
Research Initiative
Disinformation
The Shorenstein Center addresses the spread and impacts of misinformation, disinformation, and media manipulation through a range of research-based approaches. We study the causes of disinformation, how it spreads through online and offline channels, why people are susceptible to believing bad information, and successful strategies for mitigating its impact.
Disinformation is not a new phenomenon. For millennia, people have manipulated information and media to suit their needs and promote their own ideological or societal interests. What has changed in the past two decades is the speed at which bad information can spread, and the rootedness that it can take on in communities, both online and off. The Shorenstein Center’s disinformation research, led by Dr. Joan Donovan and the Technology and Social Change (TaSC) Project team, builds on the idea of a lifecycle of misinformation, which helps understand where these campaigns start, how they spread and gain traction, and how they can be stopped.
Related Shorenstein Center Projects

The Journalist’s Resource is a news publication aimed at bridging the gap between journalism and academia, with the goal of getting more high-quality research into the media stream.

The HKS Misinformation Review is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing multidisciplinary research on mis- and disinformation on a fast timeline, to get important new research into the hands of practitioners who need it.

The Public Interest Tech Lab
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The Behavioral Insights Group
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