Lisa-Maria Neudert

Research

Current projects

• Computational Propaganda

  Participants: Professor Philip Howard, Dr Vidya Narayanan, Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou, Lisa-Maria Neudert, Samantha Bradshaw

  This project will focus on how bots, algorithms and other forms of automation are used by political actors in countries around the world.

• Political Communication, AI and Data Diversity in the US

  Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Professor Philip N. Howard, Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou, Lisa-Maria Neudert, Dr Vidya Narayanan

  This project investigates contemporary trends in political communication, political polarization, artificial intelligence, and data diversity in the United States.

• Strengthening Digital Democracy

  Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Professor Philip N. Howard, Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou, Lisa-Maria Neudert, Dr Vidya Narayanan

  This programme supports research into the use of computational propaganda in developing democracies, our management of strategic relations with industry, government and civil society stakeholders, and capacity transfer to civil society groups.

News

• New Commission to Address AI and Good Governance in Public Policy

  28 July 2020

  A new commission has been formed by Oxford University to advise world leaders on effective ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning in public administration and governance.

• Oxford experts launch new online tool to help fight disinformation

  10 December 2019

  Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, have launched ‘The ComProp Navigator’, a new online resource guide which aims to help civil society groups better understand and respond to the problem of disinformation.

• Junk news declines on Twitter, but Facebook users still respond to disinformation

  9 December 2019

  Less than two percent of news sources shared on Twitter ahead of the 2019 UK General Election defined as ‘junk news’, says new analysis from Oxford researchers.

• Collective action needed now to tackle spread of disinformation in public life, finds new report

  16 October 2019

  A new report from the Oxford Technology and Elections Commission (OxTEC), convened by the Oxford Internet Institute, calls for coordinated action by the public and private sector to address and redress problems around disinformation in public life today.

• Self-regulation of social media platforms failing to curb disinformation, says new report

  11 October 2019

  A new report from the Oxford Technology and Elections Commission (OxTEC) has found many of the self-regulatory measures taken by social media platforms have failed to prevent the spread of disinformation.

• Action needed to restore trust in political campaigning, says new report

  9 October 2019

  A new report from the Oxford Technology and Elections Commission (OxTEC) calls for changes to the current rules around digital political campaigning, to restore public trust in campaigns and elections more broadly.

• Junk news dominating coverage of US midterms on social media, new research finds

  1 November 2018

  25% of content shared around US midterms is junk news, despite efforts by the platforms to curb the problem

• Brazil elections ‘not at risk’ from junk news on Twitter, new research finds

  5 October 2018

  Researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford conclude only 1.2% of Twitter content connected to the elections is junk news

Press

• Disinformation for profit: How a Florida ‘dealmaker’ turns conservative outrage into cash

  11 August 2020 The Washington Post

  
  

  A new study by Aletha illuminates the financial motives behind the spread of hyperpartisan, low-quality news revealing how merchants of misinformation are exploiting techniques of data collection.

• Oxford University launches commission on AI in the public sector

  28 July 2020 The New Statesman

  
  

  Today, the Oxford Internet Institute is launching a new commission on AI and good governance which will examine artificial intelligence in the public sector.

• AI can battle coronavirus, but privacy shouldn’t be a casualty

  26 May 2020 Tech Crunch

  
  

  Many governments are turning to AI tools to both advance the medical research and manage public health, now and in the long term. These technologies are certainly promising, but they must be implemented in ways that do not undermine human rights.

• Trump lashes out with distractions and disinformation

  18 May 2020 Los Angeles Times

  
  

  President Trump has accelerated his attacks as he runs for reelection, escalating his spread of disinformation about perceived enemies and his administration’s record during the COVID-19 crisis.

• How did 5G conspiracy theorists become arsonists?

  7 April 2020 The New Statesman

  
  

  The intensifying global pandemic has brought about a new conspiracy crossover genre blending 5G and COVID-19 fears.

• Coronavirus conspiracies go viral on Whatsapp as crisis deepens

  19 March 2020 Reuters

  
  

  The coronavirus crisis has been accompanied by what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called an “infodemic” of misinformation.

• Tech Tent: Was it a Facebook election?

  13 December 2019 BBC News

  
  

  It was an election in which tens of thousands of targeted adverts from all sorts of organisations reached voters via social media.

• Efforts to prevent foreign manipulation of UK election flounder

  10 December 2019 Financial Times

  
  

  Authorities are ill-equipped to deal with interference under current rules, warn experts.

• In U.K. Vote, Online Disinformation Is the New Normal

  10 December 2019 New York Times

  
  

  Foreign meddling was once the most feared source of online deception before critical elections. Now, some candidates themselves are turning to such manipulative tactics.

• Labour told to ‘come clean’ about how it obtained leaked government documents after report links them to Russia

  3 December 2019 The Telegraph

  
  

  Labour has been told to “come clean” over whether it has helped to spread Russian “disinformation” during the general election campaign.

• UK vulnerable to malicious meddling in election, warns study

  16 October 2019 The Guardian

  
  

  Britain needs to take concerted action to reduce the risk of malicious actors in the UK and abroad from contaminating the results of a looming general election, according to a new study that warns of the risks of public “abuse and deception”.

• Fight fake news by tracking political parties’ social media, says Oxford study

  11 October 2019 Sky News

  
  

  The election watchdog is being encouraged to adopt new rules to curb the spread of disinformation.

• Fake news network vs bots: the online war around Khashoggi killing

  1 November 2018 Reuters

  
  

  Fake news surrounding the murder of journalist Khashoggi. Comment by Lisa-Maria Neudert.

• Right-wing sites swamp Sweden with ‘junk news’ in tight election race

  6 September 2018 Reuters

  
  

  One in three news articles shared online about the upcoming Swedish election come from websites publishing deliberately misleading information, most with a right-wing focus on immigration and Islam, Oxford University researchers say.

• Future elections may be swayed by intelligent, weaponized chatbots

  22 August 2018 MIT Technology Review

  
  

  The AI advances that brought you Alexa are teaching propaganda how to talk.

• Russian disinformation distorts American and European democracy

  5 March 2018 The Economist

  
  

  The Mueller indictment reveals some of the Kremlin’s tactics

• Twitter boss seeks help with online abuse

  2 March 2018 BBC News

  
  

  Twitter has asked for help in devising a "health check" to measure its contribution to public conversation.

• Russian Tumblr trolls pose as black activists, says Buzzfeed

  8 February 2018 BBC News

  
  

  Lisa-Maria Neudert, a researcher with the Computational Propaganda Project at the Oxford Internet Institute, said that there were "a lot of parallels" between the trolls' strategy on Tumblr and other social media sites.

• Facebook to push local news to curb ‘fake news’

  31 January 2018 Al Jazeera

  
  

  Lisa-Maria Neudert speaks to Al Jazeera on changes to Facebook's newsfeed.

• Information in a world of misinformation – real and fake news in the digital age

  29 January 2018 CMS

  
  

  Lisa-Maria Neudert takes part in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

• ‘Fixing’ Facebook?

  16 January 2018 BBC Business Daily

  
  

  Facebook is changing its news feed algorithms, but will it make engagement on the site more 'meaningful'? We hear how businesses and publishers will be affected from Lisa-Maria Neudert, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute.

Integrity Statement

I conduct my research in line with the University's academic integrity code of practice.