Marcel is a doctoral candidate in Social Data Science and Researcher at the Computational Propaganda Project. His research is located at the intersection of political science, statistics and computer science, with a focus on elections and disinformation.
Marcel Schliebs
DPhil Student
Profile
Marcel Schliebs is a student on the DPhil in Social Data Science, and was previously a student on the MSc in Social Data Science.
Marcel is a Political Data Scientist and DPhil candidate at the OII. His research is located at the intersection between the social sciences, statistics, and computer science, and he develops novel data-driven methodology for studying a variety of phenomenons including voting behaviour, disinformation, digital text forensics, and AI in warfare. Besides his academic research, he has worked for the German Foreign Office, the French National Election Study, as well as NATO’s Arms Control, Disarmament, and Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-Proliferation Centre. One of his greatest passions is the teaching methodology, and he has so far instructed about 15 tutorials and courses in statistics, mathematics, econometrics, and data science.
Recent Publications:
Marcel Schliebs, Hannah Bailey, Jonathan Bright, Philip N. Howard. “China’s Public Diplomacy Operations: Understanding engagement and inauthentic amplification of PRC diplomats on Facebook and Twitter.” Working Paper 2021.1. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy and Technology, Oxford University, 2021. https://demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk/china-public-diplomacy-report
Marcel Schliebs, Hannah Bailey, Jonathan Bright, Philip N. Howard. ” China’s Inauthentic UK Twitter Diplomacy: A Coordinated Network Amplifying PRC Diplomats.” Working Paper 2021.2. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy and Technology, Oxford University, 2021. https://demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk/china-public-diplomacy-casestudy-uk
Marcel Schliebs. “The COVID-19 ‘Infodemic'”. Internationale Politik, 02/2021, German Council on Foreign Relations, 2020. https://internationalepolitik.de/system/files/article_pdfs/IPS-02-2021_Cov19_Schliebs.pdf
Profile Foto: Lena Reiner
Research
Past projects
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Alternative News Networks – Understanding the spread and influence of disinformation, propaganda, and divisive political news content in the UK online information ecosystem
Participants: Dr Jonathan Bright, Professor Philip Howard, Dr Scott Hale, Hannah Bailey, Mona Elswah, Megha Mishra, Dr Vidya Narayanan, Marcel Schliebs, Christian Schwieter, Katarina Rebello, Ali Arsalan Pasha Siddiqui, Karolina Werens, Alexandra Pavliuc, Anna George
This project seeks to understand the health of the UK online information ecosystem, including tracking the spread of divisive and misleading content.
Featured
- (2021) "China's Public Diplomacy Operations: Understanding Engagement and Inauthentic Amplification of PRC Diplomats on Facebook and Twitter", DemTech Working PaperDemTech Working Paper. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy and Technology, Oxford University.
Journal articles
- (2020) "The COVID-19 "Infodemic"", Internationale Politik. 02-2021 46-51.
Working papers
- (2021) "China’s Inauthentic UK Twitter Diplomacy: A Coordinated Network Amplifying PRC Diplomats", DemTech Working PaperDemTech Working Paper. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy and Technology, Oxford University.
- (2021) "China's Public Diplomacy Operations: Understanding Engagement and Inauthentic Amplification of PRC Diplomats on Facebook and Twitter", DemTech Working PaperDemTech Working Paper. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy and Technology, Oxford University.
News
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New study finds coordinated amplification network promoting tweets by China’s diplomats in the UK
11 May 2021
A new study by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford uncovers a coordinated amplification network promoting the Twitter accounts of PRC diplomats based in the United Kingdom.
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New study finds Chinese actors using social media networks to influence foreign public opinion
11 May 2021
A new study by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford uncovers a coordinated amplification network promoting the Twitter accounts of PRC diplomats based in the United Kingdom.
Press
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China-linked disinformation campaign blames Covid on Maine lobsters
22 October 2021 The Independent
A disinformation researcher has uncovered a network of accounts making the claim that Covid-19 could have been imported to China from the United States through a batch of Maine lobsters shipped to a seafood market in Wuhan in November 2019.
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Twitter accounts tied to China lied that COVID came from Maine lobsters
22 October 2021 USA Today
Twitter accounts linked to China were discovered spreading misinformation about the origins of COVID-19, such as lies that the virus came from a shipment of Maine lobsters to Wuhan.
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Claws out for China over attempt to blame Covid pandemic on US lobsters
22 October 2021 Telegraph
Propaganda campaign aimed at shifting blame was started by a Chinese diplomat and was uncovered by a disinformation researcher at Oxford
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China-linked disinformation campaign blames Covid on Maine lobsters
21 October 2021 NBC News
The University of Oxford provided NBC News with research on pro-China social media accounts and a new thread of propaganda related to the origins of the pandemic.
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China-linked campaign pushes unfounded claim tying Maine lobster to COVID: report
20 October 2021 The Hill
Researchers have spotted an unusual Chinese campaign to suggest that Maine lobsters may have been the source of COVID-19.
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China invents Swiss expert for Wuhan lab propaganda
12 August 2021 The Times
China’s state media have been accused of spreading fake news and attempting to discredit the World Health Organisation after quoting a Swiss biologist who does not appear to exist.
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Public diplomacy on social media – the China way
17 May 2021 Critical Line podcast
Social media has provided state actors with a tool to engage in conflict that that takes the form of digital rhetoric
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Mystery surrounds huge rise in Huawei executives’ social media followings
29 January 2021 The Financial Times
Twitter takes action after some of Chinese company’s employees in Europe gain outsized audiences.
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Beijing funds British YouTubers to further its propaganda war
9 January 2021 The Times
The Chinese government is funding British YouTube stars to produce pro-China propaganda videos, an investigation by The Times can reveal.
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#7: The Rise of Computational Propaganda with Marcel Schliebs
6 December 2020 The ACIT Science Podcast
In this episode of the ACIT Science Podcast, they discuss the influence of foreign actors in the 2016 and 2020 elections in the US and the spread of misinformation around the current Covid crisis.
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ZEIT Election Livestream: Foreign and domestic disinformation during the 2020 US presidential election
3 November 2020 Die ZEIT
Marcel Schliebs explains how foreign and domestic disinformation have shaped the 2020 election campaign. He warns about President Trump not accepting the outcome, as well as misinformation about the legitimacy of the result spreading on social media.
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Trump and Biden love social media – but can they decide an election?
30 October 2020 Neue Zürcher Zeitung
In their fight for the White House, both candidates rely on social media – and extensively micro-target specific groups of voters. The effectiveness of this method is contested, however.
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TikTok battles to stay ‘apolitical’ ahead of US election
22 October 2020 The Financial Times
TikTok, the short-video app known for hosting viral dance challenges and comedy skits, has said it aspires to be an “uplifting and welcoming app environment” for millions of young users.
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How Democracy is Hacked
4 October 2020 Deutschlandfunk
Can algorithms, internet trolls and malware endanger democracy? In the social networks, false reports, half-truths and interpretations circulate across all borders.