging in to the legitimate user’s account. The technique was evaluated via user-testing that included interviews, a checklist with requirements for feasibility, and a cyber-security expert’s opinion on the technique’s feasibility. The main question evaluated during the project was the feasibility of adding the proposed technique to a computer system’s protective capabilities. The results of the project indicated that the proposed technique is feasible. The project’s results were also compared with the results of prior related research. The project’s scope was limited to a Linux system accessed via SSH into a Bash terminal(non-GUI-compatible), and the implemented technique was also evaluated within such an environment.

Spurred by the rapid influence of social media in the news industry, an increased number of TV news stations have started assigning dedicated social media journalists (SMJ) in newsrooms to monitor, gather, verify, share news, and engage with audiences on the streams of social media. Consequently, drawing on the diffusion of innovation theory, the present study probes into TV journalists’ perceptions of the implications of the role of this new type of TV professionals in the identity and profession of journalism, the quality of news pertaining to the verification of misinformation, and the news audiences’ attractions and viewership by capitalizing on audience engagement affordances. Moreover, based on an online survey delivered primarily via LinkedIn to a broad spectrum of TV journalists consisting of broadcast, website, and social media journalists in three varied regions of the world—the U.S, Western Europe, and the Middle East—the study demonstrates some concerns about the effects on the code of ethics of journalism. However, most of the surveyed journalists believed that the role of social media journalists SMJ is consistent with the general principles tethered to the professional identity of journalists. Additionally, the study underlines the weight of this role to verify information gleaned from social media before being used in TV news and asserts the significance of engaging with TV audiences to increase the news viewership and enhance their attractions. Accordingly, the study argues that espousing the role of SMJ has become an inevitable fashion in social media-embedded newsrooms. However, the research documents that many TV news channels have broadcast misinformation spread on social media. Furthermore, it unfolds that far less attention has been paid in many TV newsrooms to the potentially positive and beneficial utility of the role of SMJ concerning audience engagement. It signals that a lack of time, tools, strategy, and training causes the dilution of the role quality of SMJ, thereby suggesting that news channels can aggressively tap into this role if these obstacles are conquered. Finally, since research on this concern is still scant at its initial stage, the study shows some venues for future studies in this direction.

We live in a world driven by fast technologies. The same technologies that make information more accessible have created a dilemma by which the same conduits have also enabled access to mass amounts of counter-factual information. It is the assertion of this thesis project that counter- factual information poses a growing risk to the security and stability in liberal democratic societies and warrants a proportional response. The body of work which follows will explore what I have characterized as an information crisis. The information crisis, so presented, is a multi-faceted issue. It's constituent causes and outcomes concern both scholars of security studies and sociology. To address breadth of scope and immediacy of the crisis, the conceptual framework purposed in this project offers an interface between actor-network theory and security studies (ANT-security interface). Actor-network theory is a material-semiotic approach that preferences engagement with human and technological actants as an assemblage. Or, in other words, a network of relationships. The first chapter will introduce the dimensions of the information crisis, providing relevant examples of how counter-factual information embodies a human, and societal security issue. It will delineate important concepts such as misinformation, and...

This thesis is a source of information and a practical guide for teachers' basic orientation in fake news issue. It presents various forms and examples of misinformation in the historical and political context. The history of hoaxes includes several centuries. Fake news accompany people from the invention of book printing to the present. For better understanding I will introduce them to teachers and students for their clear imagination of the situations in which mankind has encountered due to fake news from the past up to now. Knowledge or at least minimal awareness about the functioning of various information sources and the way how the fake news can influence users and customers help teachers to understand this problem and modern information sources as well. Then they can explain it to their students. Specific cases related to the environment of mystification of the public will help teachers to realize that information from the media should not be only blindly received and disseminated, but subjected to critical thinking about its credibility. First the educators should to be able to understand how to recognize false messages, what mechanisms does disinformation influence public opinion and where. Then they could pass this knowledge to their students. Findings from the overt non-standardised...

The aim of this study is to examine perceptions among civics teachersactive in upper primary and secondary schools in Sweden regardingdisinformation. In particular, the study focuses on ways in which disinformation inthe classroom interacts with media literacy as well as deliberative democraticideals. The study design is based in qualitative research and has been conductedthrough a series of interviews with said teachers, analyzed mainly through thetheory of deliberative democracy with focus also on media literacy. In terms ofresults, perceptions among teachers on the subject of disinformation generally linesup with established research in the fields of disinformation, deliberativedemocracy and media literacy. In particular, teachers of both primary andsecondary school in my sample calls for increased efforts when it comes to medialiteracy as the modern digital media landscape calls for extensive knowledge andskill in discerning credible sources from fake news. / <p>21-01-20</p>

Misinformation remains pervasive in digital platforms, shaping how individuals receive news online. Prior work suggests that credibility perceptions of misinformation can differ based on the modality of the misinformation message. Informed by the MAIN model, this quantitative study conducted two separate 2 (Modality: video or text) x 2 (Social endorsement cues: high vs. low) between-subject experiments to assess the influence of message modality and social endorsement cues on misinformation credibility judgments. The experiments reviewed two different topics of misinformation: artificial intelligence technology malfunction (N = 296) and a cure for cancer (N = 306). Results for Study 1 on artificial intelligent technology malfunction misinformation indicated that participants who viewed the video modality judged a higher perception of source expertise and message credibility. The results of Study 2 suggested that the text presentation of health misinformation prompted higher message elaboration relative to the video conditions. Findings suggest that modality does influence how people judge misinformation messages depending on the subject matter. In addition, source credibility influences how people judge message credibility. The paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical implications and practical applications.

Distorted thinking about food is common in both clinical and nonclinical populations from dieters to diabetics and eating disorder patients. This type of thinking is triggered by exposure to dieting culture (including related social media), familial dieting, and internalization of the thin ideal, among other factors. The consequences of distorted thinking about food include disordered eating, weight management problems, body dissatisfaction and many others. Despite these findings, distorted thinking about food in nonclinical samples remains poorly understood. Thus, the current research sought to investigate distorted thinking about food within a broad theoretical model that includes societal antecedents important to understanding the nature of this construct in the general population. This model, which is based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991), was investigated in two studies. The first study is a psychometric validation study of a tool designed to measure distorted thinking about food, the Calorie Catastrophizing Scale (CCS; Monaghan & Santor, 2017) as well as the tool designed to measure dietary misinformation, the Dietary Misinformation Questionnaire (DMQ; Monaghan & Santor, 2017). Results lend support for defining and measuring distorted thinking about food as a distinct construct in nonclinical individuals and suggest that dietary misinformation is an important antecedent to this type of thinking and unhealthy eating behaviours. The second study is a randomized controlled trial of a CBT- and TPB-based workshop intervention aimed at reducing these antecedents. Results show that this intervention led to a significant reduction in distorted thinking about food, dietary misinformation, and other important clinical variables such as symptoms of eating pathology. These findings have a number of important implications for how subclinical eating problems are conceptualized, measured, and prevented.

This study examines the relationship between media use and support/hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between social media and traditional media use and support/hesitancy attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. We want to analyse how social and traditional media use as a news source is related to support and hesitancy attitudes. Furthermore, we want to see if media use as a news source has any relation to the trade-off attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine. We have found a research gap in the COVID-19 pandemic and connection between social and traditional media use as a news source and support, hesitancy, and trade-off attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. RQ 1: What is the relationship between social media use as a news source and support/hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine? RQ 2: What is the relationship between traditional media use as a news source and support/hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine? The method of this study is a quantitative survey regarding media use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and support, hesitancy, and trade-off attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. The population size is 201 Swedish citizens between the ages of 18-65. The sample was collected through a snowball sample. The study provides a theoretical framework consisting of crisis communication, misinformation, echo chambers, public opinion, and social amplification of risk. Furthermore, the study presents previous research which is similar to the study. The previous research presents some key findings such as social media use tends to increase during crises, how echo chambers can be increased by the feeling of fear, and research on attitudes towards vaccines. Previous research also presents how misinformation is being spread on social media and how the anti-vaccination movement takes advantage of the postmodern health paradigm which makes people turn to the internet with their medical problems. The study concludes that in some instances traditional media can have a positive relation to supportive attitudes and social media connects to some of the hesitant opinions towards COVID-19. / Denna studie undersöker förhållandet mellan medieanvändning och förespråkande/tveksamhet mot COVID-19-vaccinet. Syftet med denna studie är att analysera förhållandet mellan sociala medier och traditionell medieanvändning och attityder till förespråkande/tveksamhet gentemot COVID-19-vaccinet. Vi vill analysera hur de sociala och traditionella medierna som nyhetskälla är relaterade till förespråkande och tveksamhet. Vidare vill vi se om medieanvändning som nyhetskälla har något samband med avvägningsinställningen till COVID-19. Vi har hittat ett forsknings hål i COVID-19-pandemin och sambandet mellan social och traditionell medieanvändning som nyhetskälla och förespråkande, tveksamhet och avvägningsattityder till COVID-19-vaccinet. RQ 1: Vad är förhållandet mellan användning av sociala medier som nyhetskälla och förespråkande/tveksamhet mot COVID-19-vaccinet? RQ 2: Vad är förhållandet mellan traditionell medieanvändning som nyhetskälla och förespråkande/tveksamhet mot COVID-19-vaccinet? Metoden för denna studie är en kvantitativ undersökning om medieanvändning före och under COVID-19-pandemin och förespråkande, tveksamhet och avvägning av attityder till COVID-19-vaccinet. Befolkningsstorleken är 201 svenska medborgare i åldrarna 18-65. Urvalet samlades in genom ett snowball sample. Studien har ett teoretiskt ramverk som består av kriskommunikation, misinformation, ekokammare, attityder och social förstärkning av risk. Dessutom presenterar studien tidigare forskning som liknar studien. Den tidigare forskningen presenterar några viktiga resultat, såsom användningen av sociala medier tenderar att öka under kriser, hur ekokammare kan ökas av känslan av rädsla och forskning om attityder till vacciner. Tidigare forskning presenterar också hur misinformation sprids på sociala medier och hur antivaccinationsrörelsen utnyttjar det postmodern health paradigm som får människor att vända sig till internet med sina medicinska problem. Studien drar slutsatsen att traditionella medier i vissa fall kan ha en positiv relation till stödjande attityder och att sociala medier ansluter till några av de tveksamma åsikterna mot COVID-19.