College of Social Sciences

About Us

In recent years, global information disorder—the pervasive spread of false and harmful information—has been recognised as a major challenge by national and international bodies, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the UK Government and the World Health Organization. Misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech are increasingly propagated by authoritarian governments, extremist political actors and profit-driven social media accounts. They undermine citizens’ deliberative capacities, destabilise democratic institutions and, as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, can be deadly. 

Addressing this global challenge requires interdisciplinary approaches. For example, psychology can offer insights into the cognitive processes that make people susceptible to misinformation. Philosophy, particularly epistemology, helps define what misinformation is and why it persuades, guiding the creation of educational tools. Politics offers frameworks for understanding the power structures behind misinformation. Sociology examines the social networks and conditions that drive its spread and appeal. The Information Integrity Research Network at the University of Glasgow brings together these perspectives to understand the forces sustaining misinformation and to develop strategies to counter it. 

Our Team

• Aykut Öztürk (Politics)

• Yvonne Skipper (Psychology)

• J. Adam Carter (Philosophy)

• Lluis de Nadal (Sociology and Cultural Studies)

What We Do

 Our network fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, develops researchers’ skills and supports impact-driven projects. 

• Workshops and events: We host online workshops and in-person events to explore key debates, research methods and collaborative opportunities with the aim of introducing misinformation research, examining interdisciplinary methods and helping researchers develop new projects. 

• Building research capacity: Our network equips researchers with the theoretical and methodological tools needed to analyse misinformation, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and supports the development of innovative research approaches. 

• Engaging with leading researchers: We invite scholars conducting major misinformation research projects to share their experiences and discuss new directions in the field.