Fabio Giglietto
Professor of Internet Studies
University of Urbino
Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies
About Me
Fabio Giglietto, PhD, is Full 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. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Communication, Information, Communication & Society, the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Social Media + Society, and Social Science Computer Review. According to Google Scholar, his publications have garnered over 2200 citations.
Professor Giglietto's current research interests include coordinated behavior detection, multimodal narratives, and the challenges of social media data access. 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, which is developing AI-based tools to assist journalists and fact-checkers in verifying multimedia content and combating disinformation, with a focus on detecting coordinated behavior and inauthentic networks spreading misleading content. Additionally, he contributes to the EU-funded PROMPT initiative, which addresses disinformation narratives across Europe. His recent work includes an analysis of Meta's political content reduction policy and its impact on the reach of Italian parliamentarians on Facebook.
This academic year, Professor Giglietto is teaching courses such as Generative AI and Media and Digital Social Network Analysis. These courses reflect his engagement with contemporary issues in digital communication, including the impact of AI on the media system and methods for analyzing online social networks. As part of the VERAAI Alerts project, he has tracked and analyzed coordinated accounts on Facebook, identifying coordinated posts and accounts, with notable activity in large groups and networks. He actively participates in professional discussions on platforms like BlueSky (@fabiogiglietto.bsky.social) and Mastodon (@fabiogiglietto@aoir.social), 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.
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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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February 12, 2026
Several recent publications are highlighted, covering diverse aspects of online information dynamics. These include explorations of polarization on political Reddit, the role of 'fake news' in U.S. alternative media, the limited exposure to low-credibility online health content concentrated among older adults, and the potential of prebunking misinformation techniques on social media feeds, specifically Instagram.
Read more -
February 08, 2026
Recent scholarship has examined various challenges and phenomena within the digital landscape. These investigations encompass the use of 'botting' on Reddit, methods for enhancing resistance to misinformation through conversational inoculation, the influence of journalistic strategies on the formation of conspiracy beliefs, and the impact of anti-vaccine tweets on COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, and deaths.
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February 04, 2026
The complexities of online platforms and digital governance are explored in recent publications. Topics include the accountability of internet platforms, the rhetorical mechanisms of online polarization, differing narratives on TikTok regarding immigration, and the impact of targeted digital voter suppression efforts on voter turnout.
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Recent Web and News Mentions
Research Radio - Apple Podcasts
Integrating Large Language Models in Political Discourse Studies on Social Media: Challenges of Validating an LLMs-in-the-loop Pipeline | Sociologica
THE BRAZILIAN DIGITAL BATTLEFIELD: INVESTIGATING THE DYNAMICS OF POLITICAL INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS IN POST-BOLSONARO ERA | AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research
Giornata Internazionale di Studi - Can the Damage of Destructive Polarization Be Repaired?
The persistence and resilience of misinformation in the face of fact checking - Vera.ai
While they're pretty smart, they might occasionally hallucinate a publication or get creative with facts. Take it with a grain of digital salt! 🧂