DETECT - Learning for detection and processing of disinformation

DETECT research project aims to map secondary school students' abilities to detect disinformation and to understand the related cognitive, affective, and neural mechanisms, and to develop and test effective pedagogical means for teaching disinformation detection.

Table of contents

Project duration
-
Core fields of research
Information technology and the human in the knowledge society
Learning, teaching and interaction
Research areas
Digitalization in and for learning and interaction
Education, teaching and interventions
Interactive and technologically enhanced learning environments
Learning, Development and Living Environments
Wellbeing, Interaction, and Interventions
Department
Department of Education
Department of Psychology
Faculty
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Funding
Research Council of Finland

Project description

Disinformation is fallacious information created intentionally to mislead the receiver and to cause public harm. Different types of media, such as the internet, blogs and social media provide a perfect environment for spreading disinformation due to lack of control for the reliability of sources. This project studies disinformation by integrating educational, cognitive psychological, psychophysiological and neuroscientific methods. Our goal is to map the overall picture of secondary school students’ abilities to detect disinformation in various digital media, to understand the related cognitive, affective, and neural mechanisms, and to develop and test effective pedagogical means for teaching disinformation detection to protect young people against the disadvantages of disinformation. Our integrated approach also produces an integrative theoretical model for disinformation processing and widely applicable pedagogical materials and methods for teaching disinformation detection skills.

Collaborators:

  • Julie Coiro, University of Rhode Island, United States
  • Ladislao Salmerón, University of Valencia, Spain
  • Marc Stadtler, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
  • Otto Loberg, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom
  • Auli Toom, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Minna Torppa, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Information sheets and privacy notice

The privacy notice of the DETECT project can be read via the link below.

The information sheet for the study conducted in autumn 2025 can be read via the link below.

Publications

Scientific presentations
  • Salminen, T., Saarnio, J., Leppänen, P., Hämäläinen, J., Tolvanen, A., & Marttunen, M. (2025). Assessing adolescents’ disinformation and fake news detection competences. Paper presented at the 6th Baltic Sea Conference on Literacy Conference, 6.10.2025, Tallinn, Estonia.

Project team

External members

Jarkko Hautala

Tutkimuspäällikkö (Head of Research)