Ambitious Project Takes New Approach to World's Disinformation Problem

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CIRCE, an institute based in Pittsburgh, PA, has launched an ambitious effort to combat mis- and disinformation. Its Mental Immunity Project aims to equip millions with next-level tools for spotting and resisting manipulative messaging.

According to CIRCE founder Andy Norman, the project springs from the recent discovery of the mind's immune system. Norman explains: "We've established that the mind has an immune system all its own—defenses that protect us from problematic information. To function really well, though, it must be cared for properly. The exciting part is that we're learning how this system works, and how we can make it work better. This opens up new avenues for addressing our world's mis- and disinformation problem."

CIRCE, the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative, believes that a concerted effort to bolster mental immunity can prevent cognitive contagion. "We don't need to let viral disinformation tear our world apart," says Norman. "Instead, we can leverage the power of these sophisticated systems to prevent outbreaks of conspiracy thinking, toxic partisanship, and extremism. We're learning how to do it, too."

The fledgling science of mental immunity—"cognitive immunology"—has origins in inoculation theory. Inoculation theorists have found that proactive "prebunking" is more effective than reactive debunking. Prebunking "inoculates" minds by exposing them to weakened forms of malicious influence so that later, they can resist more dangerous disinformation campaigns. The Mental Immunity Project will translate concepts like these into practical recommendations for building mental resilience.

The Mental Immunity Project is guided by a distinguished panel of experts. Panelists include leading inoculation theorists like Stephan Lewandowsky (University of Bristol), Sander van der Linden (Cambridge University), and John Cook (Monash University); experts on disinformation and public health like Claire Wardle (Brown University) and Seema Yasmin (Stanford University); evolutionary biologists (David Sloan Wilson); philosophers of mind (Maarten Boudry, Ghent University); and experts on science denial and post-truth (Lee McIntyre, Boston University). The panel also includes specialists in innovative instructional practices (Melanie Trecek-King of Thinking Is Power and Anthony Magnabosco of Street Epistemology International). The panel plans to release a full set of practical recommendations—its "mental immunity toolbox"—in Spring 2023.

"Viral misinformation threatens almost everything we care about," says Norman. "But cognitive immunology gives us a real shot at taming the craziness unleashed by social media."

Contact: M. Christine Benner Dixon
412-759-8414
[email protected] 

SOURCE CIRCE

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