Matthew Facciani

My book, Misguided, officially launches today! If you’ve ever wondered why people believe false things — or how to build resilience against misinformation — this book is for you. I wrote it to help us navigate our overwhelming information environment, and I’m thrilled to finally share it with you.

Free scicomm career coaching in a few hours! Feedback was great after the session from last Thursday, so I'm excited to see what we can do today

AI corrections of HPV vaccine misinformation were more effective when their tone matched people’s beliefs about how human-like AI is. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

RFK Jr. used the Amish as supposed evidence that vaccines cause autism, despite evidence contradicting his claims. Years later, a major measles outbreak in Amish and Mennonite communities highlighted the real risks of low vaccination rates. pauloffit.substack.com/p/rfk-jrs-co...

Low-information voters were among Trump’s strongest supporters in 2024. But as his approval rating plummets, new polling suggests that even this group is turning against Trump and Republicans. www.gelliottmorris.com/p/poll-low-i...

New episode of the @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social! Who’s giving health advice online? How much of your feed is actually about health? I also discuss how trust is earned online and how influencers’ financial incentives can shape the health advice they share.

New podcast episode! I talked with Jen Hauser from Edelman about trust in healthcare and the role of AI. People still trust their doctors most, but many turn to chatbots and online creators because they feel more heard there. The lesson for healthcare: earning trust starts with listening.

New study finds that seeing a fellow scientist get harassed online makes other scientists much more anxious, but it doesn’t scare them out of communicating publicly. If anything, they trust the targeted colleague slightly more. journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

“The Long Division: How the Politics of Education Became Partisan” is in press! Tentative publication date: March 22, 2027 Pre-order here: global.oup.com/academic/pro... Here’s a preview of the argument (followed by a long list of people to thank!):

About 1/3 US adults now use AI chatbots for health. Not because they think chatbots are more accurate than doctors, but because chatbots are always available and never judge you. My new piece in Science Politics on why that matters and what we can do about it. sciencepolitics.org/2026/10/19/w...

Week 5 of my course is live: Listening, Empathy, and Better Questions. Why arguing often fails, how listening reduces defensiveness, and practical strategies for talking with people who see the world differently. matthewfacciani.substack.com/p/class-5-li...

“Bari’s ideas routinely come from social media influencers or from opposition research that’s been placed in conservative outlets, and those stories usually leave out important context and facts,” www.semafor.com/article/10/1...

New study finds that Republicans were less likely to trust misinformation-fighting initiatives when multiple politically opposing organizations supported them. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A study of 98 Latino parents found that 77% had seen negative vaccine-related content on social media, and 41% said it influenced their decision to delay or refuse HPV vaccination. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I had a great time speaking with the NY Department of Health last week! I really enjoyed hearing the perspectives of those who attended my workshop on effective health communication, and it was also great to spend time with some of my favorite science communicators.

"It's a great story. But it looks like fiction rather than fact." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

New paper argues that AI literacy should go beyond knowing how to use AI tools. It should also help people understand how AI shapes the information they encounter, whom they trust, and how they form beliefs. This is something I’ve been advocating for as well! digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle-preprin...

I often examine social media activity for my research, and I haven’t noticed any significant decline in discussions of several polarizing topics on X or Meta platforms. But I could be missing something! If you’ve noticed less bot activity, which specific topics have you seen it around?

New study finds that conflicts over conspiracy beliefs are common and linked to lower relationship satisfaction, trust, and closeness. About one-third reported such conflicts in previous romantic relationships. www.frontiersin.org/journals/soc...

"The vaccine aims to prevent the recurrence of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with few major advances in treatment" www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...

New study shows how community-created comics in India can go beyond fact-checking to promote civic education, critical thinking, and media literacy. www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

Open-source investigations can trace digital footprints, allowing journalists to expose AI-generated propaganda, coordinated networks, financial incentives, and the people behind these operations. misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/turn...

A new study finds that young adults who actively post and react on social media are worse at spotting misinformation, while passive browsing is linked to better discernment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Shaming individuals for a systemic-level problem is not an effective strategy.

I’m going live on Substack today at 6 PM EST to talk about the social psychology of why we believe what we believe, and how our social connections shape trust. It’s the first live Q&A for my online class, but any paid newsletter subscriber is welcome to join. substack.com/@matthewfacc...

It’s not only algorithms that favor outspoken political content. People also expect social media to be a place for stronger, more outspoken views, which can make nuanced perspectives seem less fitting. www.emerald.com/oir/article-...

New UK study finds that people had much more confidence in scientists in academia than in scientists working in government or in private companies. www.nature.com/articles/d41...