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 in 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. He 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. 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. His recent work includes an analysis of Meta's political content reduction policy and its impact on the reach of Italian parliamentarians on Facebook.
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 03, 2026
Recent work highlights the necessity of curated context for large language models to perform reliable political fact-checking, even when equipped with reasoning and web search capabilities. The study by Matthew R. DeVerna et al. underscores the challenges in leveraging LLMs for accurate information verification in political contexts.
Read more -
February 15, 2026
The impact of social media platforms on academic research is explored in a new paper by Raffael Heiss and Isabelle Freiling. The study delves into the complex relationship between these platforms and the research landscape, addressing potential influences and implications.
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February 11, 2026
A newly released article examines the role of the term 'fake news' within U.S. alternative media outlets. The research by Joseph J. Yoo, Hannah Lee, and Soontae An investigates how this term shapes political discourse and contributes to hyperpartisanship.
Read more
Recent Web and News Mentions
L’articolo 21 nella gabbia di Facebook - Terzogiornale
Facebook premia gli estremisti: la ricerca dell'Università di Urbino - Lumsanews
Meno contenuti politici nei feed, la stretta di Meta è stata meno efficace contro gli estremisti - Il Sole 24 ORE
"A Pretty Blunt Approach": Meta's Political Content Reduction Policy and Italian Parliamentarians' Facebook Visibility | Sciety
Researchers meet to discuss DSA access to publicly available platform data
While they're pretty smart, they might occasionally hallucinate a publication or get creative with facts. Take it with a grain of digital salt! 🧂