Information spreads quickly online, especially in the age of social networking. The 'Truthy' project, based at Indiana University, seeks to map the spread of ideas on services such as Twitter and help identify artificially-created memes. By examining how messages get bounced from one member of a network to another, and by examining the context around those messages, the researchers think they can identify 'astroturfing,' the creation of false grass-roots political movements. Want to participate in an mini-experiment? Tweet using the key words '#truthy, @scifri, and @truthyatindiana' and the project leaders will try to track their spread.
Produced by Annette Heist, Senior Producer