Research

Artificial Intelligence and automation are central technologies for modern communication. The team at CTRL analyzes how a wide range of groups around the world use these tools to enhance the information they create and disseminate. We are particularly interested in how people use combinations of the latest generative AI tools, chatbots, blockchain, and emerging media technologies in bids to amplify certain steams of content. We study how the use of such technology—alongside coordinated groups of influencers, evolving advertising practices, and novel micro-targeting techniques—leads to manipulation of digital platforms’ recommendation algorithms and public opinion, more broadly. Finally, we explore how grassroots, citizen-led, groups use AI and automation for the purposes of democracy, human rights, and civic engagement

Researchers have studied propaganda for centuries. The CTRL team leverages this long history of work to extend present-day understandings of propaganda. We build upon the theory and research of seminal thinkers in the space—from Ellul to Arendt to Herman—to generate theoretically-rich, empirically-rigorous, analyses of influence campaigns across the world. Our focus is upon the groups who make and build digital propaganda campaigns, the content of those campaigns, and the people on the receiving end of such efforts. We use a combination of research methods to interrogate the nature and impact of internet-based propaganda and are committed to translating this work for journalists, policy makers, civil society groups, and the public.

The internet and social media have both created and extended problems related to information access, media literacy, and societal wellbeing. Government policy makers have struggled to create and enforce rigorous and effective laws aimed at preserving freedom of expression, user safety, and informational integrity. Technology companies often lobby for non-intervention in the digital communication space while simultaneously failing to enforce or maintain their own content moderation and technological governance efforts. CTRL analyzes these issues, with an eye towards changes in the emerging media technology and information-manipulation spaces. Our research aims to provide a human-centric, evidence-based, rationale for preserving people’s democratic and human rights online.

Community members and grassroots-led initiatives play a critical role in identifying, documenting, and responding to manipulation campaigns. They often possess contextual knowledge that external researchers and platforms lack, enabling them to detect harmful content and narratives that automated systems miss. However, these groups frequently lack resources, institutional support, and access to research that could strengthen their efforts. Our research centers community voices and employs participatory approaches that position affected groups as co-producers of knowledge rather than passive subjects of study.