In recent years, there have been multiple examples of how floods of disinformation can

obstruct and threaten the operation of countries and companies. The COVID-19 epidemic

has been a prime example with the ensuing infodemic: from false cures and origin stories, to

disinformation about vaccine efficacy. Most of this misinformation is usually propagated

through social media, which makes it harder for governments and public organizations to

tackle this problem. Several social media platforms and fact-checking organizations are

doubling down their efforts in fact-checking, but traditional approaches are just incapable of

dealing with the sheer power of social media.

This trend is not limited to COVID-19. We have seen it in politics, where the term "fake

news" started to gain traction, not to mention the plethora of conspiracy theories such as the

flat Earth movement. It is also a major concern in banking and the stock market, as rumors

and fabricated news can make or break the value of a company. Recent examples of that are

the GameStop and WallStreetBets story and the speculation on cryptocurrencies such as

doge-coin.

This is a widespread problem that affects several domains, and a lot of effort has been put

into measuring the spread of disinformation of different types in social media. However, there

are two standing issues. First of all, disinformation permeates a myriad of domains. Although

some components are transversal, each domain has its idiosyncrasies and imposes different

conditions on both the spread of information and its effects. In particular, we are interested in

the spread of misinformation in the banking and financial domain, and the study of

disinformation campaigns. Second of all, whereas studies in the subject have shone a light on

propagation dynamics, much less is known about the societal, behavioral, and economic

implications of disinformation, and how it affects social and economic resilience.

Consequently, this project aims to provide the tools and models to allow the study and

comparison of the behavioral, social, and economic impact of banking and financial

disinformation. The output of this project will consist of a better understanding of the impact

and dynamics of banking disinformation, and of the effectiveness of fact-checking and

disinformation-countering practices. Our goal is to provide evidence-based policy and

guidance for managing false information in national and global economics.

Proyecto I+D+i financiado en línea estratégica por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Univesidades.