Project Researcher or Doctoral Researcher in the POLINOCULATE project
About this role
The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Turku invites applications for a fixed-term Project Researcher or Doctoral 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 policy actors 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 position will be filled either as a Project Researcher or Doctoral Researcher position.
The duties of the Project Researcher/Doctoral Researcher include conducting research related to the project's key themes. The researcher will participate in research on disinformation and countering it, as well as on actors who oppose efforts to counter disinformation and their communication. The researcher will help examine where the boundary lies between misinformation, disinformation, and freedom of expression, and may also study how disinformation can be limited through legislative means without restricting freedom of expression. The researcher may also participate in identifying and studying astroturfing, meaning influence activities that appe