FCRP - Dis/Information

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Memes and Their Role in the 2019 Romanian Presidential Elections: An Exploratory Analysis
(College of Communication and Public Relations of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, 2025) Stancea, Andreea; Călin, Iulia; Ciocîrlan, Cecilia
This article explores the influence of memes on political discourse and public opinion during the 2019 Romanian presidential elections. Focusing on memes related to candidates Klaus Iohannis and Viorica D & atilde;ncil & atilde;, the article highlights the dual role of memes: as entertainment and as tools for framing political narratives in a biased manner. Employing content analysis, the article offers a view over the types of memes that emerged during the 2019 Romanian presidential elections, emphasizing the representation of the two front-runner candidates: Klaus Iohannis and Viorica D & atilde;ncil & atilde;. Generally, memes of both candidates were negative in tone with Iohannis more likely to be framed in terms of his funny and humorous situations and D & atilde;ncil & atilde; in terms of her low intellectual qualities. The article calls for further exploration into the strategic use of memes in politics, aiming to grasp their impact on shaping public perceptions and narratives in the upcoming 2024 elections.
Electoral dynamics in the age of disinformation: Understanding Romanian voter support for nationalist populist parties in the 2024 elections
(SAGE Publications, 2025) Boțan, Mădălina; Ștefureac, Remus; Stancea, Andreea
This study looks at factors influencing voters' preference for nationalist populist parties in Romania that support closer ties with Russia. Using data from a national survey, we propose that factors like awareness of disinformation, social media use, trust in party leaders, and belief in conspiracy theories significantly affect voting choices. We test each of these factors with logistic regression analysis to see how much they contribute to predicting support for nationalist movements with pro-Russia stance.
Fighting disinformation through media literacy: From current practices to policy making in Europe
(Center for Research on the English-Speaking World (CREW), 2025) Frau-Meigs, Divina; Corbu, Nicoleta; Osuna-Acedo, Sara
The new media ecosystem has deeply transformed the way online disinformation spreads and multiplies in the last few years. Consistent efforts have been made at national and European levels to find efficient ways to fight disinformation and raise public awareness about the dangers associated with it. In this context, the current study gathers expert opinions about current practices and possible ways to intervene through public policies in fighting disinformation, with a focus on media literacy solutions. In European-funded project YouVerify, in-depth interviews were conducted with disinformation fighters, journalists, and policy makers (N=30) in three European countries (France, Romania, and Spain), to find solutions that could actively contribute to implementing public policy in this area. The main results show similarities and differences between the three countries, especially in projected future solutions. All respondents see the enhancement of current practices as mandatory in the future. Additionally, in France, interviewees see fact-checking, quality journalism, and media regulation as the main drivers of the fight against disinformation, while in Romania experts focus on research and education, and in Spain on education and awareness campaigns. Experts in all countries consider media literacy as key instrument of the future policies to fight disinformation.
Navigating the information environment about the Ukraine war
(SAGE Publications, 2025) Corbu, Nicoleta; Udrea, Georgiana; Buturoiu, Raluca; Negrea-Busuioc, Elena
The concern about misinformation in the public space has become more worrisome during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In this context, we investigate what make people correctly recognize accurate information and detect misinformation about the war at the beginning of the conflict in Romania, a bordering country. By means of a national survey (N = 1006) conducted in April-May 2022, we looked for predictors of people’s capacity of navigating the information environment about the conflict. Data was gathered via an online panel conducted by Kantar as part of a cross-country project implemented in 19 countries. Findings show that people are relatively good at discerning between correct and misleading statements about the war. Prior negative attitudes about the Ukraine invasion, the level of concern about the war, not having a conspiracy mindset, self-perceived media literacy, and the extent to which people believe fact-checks to be effective in fighting misinformation are all predictors of the accuracy of misinformation detection of the respondents. These results offer insights into how ideologically based/motivated misinformation could be countered in a war crisis context, in a country bordering the conflict.
Misinformation Detection in the Context of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Evidence From Original Survey Data Collected in 19 Democracies
(Oxford University Press, 2024) Gehle, Luisa; Hameleers, Michael; Tulin, Marina; De Vreese, Claes; Aalberg, Toril; Van Aelst, Peter; Cardenal, Ana S.; Corbu, Nicoleta; Van Erkel, Patrick
It can be difficult for citizens to discern factually accurate information from mis- and disinformation. Particularly in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the omnipresence of counterfactual narratives, propaganda, and partisan content may increase the likelihood that citizens select and accept mis -or disinformation. To assess citizens’ performance in discerning false statements from factually accurate information on the war, we utilized original survey data across 19 countries (N = 19,037) with soft quotas for age, education, and gender to approximate population characteristics. Our main findings indicate that people perform relatively well in discerning factually accurate information from false statements and that self-perceived media literacy and the need for cognition corresponds with better performance. Stronger pro-Russia views on the war correspond with a lower performance in misinformation detection, whereas anti-Russia attitudes are associated with better evaluations of the statements’ truthfulness. We find little cross-country variation in these patterns. As a key implication, we show that discernment between factually accurate information and mis- or disinformation is driven by both accuracy and partisan motivation and that these effects are similar across most different national contexts.
Why do Citizens Choose to Read Fact-Checks in the Context of the Russian War in Ukraine? The Role of Directional and Accuracy Motivations in Nineteen Democracies
(Sage, 2024) Tulin, Marina; Hameleers, Michael; De Vreese, Claes; Aalberg, Toril; Corbu, Nicoleta; Van Erkel, Patrick F. A.
The recent surge of false information accompanying the Russian invasion of Ukraine has re-emphasized the need for interventions to counteract disinformation. While fact-checking is a widely used intervention, we know little about citizen motivations to read fact-checks. We tested theoretical predictions related to accuracy-motivated goals (i.e., seeking to know the truth) versus directionally-motivated goals (i.e., seeking to confirm existing beliefs) by analyzing original survey data (n = 19,037) collected in early April to late May 2022 in nineteen countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA. Survey participants read ten statements about the Russian war in Ukraine and could opt to see fact-checks for each of these statements. Results of mixed models for three-level hierarchical data (level 1: statements, level 2: individuals, and level 3: countries) showed that accuracy motivations were better explanations than directional motivations for the decision to read fact-checks about the Russian war in Ukraine.
Perceived prevalence of misinformation fuels worries about COVID-19: a cross-country, multi-method investigation
(Taylor & Francis, 2022) Matthes, Jörg; Corbu, Nicoleta; Jinc, Soyeon; Theocharis, Yannis; Schemer, Christian; Van Aelst, Peter; Strömbäck, Jesper
Data suggests that the majority of citizens in various countries came across ‘fake news’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. We test the relationship between perceived prevalence of misinformation and people’s worries about COVID-19. In Study 1, analyses of a survey across 17 countries indicate a positive association: perceptions of high prevalence of misinformation are correlated with high worries about COVID-19. However, the relationship is weaker in countries with higher levels of case-fatality ratios, and independent from the actual amount of misinformation per country. Study 2 replicates the relationship using experimental data. Furthermore, Study 2 demonstrates the underlying mechanism, that is, perceived prevalence of misinformation fosters the belief that COVID-19 is spiralling out of control, which in turn, increases worries. Our findings suggest that perceived prevalence of misinformation can have significant psychological effects, even though audience members reject the information as being false.
Mistakenly misinformed or intentionally deceived? Mis- and Disinformationperceptions on the Russian War in Ukraine among citizens in 19 countries
(John Wiley & Sons, 2024) HAMELEERS, MICHAEL; TULIN, MARINA; DE VREESE, CLAES; AALBERG, TORIL; VAN AELST, PETER; CARDENAL, ANA SOFIA; Corbu, Nicoleta
In information environments characterized by institutional distrust, fragmentation and the widespread dissemination of conspiracies and disinformation, citizens perceive misinformation as a salient and threatening issue. Especially amidst disruptive events and crises, news users are likely to believe that information is inaccurate or deceptive. Using an original 19-country comparative survey study across diverse regions in the world (N = 19,037), we find that news users are likely to regard information on the Russian war in Ukraine as false. They are more likely to attribute false information to deliberative deception than to a lack of access to the war area or inaccurate expert knowledge. Russian sources are substantially more likely to be blamed for falsehoods than Ukrainian or Western sources – but these attribution biases depend on a country's position on the war. Our findings reveal that people mostly believe that falsehoods are intended to deceive them, and selectively associate misinformation with the opposed camp.
When are Fact-Checks Effective? An Experimental Study on the Inclusion of the Misinformation Source and the Source of Fact-Checks in 16 European Countries
(Taylor & Francis, 2024) Van Erkel, Patrick F. A.; Van Aelst, Peter; De Vreese, Claes H.; Hopmann, David N.; Matthese, Jörg; Stanyer, James; Corbu, Nicoleta
Despite increasing academic attention, several questions about fact-checking remain unanswered. First, it remains unclear to what extent fact-checks are effective across different political and media contexts. Second, we know little on whether features of the fact-check itself influence its success. Conducting an experiment in 16 European countries, this study aims to fill these gaps by examining two features of fact-checks that may affect their success: whether fact-checks include the political source of the misinformation, and the source of the fact-check itself. We find that fact-checks are successful in debunking misperceptions. Moreover, this debunking effect is consistent across countries. Looking at features of fact-checks, we find no indication that it matters whether fact-checks include the political source of the misinformation claim. Comparing fact-checks from independent organizations with those from public broadcasters, we do find, however, that who the fact-checker is matters, especially in combination with trust in this source.
Virtualization of the Human Body: Deep-Fake Pornography - Its Ethical and Political Implications
(Springer, 2024) Cernat, Maria; Borțun, Dumitru; Matei, Corina
In June 2019, a programmer released an app that enabled users to digitally undress individuals in photographs. Shortly after its launch, the publication Vice reported that the programmer withdrew the application due to concerns about the potential negative consequences of its use. Nevertheless, within a few days, the app was downloaded by over 95,000 users. Deep Nude is among several applications that generate highly realistic imitations of a person’s voice or body. These technological advancements do not alter prevailing social norms of patriarchy, as demonstrated by Deep Nude’s initial focus on photos of women; the program would utilize neural networks to fabricate intimate body parts when presented with images of men. In the context of modern technology, women’s bodies have become commodified images that can be weaponized against them. Feminist activists argue that while politicians express concern over the censorship of misleading political information, the most vulnerable victims of deepfake technology remain women. We contend that the most effective approach to assessing the implications of this phenomenon is through a political economy lens, specifically examining the processes of producing, distributing, and consuming deepfake pornography. Additionally, it is crucial to recognize that the conception of cyberspace as a libertarian utopia contributes significantly to the challenges authorities encounter in their efforts to protect potential victims from this form of gendered violence.
Cognitive Warfare: Understanding the Threat
(Routledge, 2023) Bârgăoanu, Alina; Durach, Flavia
Starting from the premise that you cannot tackle a problem that is poorly understood, the chapter explores a relatively new phenomenon known by many names, such as “information warfare”, “disinformation disorder”, “post-truth”, “computational propaganda”, “network propaganda”, “disinformation 2.0”, “ampliganda”, or “cognitive warfare”. The aim of the chapter is to provide arguments in favor of the idea that the current situation under which the human mind is turned into an international/ transnational battlefield is best captured by the term “cognitive warfare”. This new type of warfare is waged by means of disinformation, propaganda, influence operations and hostile information campaigns all at the same time. Above all, this new type of warfare is waged in a completely changed communication and information ecosystem, where every major issue in a society can be weaponized thanks to the very connectivity of that new ecosystem. Conceptualizing cognitive warfare as a new, technology-driven phenomenon has implications for research and for policy-making. We illustrate these implications especially for endeavors towards documenting the phenomenon by means of a national public opinion survey using an online panel (N=1000), representative of the population of Romania that has access to the Internet and is aged 18 or higher.
Public policies to fight disinformation actively through media and information literacy
(Routledge, Taylor & Francis Inc., 2024) Durach, Flavia; Vladu, Loredana; Călin, Iulia; Enache, Marina
The chapter focuses on current and prospective policy measures in the EU to counter disinformation, among which is media literacy. Media literacy practices and actions in the EU member states vary significantly in terms of their embedment in formal education, actors involved, number of relevant initiatives, and social impact. Against this background, our research objectives were: (1) to understand and comparatively assess current practices in France, Spain, and Romania to actively fight disinformation, with a focus on MIL, fact-checking, education policies, and (2) to formulate recommendations for designing policies to mitigate disinformation risks in EU. Between January and March 2022, within EU-funded project YouVerify!, we conducted 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with French, Romanian, and Spanish experts from relevant fields: decision-makers, experts in disinformation and media literacy, and journalists involved in the media coverage of politics and/or working in online media. The results provided insights on the public policies put in place in each country, in relation to other types of measures for fighting disinformation. Building on this up-to-date analysis, we designed policy recommendations in each country and at the EU level, to strengthen the impact of MIL practices and to increase their synergy with other types of measures.
Countering Disinformation: A Delicate Balance Between International Action and National Particularities
(Cognitatio Press, 2025-05-28) Durach, Flavia; Ciocea, Mălina; Nastasiu, Cătălina
Policies to address disinformation aim to protect a number of key public goods, such as self-determination by citizens, fair elections, and a healthy media and information ecosystem. The literature on resilience to disinformation finds striking differences between states, resulting from particular combinations of factors. Consequently, there is a need to maintain a delicate balance between coordinated action at the global level and localized interventions in response to particular vulnerabilities. Starting from this premise, this article explores the complexities of local contexts that contribute to resilience and addresses the tensions in developing evidence-based policies grounded in a wider societal context and system of values. Our study relies on data collected in an EU-funded project, Strategic Planning to Strengthen the Disinformation Resilience and the Management of Hybrid Threats, implemented jointly by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Bucharest) between 2020 and 2023. By using insights from key project activities (public opinion survey and policy brief), we assess Romania’s needs and vulnerabilities, which can be addressed through personalized interventions for countering disinformation; we distinguish a particular architecture of policy responses and debate the possible courses of action for a systematic approach to disinformation. Overall, our study contributes to a better understanding of how effective policies for countering disinformation need to be fed by an awareness of relevant global and regional contexts as well as local factors, values, vulnerabilities, and sensibilities.
Fighting disinformation: Evidence for policy making
(Routledge, 2024) Corbu, Nicoleta; Frau-Meigs, Divina; Teyssou, Denis; Bârgăoanu, Alina
In recent years, “fake news” has become a buzzword, often weaponised for various purposes. A very abundant literature addressing many facets of the phenomenon has flourished in the last years covering topics related to definitions and classifications of “fake news”, its negative effects, and the technological facilitators associated with it, etc. However, literature focusing on ordinary people’s understanding of “fake news” is rather scarce. By means of two focus groups (N = 8) conducted in four countries (France, Romania, Spain, and Sweden), one with teachers and one with ordinary people (N = 64), we investigated the audience’s perspectives on “fake news” definitions, possible effects, and potential measures to address them. Findings show that there is an almost general consensus about strategic intentions as key to defining “fake news”. The perceived impact of “fake news” is very high among participants, with concern about democratic consequences, especially in the public health sector. Finally, differences between the two types of groups and across countries are further discussed, with a focus on implications for evidence-based policymaking.
Justifying an Invasion: When Is Disinformation Successful?
(Routledge, Taylor & Francis Inc., 2024) Zilinsky, Jan; Theocharis, Yannis; Pradel, Franziska; Corbu, Nicoleta
Conventional wisdom suggests that social media, especially when used by authoritarian powers with nefarious aims, leaves citizens of democratic countries vulnerable to psychological influence campaigns. But such concerns overlook predispositions among recipients of false claims to reject (or to endorse) conspiratorial narratives. Analyzing responses from a survey fielded in 19 countries, we find that it is a preexisting conspiracy outlook at the individual level, more so than media diets, which consistently predicts rating Russia’s pretenses for the invasion as more accurate. In all countries, individuals who view the world in general with a conspiratorial mindset are more likely to believe war-related disinformation. Receiving news via YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok is also associated with greater belief in Russian narratives justifying the invasion in several countries, but these relationships are weaker compared to those observed for conspiracy thinking. Without downplaying a potential positive role for media interventions, the findings highlight the importance of a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of conspiratorial thinking.
Do conspiracy theories circulating in the media or their debunking affect people’s trust in the media?
(Maison des Sciences de l'Homme , SAGE Publications, 2023) Corbu, Nicoleta; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Udrea, Georgiana; Gavrilescu, Mihai
The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered an unprecedented number of conspiracy theories about the virus and the vaccine against the disease. Current research has tried to make sense of the effects of conspiracy narratives and debunking them in both mainstream and social media. However, the effect of such narratives or their debunking on media trust has not been investigated to date. By means of a 2 × 2 experimental design (N = 945) in Romania, we investigate how mainstream and social media content containing conspiracy theories about vaccination against COVID-19 and debunking them influence people’s trust in both mainstream and social media. People’s own beliefs in such narratives are used as moderators of these effects. Findings show that only the debunking content circulating in mainstream media decreases people’s trust in both mainstream and social media, and only for people exhibiting high levels of belief in conspiracy theories, that is only when people are exposed to counter-attitudinal content. Implications for stakeholders are discussed.
Information Warfare: Adapting to the Ever-Changing Nature of War
(Routledge, 2024) Vladu, Loredana; Bârgăoanu, Alina; Nastasiu, Cătălina
There are crucial implications for the Intelligence Community as it navigates the evolving landscape of modern information warfare. This study reveals a critical gap between expert perceptions and public attitudes, particularly in Romania, where citizens’ understanding of the new information warfare, pro-Russian narratives, and Western alliances diverge significantly from expert analysis. Intelligence agencies need to improve their ability to monitor and counter disinformation by understanding the sociopolitical and information environments that adversaries exploit, particularly in the context of pro-Russian and anti-Western propaganda. These efforts must account for the broader rise of illiberalism, which leverages ultranationalism, religion, and conservative values to fuel anti-Western and antiestablishment sentiments.
Keep the (social) distance! : turnout and risk perception during health crisis
(Springer Nature, 2024) Stancea, Andreea; Muntean, Aurelian
This article investigates the relationship between risk perception and electoral participation of citizens. To assess this, we use the case study of the novel coronavirus and its relationship with voter turnout during the 2020 Romanian elections. We assess the relationship between COVID-19 and citizens’ intention to cast a vote by employing an individual model. Additionally, using the share rate of the infected population with COVID-19, we examine the association between the intensity of the outbreak across counties and electoral participation. Either though our research is cross-sectional and focuses on covariation rather than causal relationships, provides insightful results. The individual model shows that the higher the risk perception of infection is, the lower the intention to cast a vote. The aggregated exploratory model employed shows that an increase in the percentage of the shared infected population decreases the chance of electoral participation.
‘They can’t fool me, but they can fool the others!’ Third person effect and fake news detection
(SAGE Publications, 2020) Corbu, Nicoleta; Oprea, Denisa Adriana; Negrea-Busuioc, Elena; Radu, Loredana
The aftermath of the 2016 US Presidential Elections and the Brexit campaign in Europe have opened the floor to heated debates about fake news and the dangers that these phenomena pose to elections and to democracy, in general. Despite a growing body of scholarly literature on fake news and its close relatives misinformation, disinformation or, more encompassing, communication and information disorders, few studies have so far attempted to empirically account for the effects that fake news might have, especially with respect to what communication scholars call the third person effect. This study aims to provide empirical evidence for the third person effect in the case of people’s self-perceived ability to detect fake news and of their perception of others’ ability to detect it. Based on a survey run in August 2018 and comprising a national, diverse sample of Romanian adults (N = 813), this research reveals that there is a significant third person effect regarding people’s self-reported ability to spot fake news and that this effect is stronger when people compare their fake news detection literacy to that of distant others than to that close others. Furthermore, this study shows that the most important predictors of third person effect related to fake news detection are education, income, interest in politics, Facebook dependency and confirmation bias, with age being a non-significant predictor.
Trust in information sources during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Romanian case study
(De Gruyter Mouton, 2022) Buturoiu, Raluca; Corbu, Nicoleta; Oprea, Denisa Adriana; Boțan, Mădălina
Higher levels of trust in credible sources of information in times of crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic increase public compliance with official recommendations, minimizing health risks and helping authorities manage the crisis. Based on a national survey (N=1160), this article explores (a) actual levels of trust in various sources of information (government websites, legacy media, social media, and interpersonal communication) during the pandemic and (b) a number of predictors of such trust. Results show that during the period studied government websites were the most trusted source of information. Trust in an information source is correlated with consumption of COVID-19–related news from that specific source, media fact-checking, and self-perception about the incidence of COVID-19–related fake news. Only income and age are significant trust predictors, and only with respect to specific source types.

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