Project work

The SCAM project aims to contribute with substantial theoretical and methodological advancements related to a societal problem of great democratic significance, namely distribution of disinformation. Significant knowledge needs exists regarding how to understand and, most importantly, how to counter the threats of disinformation. The SCAM project will provide new knowledge that will equip stakeholders and key user groups such as journalists, fact-checkers and educators with better methods and understandings in order to minimise those threats. The project will produce several outputs that potentially will have significant impact predominantly within the fields of journalism, media and communication studies:

  • The theoretical and practical development of the concept Digital Source Criticism (DSC) will impact future research related to media and information literacy in general and how to understand and counter distribution of disinformation in particular.
  • The detection of key technological developments influencing DSC practices will advance understandings of the relationships between platforms, technologies and social actors.
  • The analysis of journalistic practices and products related to digital source criticism will advance research into digital journalism and epistemologies of journalism.
  • The application of method triangulation, such as novel methods like technography and analysis using analytics software like CrowdTangle, advances methodological richness.

The SCAM project is organised in four work packages. Work package one till three reflect the Research Questions, while work package four focuses on dissemination, engagement and impact.

  1. Emerging technologies: What are the key technological developments influencing digital source criticism practices?
  2. Concrete practices with emerging technologies: How do news and platform companies employ technology in relation to practices of fact-checking and source criticism in election periods?
  3. Developing the conceptual framework of digital source criticism. What are the theoretical and practical implications of digital source criticism for media and information literacy?
  4. Dissemination, engagement and impact