★How do hoaxes come into being and why do they spread? What are the cognitive mechanisms to which they appeal? How can they be unmasked and how can you not fall into the trap of those who have an interest in spreading them?
★ “Free to believe it” is an antidote against misinformation, signed by one of the most authoritative international academics

The truth is a fleeting and evanescent concept which coexists with emotional and imperfect human beings, limited in their cognitive abilities. The advent of the Internet, and above all of the social networks, has made access to a huge mass of information without mediation easy, and generated the illusion that this door led to knowledge. Until now a prerogative of the elites. The Internet however, is betraying the expectations of many, producing, more than intelligence, a dangerous (and often instrumentalized) misinformation and a serious radicalization of public opinion. This way, through paradoxes and short circuits, in 2013 the World Economic Forum included misinformation in the list of global threats, many of which (from Trump to Brexit, to the antivaccination movements) today seem to have taken shape; and according to the authoritative Oxford Dictionary, “post-truth” became the word of 2016.

Walter Quattrociocchi coordinates the Laboratory of Data Science and Complexity at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research focuses on the spread of information (with particular reference to misinformation), the emergence of online narrative and their relationship with the evolution of opinions. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in the main scientific journals.

Antonella Vicini, a journalist, has contributed to “Il Tempo”, “Il Riformista”, “Il Messaggero” and “Reset”. Today she combines her work in journalism with studies on the social dynamics that are developing on the social networks in the age of constant information.