Disproving Disinformation

A big undertaking to combat disinformation is getting funding from the prestigious Knight Foundation.

Associate professors Yuhong Liu and Yi Fang in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Subbu Vincent, the director of journalism and media ethics at Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, have received $137,500 from the Knight Foundation, a nonprofit created by brothers John S. and James L. Knight to provide grants for research in democracy, journalism, communities, and the arts.

The funds will support their project “Building a Live Chinese Language News Discussion Repository to Track and Combat Active Disinformation Campaigns.” The project aims to build a repository of actors, posts, categories, and behavioral patterns of disinformation operations targeting Chinese Americans around health and election issues through news discussion platforms.

The foundation awarded more than $1.2 million total to nine universities and nonprofits developing projects that address disinformation campaigns specifically targeting people of color.