Misinformation Research at the National Science Foundation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55613/jeet.v35i1.188Keywords:
misinformation, disinformation, artificial intelligence, ethics, National Science FoundationAbstract
Promotion of misinformation online has become common, usually defined as false or inaccurate assertions without clear motivation, in contrast to unethical disinformation that is consciously intended to mislead. However, misinformation raises ethical questions, such as how much obligation a person has to verify the factual truth of what they assert, and how many cases were intentional falsehoods that simply could not be proven to come from liars. Since the beginning of the current century, the National Science Foundation supported much research intended to understand misinformation’s social dynamics and develop tools to identify and even combat it. Then in 2025, the second Trump administration banned such research, even cancelling many active grants that funded academic projects. Examination of representative research identifies ethical debates, the cultural differences across the relevant divisions of NSF, and connections to related questions such as the human implications of artificial intelligence. This clear survey of the recent history of research on false information offers the background to support future science and public decisions about what new research needs to be done.
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