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Vienna Science and Technology Fund

About the project

In November 2021, we started the project Emotional Misinformation – The Interplay of Emotion and Misinformation Spreading on Social Media (EMOMIS). It is funded with 400.000 Euros by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) until February 2025. What we do in 5 bullet points:

  • We have investigated how emotional state influences discernment between true and false news, and which emotions such news trigger, and what their function in the processing of misinformation is.
  • We investigate the large-scale interplay of emotions around news of different trustworthiness on Twitter from 2020 to 2023.
  • We evaluate ways of measuring misinformation in social media data.
  • We develop novel interventions that consider the social identities our believes and emotions around them are linked to.
  • We simulate the dynamics of emotions around news, and the potential effect of algorithmic interventions on misinformation spreading using Agent Based Modelling.

For more:

  • Summary of project results in November 2024 (Recording
  • Slides of our first online study on how emotions and fake news recognition are related.
  • Slides of a talk at the Conference on Intelligent Machines, Emotions and the Planet
  • Video of a panel discussion, including a brief introduction to EMOMIS, starting at at 29 minutes into the video.
  • Eine Übersicht zu unserem Projekt auf deutsch, mit vielen anderen spannenden Forschungsergebnissen gibt es hier.

Publications

Scientific journal articles

  1. Lühring, J., Metzler, H., Lazzaroni, R., Shetty, A., & Lasser, J. (2025). Best practices for source-based research on misinformation and news trustworthiness using NewsGuard. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 5. https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2025.003
  2. Lühring, J.*, Shetty, A.*, Koschmieder, C., Garcia, D., Waldherr, A., & Metzler, H. (2024). Emotions in misinformation studies: Distinguishing affective state from emotional response and misinformation recognition from acceptance. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 9(1), 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-024-00607-0. Data, Code, Pre-registration & SI.
  3. Metzler, H., & Garcia, D. (2023). Social drivers and algorithmic mechanisms on digital media. Perspectives on Psychological Science 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231185057.

For the general public

  1. Metzler, H. (22.08.2024). Mythos Fehlinformation: Warum soziale Medien weniger gefährlich sind, als wir denken, Spektrum der Wissenschaft online.
  2. Metzler, H. (26.08.2024). Mythos Fehlinformation: Warum soziale Medien weniger gefährlich sind, als wir denken, Spektrum - Die Woche 35/2024.
  3. Metzler, H. (2023). Emotions and group dynamics around misinformation on social media, Chapter 4, Synthesis Report on Climate misinformation in a climate of misinformation, Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Public talks, videos, podcasts, blogposts & more

  1. Metzler, H. (13.11.2024) The Social Dynamics around Misinformation Spreading on Social Media, Lecture Series: Foundation and Methods of Digital Humanism, BIG Lecture room, University of Vienna.
  2. Metzler, H. (24.10.2024) Radikale Hoffnung - wie überwinden wir die Polarisierung?, Panel discussion with Rudi Anschober & Ingrid Brodnig, IDEALE Konferenz, Vienna.
  3. Luehring, J. (07.10.2024). Misinformation und Fake News in den sozialen Medien: Einblicke in die interdisziplinäre Forschungslage., VHS Urania Schwerpunkt Demokratie.
  4. Metzler, H. (23.10.2024) Polarisierung durch Algorithmen? Demokratie und Meinungsbildung im digitalen Zeitalter – Mythen auf dem Prüfstand, Keynote speech & Panel at the Digital Days 2024, Technical Museum, Vienna.
  5. Metzler H. (29.05.2024) ORF 1 documentary Dok 1: “Jeder gegen Jeden? Österreich rastet aus” [“Everyone against Everyone: Austria goes berserk”]
  6. Metzler, H. (06.05.2024). Social Media sind (k)ein Klimakiller. Webinar bei klimaaktiv (Initiative des Bundesministeriums für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie), Recording. Folien.
  7. Breit, L. & Metzler, H. (23.05.2024) Wieso glauben Menschen Falschnachrichten übers Klima?, DerStandard, Edition Zukunft.
  8. Metzler, H. (03.05.2024). Wahrheit gegen Lüge: Die Psychologie hinter Fake News. DerStandard Podcast Edition Zukunft Klimafragen.
  9. Metzler, H. (12.03.2024). Der EU Digital Services Act: Chancen für den Forschungsstandort Wien, panelist on the relevance of the DSA for research, event organized by MA23 and WWTF, at waff Vienna.
  10. Arndt, A., Lühring, J. & Waldherr, A. (17.11.2023). Forschungsprojekte am Institut: EMOMIS – Fehlinformationen und Emotionen auf Social Media, Blog post, University of Vienna.
  11. Metzler, H. (27.09.2023). Science communication video on our research and its relevance in the Digital Humanism series, Complexity Science Hub Vienna.
  12. Metzler, H. (20.04.2022).Digital Humanism - How to Put Humans at the Center of Emerging Tech, Panel discussion, Wilson Center. Video including a brief introduction to the Emotion & Misinformation project (at 29 minutes).
  13. Metzler, H.(18.11.2021). Emotional Misinformation: The interplay of emotions and misinformation spreading on social media, Vienna Art Week, Session on „Regaining Control. Der Mensch im Zentrum der technologischen Entwicklung“. Slides.

Conference and seminar talks

  1. Lühring, J. (04.09.2024) Effects of Misinformation on Online Dicussions, Symposium MISDOOM 2024, Münster, Germany.
  2. Shetty, A. (04.09.2024) Emotional Dynamics and Algorithmic Interventions: Curbing Misinformation Among Political Elites on Twitter, Symposium MISDOOM 2024, Münster, Germany.
  3. Luehring, J. (05.07.2024). Emotional misinformation diffusion: Mapping socio-affective dynamics in the digital information ecosystem. Invited talk at the Emotional Speech Workshop, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
  4. Lühring, J. (14.05.2024) Misinformation in den sozialen Medien, guest lecture in “Theories and Practices of Social Media Communication”, University of Vienna.
  5. Shetty, A. (16.05.2024) Emotional Dynamics and Algorithmic Interventions: Curbing Misinformation Among Political Elites on Twitter, University of Konstanz.
  6. Lühring, J. (04.05.2024) Effects of source trustworthiness on online discussions, 2024 COMPTEXT Meeting, 2024 COMPTEXT Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Internships

  • March-July 2024: Gabija Aurylaite from University of Vienna runs a large experiment with our social identity intervention.
  • 2023: Esther Simmendinger, Master thesis with David Garcia at University of Konstanz
  • 2023: Nele Hapig, Master thesis with David Garcia at University of Konstanz
  • June-August 2023: Ruggero Lazzaroni from RWTH Aachen did a summer research internship at the CSH, funded by an Erasmus scholraship, to investigate the validity of the NewsGuard news reliability ratings
  • Since September 2023: Adam Urosevic joined us for an internship with Jula Lühring on reconstructing the Austrian Twitter network around political news, in relation to the reliability of news shared.