Italians’ attitudes towards AI: how technology issues travel across social conversation
Published in Inf. Commun. Soc. | Year: 2026 | Authors: Fattorini, Eliana, Rubin, Andrea, Saracino, Barbara, Bucchi, Massimiano
Fabio Giglietto
Full Professor of Internet Studies
University of Urbino
Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies
About Me
Fabio Giglietto is a Full Professor of Internet Studies at the Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, where he also earned his doctorate and currently teaches Generative AI and Media and Digital Social Network Analysis. His scientific activity is deeply rooted in the intersection of computational social science, the intricate analysis of digital platforms, and the dynamic field of political communication. Professor Giglietto’s research primarily focuses on understanding information disorders and detecting coordinated behavior on social media, offering critical insights into how digital technologies shape public opinion and democratic processes.
He is the founder and coordinator of the Mapping Italian News Research Program (MINE), active at the University of Urbino since 2017. MINE serves as an institutional umbrella for a succession of externally funded sub-projects, investigating Italian media coverage and the impact of social media on electoral processes, public opinion, and health information, supported by various international and national funders. Within MINE, Professor Giglietto co-developed CooRnet, an open-source R package that introduced the influential Coordinated Link Sharing Behavior (CLSB) detection method. While CooRnet is now discontinued operationally due to the shutdown of Meta’s CrowdTangle, its methodology lives on in the independently maintained CooRTweet R package.
On the European stage, Professor Giglietto recently served as WP4 Leader for the Horizon Europe project vera.ai, which concluded in October 2025, focusing on AI-based tools to counter disinformation. He also contributed as a Partner on the PROMPT project, dedicated to monitoring disinformation narratives in Europe, which concluded in February 2026. While all externally funded MINE sub-projects have now concluded, the MINE programme continues as the overarching framework for his ongoing research line. He is a respected member of the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), and the Italian Association for Political Communication, having also served on the board of ISA Research Committee 51 on Sociocybernetics.
This bio is automatically generated by AI using aggregated data from publications, research activities, and academic profiles.
Recent Publications
Beyond the share button: How partisan alignment, journalistic quality, and algorithmic governance shape what millions see on Facebook
Giglietto, F., & Marino, G. (2026). Beyond the share button: How partisan alignment, journalistic quality, and algorithmic governance shape what millions see on Facebook. Platforms & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768624261452529
From the Wild West to the Walled Garden
Giglietto, F., & Puschmann, C. (2026). From the Wild West to the Walled Garden. M/C Journal. https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3257
Amplifying extremes: the interplay of social media and traditional media in shaping political polarization
Giglietto, F. (2026). Amplifying extremes: the interplay of social media and traditional media in shaping political polarization. Handbook of Social and Communication Networks. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035325047.00023
Synthetic seduction: Evolving visual persuasion in coordinated online gambling promotion with generative {AI}
Giglietto, F., Terenzi, M., Chakraborty, A., & Marino, G. (2026). Synthetic seduction: Evolving visual persuasion in coordinated online gambling promotion with generative {AI}. Countering Disinformation in the Era of Generative AI. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-11782-3_4
"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
Research Projects
MINE — Mapping Italian News Research Program
Research programme active at the University of Urbino since 2017, investigating Italian media coverage and the impact of social media on electoral processes, public opinion and health information. MINE has hosted a succession of externally funded sub-projects (listed separately below). All sub-grants are now concluded; the programme remains active as the institutional and intellectual umbrella for the PI's ongoing research line, with no active external grant at present.
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PROMPT — Predictive Research On Misinformation and Narratives Propagation Trajectories
European Commission project (DG CNECT) dedicated to monitoring disinformation narratives in 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. MINE sub-project.
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vera.ai — VERification Assisted by Artificial Intelligence
Horizon Europe project developing AI-based tools to assist journalists and fact-checkers in verifying multimedia content and countering disinformation. As WP4 Leader, Fabio Giglietto led the work package focused on detection of coordinated behaviour and inauthentic networks spreading misleading content. MINE sub-project.
Learn moreNews & Updates
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June 21, 2026
Emerging research on the societal implications of Artificial Intelligence is a key area of academic interest. Recent commentary highlights studies exploring effective methods for reducing conspiracy beliefs through AI dialogues, alongside analyses of public attitudes towards AI (e.g., in Italy) and the dynamics driving AI hype. Further academic attention is drawn to the political economy surrounding AI, its 'imaginative landscape,' and the capacity of AI coding agents to replicate social science findings.
Read more -
June 15, 2026
The intricate interplay of social media, disinformation, and electoral processes remains a significant focus in academic discourse. Noteworthy studies address the evaluation of echo chambers, rabbit holes, and radicalization pathways on platforms such as YouTube. Other critical research explores temporal dynamics in digital trace data, examines challenges in social media data access for election research, and seeks to understand disinformation as narratives within hybrid media ecosystems. Additionally, efforts to redesign algorithms for intervening on social norm misperceptions during national elections and the complexities of multi-platform analysis of electoral discourse are emphasized.
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Recent Web and News Mentions
How Facebook's Algorithmic Tweaks Affected Engagement with News URLs over Time.
A personal blog post from Snurblog reports on Fabio Giglietto's presentation at the 2026 ICA conference, detailing his research on algorithmic amplification, partisan alignment, and journalistic quality on Facebook.
Indagine urbinate: "Così l’algoritmo influenza il voto" - Il Resto del Carlino
News article from Il Resto del Carlino
Facebook premia gli estremisti: la ricerca dell'Università di Urbino - Lumsanews
News article from Lumsanews
Meno contenuti politici nei feed, la stretta di Meta è stata meno efficace contro gli estremisti - Il Sole 24 ORE
News article from Il Sole 24 ORE
Less political content in feeds, Meta's clampdown less effective against extremists - Il Sole 24 ORE
News article from Il Sole 24 ORE
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While they're pretty smart, they might occasionally hallucinate a publication or get creative with facts. Take it with a grain of digital salt! 🧂
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