DMI Webinar "Investigating Social Dynamics in the Digital Era: A Data-driven Approach"

“Investigating Social Dynamics in the Digital Era: A Data-driven Approach”

15 March 2021, 12:30-13:30 CET

ABSTRACT: 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenge of conveying and communicating complexity and uncertainty to the public, also given the increasing central role of the Internet and social media. Designed to maximise users' presence on the platform and to deliver targeted advertising, social media transformed the information landscape and have rapidly become the main information sources for many of their users. Information spreads faster and farther online, in a flow-through system where users have immediate access to unlimited content. This may facilitate the proliferation of mis- and dis-information, generating chaos, and limiting access to correct information. In this talk, I will provide an overview of how online social dynamics and behavioural patterns can be investigated in a quantitative and interdisciplinary way. Moreover, I will discuss how data-driven insights can be used to design tailored policy recommendations.

SPEAKER: 

Fabiana Zollo, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science (Tenure-track) at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Her research investigates information spreading, social dynamics, and the emergence of collective narratives on online social media. She is Principal Investigator for Ca’ Foscari of EU H2020 project QUEST on quality and effectiveness of science communication, and of EU REC project IMSyPP on innovative systems for monitoring and preventing online hate speech. Since 2019, she is serving as an External Expert to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In 2020, she joined the Task Force “Data Science” at AGCOM, the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority. She is a member of the Working Group established by the Italian Presidency of Council to study the phenomenon of disinformation on COVID-19. Her research results have been widely covered by the media (among the others: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Bloomberg View, The Guardian, Phys.org) and disseminated internationally.

The talks will be held online. If you would like to participate, please fill this form.

For more information, write to dmi@unibocconi.it.