Fabio Giglietto
Professor of Internet Studies
University of Urbino
Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies
About Me
Fabio Giglietto, PhD, is Professor of Internet Studies at the Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. His research explores the intricate relationships between social systems, media, and digital technologies, focusing on the theory of information, communication, and society. He teaches courses such as Generative AI and Media, and Digital Social Network Analysis.
Professor Giglietto's work has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Communication, Information, Communication & Society, the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Social Media + Society, and Social Science Computer Review. His publications have garnered over 2200 citations. He leads the Mapping Italian News Research Program (MINE), which investigates Italian news media coverage and the impact of social media on Italian elections.
Professor Giglietto is also involved in the EU-funded Horizon Europe project VERAAI, developing AI-based tools for journalists and fact-checkers to verify multimedia content and combat disinformation, with a focus on detecting coordinated behavior and inauthentic networks. Additionally, he contributes to the EU-funded PROMPT initiative, which addresses disinformation narratives across Europe. His current research interests include coordinated behavior detection, multimodal narratives, and the challenges of social media data access. Recent work examines the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for political fact-checking and the integration of topic modeling and LLM prompt engineering for analyzing interview transcripts.
His recent publications include an analysis of Meta's political content reduction policy and its impact on the reach of Italian parliamentarians on Facebook. Professor Giglietto actively participates in professional discussions on platforms like BlueSky (@fabiogiglietto.bsky.social) and Mastodon, addressing topics such as platform policies and research methodologies.
Recent Publications
"A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility
Giglietto, F. (2025). "A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/8dqag_v2
The State of Social Media Research APIs & Tools in the Digital Service Act Era
Giglietto, F. (2025). The State of Social Media Research APIs & Tools in the Digital Service Act Era. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16269197
Manipolazione dei media ed influenza digitale. Sfide, tecnologie e risposte
Giglietto, F. (2025). Manipolazione dei media ed influenza digitale. Sfide, tecnologie e risposte. .
Viralità
Giglietto, F. (2025). Viralità. .
"A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility
Giglietto, F. (2025). "A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility. Center for Open Science. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/8dqag_v1
Research Projects
vera.ai - VERification Assisted by Artificial Intelligence
An EU-funded Horizon Europe project that developed advanced AI-based tools to assist journalists and fact-checkers in verifying multimedia content and combating disinformation. As Work Package 4 leader, I focused on the detection of coordinated behavior and inauthentic networks spreading misleading content.
Learn more
PROMPT - Predictive Research On Misinformation and Narratives Propagation Trajectories
An EU-funded initiative focused on detecting and analyzing disinformation narratives across Europe, addressing sensitive issues including the war in Ukraine, LGBTQI+ rights, and European elections through the development of language models, monitoring dashboards, and educational resources for fact-checkers and journalists.
Learn more
MINE - Mapping Italian News Research Program
A research program investigating Italian news media coverage and the impact of social media on Italian elections, leveraging data from Social Science One and grant funding from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC).
Learn moreNews & Updates
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March 11, 2026
Recent studies are exploring the impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) on various aspects of communication and information dissemination. One paper investigates whether perceived political bias in LLMs reduces their persuasive abilities. Another study critiques the unreflective adoption of LLMs in communication research. Further research examines whether LLMs require curated context for reliable political fact-checking, even with reasoning and web search capabilities.
Read more -
March 06, 2026
The spread and detection of misinformation remains a prominent research area. Recent papers examine everyday encounters with misinformation online, focusing on sources, topics, and modes. Additionally, research explores how Serbia's SNS party mimics authentic support through coordinated inauthentic behavior and the modality-congruent carryover effect, detailing how difficulty in identifying (deep)fake news impacts self-confidence in truth discernment and susceptibility to subsequent disinformation.
Read more -
February 19, 2026
Several new papers investigate the role of algorithms and platforms in shaping online discourse. Research analyzes the political effects of X’s (formerly Twitter's) feed algorithm. Another study explores the challenges of election research in the age of regulated data access under the EU Digital Services Act. Work also looks at methods for identifying potentially irregular electoral ads on Facebook during the Brazilian elections.
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Recent Web and News Mentions
Facebook premia gli estremisti: la ricerca dell'Università di Urbino - Lumsanews
SOS! ORA L’ALGORITMO PUNTA SUI ‘COMPLOTTISTI’: “INTERVENIRE SUBITO!” - ByoBlu
Less political content in feeds, Meta's clampdown less effective against extremists - Il Sole 24 ORE
Katharina Esau Was Awarded an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award 2026 - Oncodaily
Il Premio Rimini Mundi a sette ambasciatori del congressuale - lapiazzarimini.it
While they're pretty smart, they might occasionally hallucinate a publication or get creative with facts. Take it with a grain of digital salt! 🧂