UROP Project
How do AI and Non-AI labels influence factual beliefs?
AI, news media, social media, misinformation, Bayesian learning
Research Mentor: Marli Dunietz,
Department, College, Affiliation: Political Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: mdunietz@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Political Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: mdunietz@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Political science, economics, information science, communication, journalism
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Political science, economics, information science, communication, journalism
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Friday, September 4
Start Time: 4:00
End Time: 4:30
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/92880880680
Project Description
Online audiences increasingly face uncertainty about whether images are authentic or AI-modified. Provenance transparency policies proposed or passed in e.g., the EU, South Korea, India, and California assume that transparency (informing people about AI / Non-AI use) will improve judgments, like a digital nutrition label. However, this informs users only about what tools are used, not whether the substantive content is true. We want to know, how does technology that informs people about AI or non-AI provenance influence their beliefs in true and false content?Research Tasks: - Collect real and fabricated news stories, social media posts, and headlines across major platforms (X, TruthSocial, TikTok, Meta) and reputable journalistic outlets.
- Find original authentic images and verify photo credits.
- Prepare survey stimuli.
- Analyze pre-test data
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: - Organization: maintain a structured spreadsheet documenting source URLs, verification notes, and categorization tags.
- Strong internet research and fact-checking skills (such as experience with reverse-image search tools)
- High attention to detail, media literacy, and familiarity with current social media trends and AI-generated media.
- Proficiency in Google Sheets/Excel and basic image cropping/editing tools.
Mentoring Philosophy
My mentoring philosophy is based on structured apprenticeship. Mentees will follow the process of an in-progress research project and gain hands-on experience with how research is carried out. In the process, I:1. Work with mentees to identify their talents and their research and professional interests, and work toward developing technical and analytical skills that are valuable for those objectives.
2. Encourage learning through inquiry: I prompting mentees to ask critical questions about research design, and theoretical assumptions.
3. Create a collaborative environment in which mentees are invited to stress-test our assumptions and propose alternative approaches to make the overall results stronger, or pursue their own related research ideas using the data.
4. Give constructive, iterative feedback: I maintain regular, low-stakes check-ins to troubleshoot challenges early, normalize iteration as a core part of the scientific process, and foster open communication without fear of making mistakes.