Team

PhD candidates

Paul Ballot (MSc) has earned degrees in Psychology and Communication Science at the University of Vienna, Social Influence Psychology at Utrecht University and Political Communication (cum laude) at the University of Amsterdam. He is an award-winning communication specialist and a PhD candidate at Radboud University’s Centre for Language Studies and iHub, an interdisciplinary hub on the digitalisation of society. As part of the Digital Influence Group, he researches the role of disinformation, conspiracies, artificial agents and generative AI in the information space as well as potential mechanisms behind LLM-driven interventions.

Yana van de Sande is a PhD candidate at Radboud University, affiliated with iHub and the Centre for Language Studies (CLS), working on misinformation and deception in the online information ecosystem. She has a background in artificial intelligence and social science and works at the intersection of both to better understand how information ecosystems function and how reality is constructed. Some of her current research projects include misinformation in different species, deception through uncertainty, and investigating how truth is constructed within artificial intelligence algorithms.

Research staff

Jule Schmitz supports the InveSt HPV project at the Robert Koch-Institute which aims to increase HPV vaccination rates in Germany. Her research focuses on physician-patient communication in the context of planetary health issues. Overall, her interests lie in promoting healthy and climate-friendly behaviors and in understanding their drivers. Jule studied Health Communication in Erfurt and Public Relations in Hanover.