Enabling disinformation resilience – Scrutinizing legal and psychological constructs of disinformation in online platforms
Access to information forms the foundation for the processes of forming and exchanging opinions. In an era of advanced digitalisation and the accompanying media transformation, information is increasingly being sourced from digital channels outside the established mainstream media. Recent research has shown that obtaining information via online platforms is not conducive to the free formation of an opinion in the sense that it is based on facts and remains unaffected by ideological groups; this is partly because the prevalence of disinformation phenomena on online platforms is on the rise.
The risk potentials posed by these developments are diverse and affect not only the individual but also society as a whole, although there are, of course, interdependencies: examples include the systematic undermining of individual trust in online sources and the rise in social tensions caused by the intensification of polarising viewpoints. As the far-reaching consequences of disinformation are well known, attempts have been made – particularly at European level – to tackle this issue through regulation. However, the current legal framework is characterised primarily by indirect measures such as transparency in content moderation and risk management.
The difficulties outlined lead to the need of an comprehensive examination of disinformation. Against this backdrop, the German Research Funding (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) launched the priority programme “Rethinking Disinformation (Re:DIS)“ in 2025 to examine the mechanisms and consequences of disinformation from an interdisciplinary, epistemic perspective. 14 projects are being funded under this programme.
The interdisciplinary tandem project “Enabling disinformation resilience – Scrutinizing legal and psychological constructs of disinformation in online platforms“ takes a preventive approach that focuses on the perspective of the users of online platforms as information recipients.
The project aims to empower users of online platforms navigate the issue of disinformation phenomena. Under the term “disinformation resilience“ the project strives to lay the groundwork for improving the position of users as recipients of information by suggesting psychologically grounded measures which – integrated directly into the platforms – will enable users to recognise disinformation phenomena in various contexts and thus learn to deal with them responsibly.
Fundamental to this is an understanding of the susceptibility of individual cognitive processes to the phenomena of disinformation in the context of online platforms. The key to this understanding, therefore, lies in developing conceptual frameworks and classifications trough an iterative process, which enables us to distinguish between different forms of disinformation on online platforms and to describe in detail their respective impacts on the individual’s knowledge formation.
The starting point is the development of a definition of disinformation that is specifically suited to the digital context. Moving away from the established criteria of the falsehood of the information or the sender’s intent, the focus is on the perspective of the information recipient. Building on this approach, the aim is to develop a comprehensive overview of the necessary skills and competences that will equip users of online platforms to deal with disinformation in the online environment.
Building on the findings obtained, the legal sub-project is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of the existing European and German regulatory frameworks with a view to promoting the concept of “disinformation resilience“ that is to be developed. In addition to the current legal framework, this study will also identify the normative guiding principles embedded in German and EU legislation designed to counter disinformation, thereby uncovering the legislative rationale and underlying normative assumptions, in order to identify the significance attributed to the resilience of individuals and to public discourse, or indeed the extent to which such resilience is even expected.
The aim of the study is to assess the extent to which the necessary legal framework for implementing measures that promote resilience already exists, or in what form it would need to be expanded.
The study will conclude with draft proposals for regulatory approaches regarding the implementation of the concept of ‘resilience to disinformation’, the effectiveness of which will be tested in an empirical study.
The project partner is Prof. Dr. Nicole Krämer from the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Project information
Funding:
German Research Foundation (DFG)
Duration:
October 2026 – September 2029
Project leader:
Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hornung, LL.M.