Skip to main content
UMass Collegiate M The University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Search UMass.edu
College of Social & Behavioral Sciences College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Main navigation

  • Academics

    Explore our programs

    All programsUndergraduateGraduateCertificates
    See all departments
    Faculty & StaffSignature programsExploratory track
  • Research
    Research centers, institutes, and programsResearch news and highlightsGrant Funding and PoliciesExternal Fellowship OpportunitiesFaculty Research Grants & Awards
    Institute for Social Science ResearchFaculty BookshelfFreedman Lecture SeriesResearch Events
  • Student Services
    Student ServicesGraduate Student ResourcesAdvisingSBS RISE
    Senior CelebrationStudent EventsStudent NewsInternship & Career Opportunities
  • About
    SBS Dean's OfficeVisit UsStrategic planDiversity, Equity and InclusionFaculty & Staff DirectoryNewsEventsAlumni
    Professional ResourcesFaculty ResourcesStaff ResourcesContact Us

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News

Sociology Faculty Awarded Interdisciplinary Research Grant to Examine "Social Polls" and Misinformation

June 7, 2023 Research

Content

A team of six researchers from UMass Amherst, Sapienza University of Rome, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—including UMass Amherst sociology faculty members Jennifer Lundquist and Andrew Paik—have been awarded a $50,000 Interdisciplinary Research Grant (IRG) for their project on political misinformation and disinformation through social media biases.

The project is the first of its kind to assess this relationship between political misinformation and social media polls. The research team notes that preliminary results show that many social polls during the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential election cycles could be "mistakenly perceived by the public as being representative [yet were] heavily biased and likely manipulated in favor of one candidate." There are serious consequences to unacknowledged demographic and partisan bias in such polls, "including promoting beliefs of voter fraud as an explanation for lost elections."

The team plans to analyze data from Twitter and Facebook to identify partisan and demographic biases at play in the poll responses; to test the potential for manipulating social polls through purchased votes; and to compare poll outcomes with FiveThirtyEight’s aggregated predictions, leading to greater understanding of election prediction methods using mainstream and social media polls.

The full research team consists of Przemek Grabowicz, CICS, UMass Amherst; Monideepa Tarafgar, Isenberg, UMass Amherst; Jennifer Lundquist, sociology, UMass Amherst; Anthony Paik, sociology, UMass Amherst; JungHwan Yang, communications, UIUC; and Mattia Samory, computer science, Sapienza University of Rome.

The Interdisciplinary Research Grants are offered by the UMass Amherst Office of the Provost in coordination with the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement. The goal of the program is to empower creativity, strengthen the campus’ areas of excellence, promote equitable collaborations, and attract external funding and other forms of recognition across our colleges and schools.

The IRG funding will facilitate the research required to apply for a larger grant from the National Science Foundation’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program.

Article posted in Research for Faculty , Staff , Current students , and Public

Related programs

  • Sociology

Related departments

  • Sociology

Site footer

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • X
  • Find us on Facebook
  • Find us on YouTube
  • Find us on Instagram
Address

Draper Hall
40 Campus Center Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9244
United States

Phone number
(413) 545-4173

Information for:

  • Undergraduate Students
  • Graduate Students
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Alumni

Academics

  • Explore our programs
  • Departments
  • Advising

The college

  • About SBS
  • News
  • Events
  • Employment Opportunities

Contact

  • Visit Us
  • Dean's Office Contacts
  • Faculty & Staff Directory

Global footer

  • ©2025 University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Site policies
  • Privacy
  • Non-discrimination notice
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of use