Research
I study how people evaluate information, whom they trust, and how ideas spread through society.
My research examines social networks, trust in science, health communication, media literacy, and artificial intelligence to better understand how people make decisions, and how evidence-based interventions can improve the quality of our information environment.
Research Areas
How do social networks shape what we believe?
The people around us influence how we think about politics, health, and science. My research explores how conversations and relationships shape beliefs, polarization, and the spread of misinformation.
What builds trust in science and health?
I study why people trust (or distrust) scientists, healthcare providers, and public institutions across different cultures and communities, including large international collaborations.
How can people make better-informed decisions?
I develop and evaluate media literacy tools and educational interventions that help people critically evaluate information without placing the entire burden on fact-checking. This work bridges research and practice by translating behavioral science into tools people can use every day.
How is artificial intelligence changing our information ecosystem?
AI is rapidly changing how people discover, evaluate, and share information. My recent research examines how people judge AI-generated content, what influences trust in AI, and how these technologies can both strengthen and weaken the quality of information online.
Academic Background and Teaching
I earned my PhD in sociology at the University of South Carolina, building on interdisciplinary training and research in psychology, neuroscience, and sociology. I have held academic positions at the University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University, and Georgetown University. I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses on misinformation and polarization (Vanderbilt University, syllabus), the psychology of belief (Antioch University), and psychological statistics (University of South Carolina). I also completed the Preparing Future Faculty Program and regularly give guest lectures on misinformation, media literacy, and science communication.
Beyond the university classroom, I develop online courses through Substack to make research on the information ecosystem accessible to a broader audience.
Selected academic work.
- Cologna, V., Mede, N. G., … Facciani, M. (2025). Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour, 9(4), 713–730. Link →
- Facciani, M. (2025). Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do About It. Columbia University Press. Link →
- Facciani, M., Huang, Q., & Weninger, T. (2026). Cross-cultural media literacy interventions: comparing Gali Fakta and Harmony Square in Indonesia and the United States. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 13: 288. Link →
- Facciani, M., Lazić, A., Viggiano, G., & McKay, T. (2023). Political network composition predicts vaccination attitudes. Social Science & Medicine, 328: 116004. Link →
- Facciani, M. J., Apriliawati, D., & Weninger, T. Playing Gali Fakta inoculates Indonesian participants against false information. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. Link →
- Ding, Y., Facciani, M., et al. Citations and Trust in LLM Generated Responses. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 39. Link →