The WHAT-IF project
The rise of disinformation and hate speech poses significant challenges to our democracies. WHAT-IF develops a digital twin of the digital political information environment to test the effects of interventions, fostering healthier democratic discourse.
Our objectives
WHAT-IF addresses the challenges of disinformation, hate speech, and polarized information environments by creating an empirically grounded simulation of the digital political information landscape.
Create a prototype digital twin of the political information environment in an agent-based simulation
Test the effects of social media content, algorithms and platform affordances in immersive field experiments
Develop evidence-based policies and regulations in the realm of (social) media quality
Why simulations?
Simulations of the political information environment allow us to develop a prototype digital twin of the political information environment to, where we can develop evidence-based policy in the realm of (social) media quality and regulation. Further, we can test effects of social media content, algorithms, and affordances in immersive field experiments
Simulations can help us to:
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Overcome data limitations and dependence on platforms
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Simulate feedback loops and complex interactions
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Test interventions in a safe, digital twin of the political information environment
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2024 research and innovation programme under agreement no. 101177574. Our website only reflects the authors’ views and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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