"PhD Position: "When Lies Take Root: Investigating the Impact of Misinformation on Those at Risk""

Are you motivated to protect those most vulnerable against misinformation and to develop new interventions against misinformation? Do you want to know more about how mis- and disinformation impact at-risk individuals and how this impact can be corrected? Then apply to this PhD project. We are looking for an ambitious PhD Researcher for the four-year project “When Lies Take Root: Investigating the Impact of Misinformation on Those at Risk”. The PhD Candidate is embedded in the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) and is part of the Communication, Organisations and Society (COS) Program Group.

Join Us! The prevalence and impact of online misinformation is one of the most hotly debated topics in the social sciences. This project will further this crucial debate by focusing on those who are most vulnerable for misinformation's negative consequences. In particular, we investigate how misinformation can reinforce existing beliefs, and emphasize the role of group dynamics and communicative features therein. In multiple surveys and experimental studies, we determine whether, to what extent and how misinformation impacts these at-risk individuals. Subsequently, we develop and test new intervention methods that strive to increase resilience against misinformation among those who are most at risk.

This project uses several quantitative methods like survey, experiment and quantitative intervention testing. The PhD Candidate will write a paper-based dissertation and strive to publish the results of individual sub-studies in important journals in the field of communication science and related disciplines.

This project has been funded by the Dutch Research Foundation (NWO) through an Open Competition M grant awarded to prof. Christian Burgers. Therefore, the successful candidate is also expected to participate in activities related to the overall project. The PhD project will be supervised by prof. dr. Christian Burgers, dr. Toni van der Meer and dr. Alexandra Schwinges. The starting date for the PhD Candidate is 1 February 2026.

What are you going to do? Tasks include: completing an English-language PhD dissertation consisting of research articles within the appointment period; conducting survey research on the role of group norms in misinformation perceptions; conducting experiments on effects of misinformation on institutional trust; developing and testing various targeted interventions to combat the impact of misinformation; conducting data analysis; presenting the work at national and international conferences; actively participate in the overall NWO project; spending 10% of your time on teaching-related tasks.

What do you have to offer? You: have a (research) master’s degree in Communication Science or in another discipline relevant to the project such as Psychology, Societal Resilience, Communication and Information Studies, Sociology, or Journalism Studies. Candidates with another (research) master’s degree may apply but should motivate why their experience suffices for this project; have experience with quantitative research methods (survey, experiment, quantitative intervention testing); preferably have an excellent spoken and written command of Dutch (as this project will comprise designing Dutch-language surveys, experiments and interventions); have an excellent spoken and written command of English (as you will write an English-language dissertation and present at international conferences); have the motivation to participate in a larger project on misinformation. You are: passionate about research, particularly related to organizations, communication strategies and society, and combatting mis- and disinformation; open to feedback; able to work independently; eager to learn and to develop new skills; organized, flexible and have attention to detail.

What else do we offer you? The position concerns temporary employment of 1.0 fte (38 hours per week) for a maximum term of 4 years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 3 years, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also be tasked with teaching Bachelor's students. For this position the University Job Classification profile PhD candidate applies. The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education. You will work here: The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) is the research institute for the Communication Science Department in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam.