The COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ and miscommunication has had real significant consequences when it comes to community cohesion. Over an 18 month period between 2020-2022, the Birmingham City University Online Islamophobia Project is conducting one of the largest ever studies of Islamophobia on social media.
Researchers
Research background
The COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ and miscommunication has had real significant consequences when it comes to community cohesion. Over an 18 month period between 2020-2022, the Birmingham City University Online Islamophobia Project is conducting one of the largest ever studies of Islamophobia on social media. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The study will provide insights into the different types of misinformation on social media and how they impact on Covid-19 and local communities. The research project will examine the interaction between social media and extremism in relation to key factors such as anonymity, membership length and peer groups, within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Research aims
The BCU Islamophobia Online Project has the following key aims:
- To discover the impact of misinformation and the infodemic pandemic on social media sites;
- To understand the drivers of conspiracy theories and the relationship between online and offline extremism;
- To provide solutions and reducing hate speech on social media.