Senior Researcher in the POLINOCULATE project

The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Turku invites applications for a fixed-term Senior Researcher position for the period 1 September 2026-31 August 2029. The position starts on 1 September 2026 or as agreed.

The position is part of the EU-funded, three-year international and multidisciplinary project POLINOCULATE - Inoculating and coaching policymakers to resist disinformation. In the project, we study disinformation and the factors influencing its spread; psychological inoculation techniques for identifying and countering disinformation; legal means of combating disinformation without restricting freedom of expression; and actors who oppose efforts to counter disinformation. The project will develop an AI coach to help policymakers identify, resist, and counter information manipulation. The aim of the project is to improve policymakers' preparedness to combat disinformation and to increase understanding of the European disinformation environment, legal and regulatory countermeasures against disinformation, the impact of social media and independent media on the spread or countering of disinformation, and the actors who oppose policies aimed at countering disinformation.

Job description

The Senior Researcher's duties include conducting independent research related to the project's key themes and publishing research findings in international peer-reviewed publication channels.

The Senior Researcher's tasks include studying how disinformation spreads across different channels and networks, and how the effects of disinformation can be countered. The work involves mapping the spread of disinformation and examining what kinds of actors, messages, and practices strengthen its dissemination. The work includes network analysis, document analysis of reports and other background materials, and analysis of public statements, media materials, and online content, also with the support of large language models. In addition, the position involves compiling res