Security, Crime, and Intelligence Innovation Institute researchers tackle misinformation in CREST Security Review

The surge of misinformation, with its far-reaching implications, has become a formidable and pressing challenge that transcends borders, cultures, and languages.

In the latest edition of the CREST Security Review (CSR), a magazine by The Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST), researchers from the Security, Crime, and Intelligence Innovation Institute were invited to help address the global challenge of misinformation.

The team contributed two expert articles to the review. In the first Dr Helen Innes, Andrew Dawson and Professor Martin Innes explore the interplay between open-source intelligence and disinformation to illuminate how they drive vital innovations in the organisation and conduct of each other. In the second, Isabella Orpen explains how understanding diverse types of conspiracy believers is crucial to better understanding and mitigating the potential risks.

Professor Martin Innes, Co-Director of the Security, Crime, and Intelligence Innovation Institute, said: "For several years, our expert team at Cardiff have been conducting world-leading research tracking the evolution and development of the societal threats and harms posed by disinformation."

CREST is a UK-wide research centre based at Lancaster University and funded by the country's security and intelligence agencies, focuses on generating impactful social science insights to improve our understanding of security threats and capacity to counter them. They produce magazines, guides, and reports to government figures and practitioners to help translate academic research into ‘so what’ answers and illustrate how behavioural and social sciences can be used effectively in everyday scenarios.

Professor Stacey Conchie, Director of CREST, said “CREST Security Review is our way to keep practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders informed about impressive social and behavioural science not only at CREST, but around the world.”

You can read this edition of CREST Security Review on their website: https://crestresearch.ac.uk/magazine/misinformation/