How are opinions manipulated by people and algorithms online?
what is online manipulation?
Online manipulation refers to the act of deliberately influencing
or controlling the thoughts, opinions, behaviors, or actions of individuals
or groups through online platforms and digital communication channels. It
involves the use of a broad variety of techniques, strategies, and tactics to exploit
vulnerabilities and manipulate people's emotions, beliefs, and decisions.
Online manipulation is often employed for purposes such as political
propaganda, advertising, social engineering, or spreading misinformation.
At the SPARTA lab, we're interested in developing a stronger understanding of the processes by which
Internet users are manipulated by other users and by platform algorithms (e.g., recommendation systems).
Our ultimate goal is to develop technological and policy interventions that are able to protect consumers
from manipulation online.
@article{ICWSM-2024,title={{Apophanies or Epiphanies? How Auditing Methodologies Can Impact
Our Understanding of YouTube's Recommendation Systems}},author={Chandio, Sarmad and Dar, Daniyal and Nithyanand, Rishab},journal={International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM)},year={2024},}
The Morbid Realities of Social Media: An Investigation into the
Misinformation Shared by the Deceased Victims of COVID-19
Hussam Habib, and Rishab Nithyanand
International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM), 2023
@article{icwsm-2023,title={The Morbid Realities of Social Media: An Investigation into the
Misinformation Shared by the Deceased Victims of COVID-19},author={Habib, Hussam and Nithyanand, Rishab},journal={International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM)},year={2023},}
Pathways to Radical Misogyny: How Participation, Interaction, and
Perception in Online Communities Increase Radical Behavior
Hussam Habib, Padmini Srinivasan, and Rishab Nithyanand
ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 2022
@article{cscw-2022-2,title={Pathways to Radical Misogyny: How Participation, Interaction, and
Perception in Online Communities Increase Radical Behavior},author={Habib, Hussam and Srinivasan, Padmini and Nithyanand, Rishab},journal={ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)},year={2022},}
Relationships Among Vaccination Attitudes, Social Media Use, and Activist vs. Radical Behavior
Ryan Stoldt, Andrew High, Ashley Peterson, Kathryn Biddle, Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Rishab Nithyanand, Brian Ekdale, Timothy Havens, Hussam Habib, and John Thiede
72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), 2022
@article{ica-2022,title={Relationships Among Vaccination Attitudes, Social Media Use, and Activist vs. Radical Behavior},author={Stoldt, Ryan and High, Andrew and Peterson, Ashley and Biddle, Kathryn and Maragh-Lloyd, Raven and Nithyanand, Rishab and Ekdale, Brian and Havens, Timothy and Habib, Hussam and Thiede, John},journal={72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA)},year={2022},}
Extortion or Expansion? An investigation into the costs and consequences of ICANN’s gTLD experiments
@article{Pouryousef-PAM2020,author={Pouryousef, Shahrooz and Dar, Daniyal and Ahmad, Suleman and Gill, Phillipa and Nithyanand, Rishab},journal={Passive and Active Measurement Conference (PAM)},title={Extortion or Expansion? An investigation into the costs and consequences of ICANN's gTLD experiments},year={2020},}
Relationships Among Vaccination Attitudes, Social Media Use, and Activist vs. Radical Behavior72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), 2022
