About this Research Topic
Misinformation is an important topic and a phenomenon that plagues not only contemporary society but has been with us for ages. This call for research on misinformation and its many aspects aims to advance the investigation of contemporary issues of misinformation in different domains:
1. Domains that reference (natural) scientific knowledge, aka scientific facts. There exists a wide (though not necessarily global) consensus about the facts and the science behind:
Medical issues (e.g. efficiency of vaccination)
Biological issues (e.g. existence of two biological sexes and their functionality in sexual procreation)
Evolutionary issues (e.g. the denial of evolution of species including humans)
Geophysical issues (e.g. global warming and human causation)
2. Domains that reference historical events. These are usually contested by definition, because of the notorious difficulty of historical reconstruction. Examples may be Holocaust denial or the varying interpretations of the nuclear flattening of civil targets like Hiroshima and Nagasaki towards the end of WWII, etc.
3. Political communication: E.g. when an entity with vested interests tries to promote rigged or biased information about contemporary political events and issues. This may include attempted influence by a foreign country as well as attempted influence by institutions within a country with specific political or economic interests (e.g. military versus civil institutions, industry versus politics).
4. Conspiracy theories: e.g. staged moon landing, responsibility for 11 September 2001 events, etc.
We welcome theoretical and empirical work advancing our understanding of misinformation in a specific domain. Theoretical work might focus on defining misinformation, limiting its boundaries, or identifying promising research frameworks. Empirical work might focus on the effectiveness of intervention to counter misinformation, show the dynamics of how misinformation spreads, identify risk and protective factors of falling for misinformation, or assess the effectiveness of misinformation promoted by institutional or individual actors to infect the target population. Given the prevalence of internet-based media nowadays, we think that this way of communication deserves particular attention.
We recognize the interdisciplinary nature of the topic and welcome the submission of manuscripts from different disciplines. Tackling misinformation from a perspective aligned with social psychology, sociology, cognitive sciences, communication sciences, political science, historical science, and other disciplines will advance our understanding of the target phenomenon equally well.
1. Domains that reference (natural) scientific knowledge, aka scientific facts. There exists a wide (though not necessarily global) consensus about the facts and the science behind:
Medical issues (e.g. efficiency of vaccination)
Biological issues (e.g. existence of two biological sexes and their functionality in sexual procreation)
Evolutionary issues (e.g. the denial of evolution of species including humans)
Geophysical issues (e.g. global warming and human causation)
2. Domains that reference historical events. These are usually contested by definition, because of the notorious difficulty of historical reconstruction. Examples may be Holocaust denial or the varying interpretations of the nuclear flattening of civil targets like Hiroshima and Nagasaki towards the end of WWII, etc.
3. Political communication: E.g. when an entity with vested interests tries to promote rigged or biased information about contemporary political events and issues. This may include attempted influence by a foreign country as well as attempted influence by institutions within a country with specific political or economic interests (e.g. military versus civil institutions, industry versus politics).
4. Conspiracy theories: e.g. staged moon landing, responsibility for 11 September 2001 events, etc.
We welcome theoretical and empirical work advancing our understanding of misinformation in a specific domain. Theoretical work might focus on defining misinformation, limiting its boundaries, or identifying promising research frameworks. Empirical work might focus on the effectiveness of intervention to counter misinformation, show the dynamics of how misinformation spreads, identify risk and protective factors of falling for misinformation, or assess the effectiveness of misinformation promoted by institutional or individual actors to infect the target population. Given the prevalence of internet-based media nowadays, we think that this way of communication deserves particular attention.
We recognize the interdisciplinary nature of the topic and welcome the submission of manuscripts from different disciplines. Tackling misinformation from a perspective aligned with social psychology, sociology, cognitive sciences, communication sciences, political science, historical science, and other disciplines will advance our understanding of the target phenomenon equally well.
Keywords: misinformation
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
