Research image of the month: fighting misinformation through art

March's research image of the month is from Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody and Dr Paul-François Tremlett. Precious and Paul were joined by comic artist Christian Mirra, to tell us all about their research which aims to fight disinformation through art.

In Precious (photo right) and Paul’s (photo left) own words…

“We are thrilled that our research image, a powerful six-frame comic created in collaboration with artist Christian Mirra [caricature photo middle], has been selected as The Open University’s (OU) Research Image of the Month for February. This comic visually explores how art can combat disinformation, illustrating how imagery can be a powerful weapon against the rapid spread of fake news.” said Precious Chatterje-Doody.

“The comic is an introduction to a wider set of images created through our project, which examines disinformation and the role art can take to tackle it. Disinformation often spreads quickly through places like social media where there is little fact checking. This increases the likelihood of people engaging with and believing false content or narratives. Research shows that repetition increases belief, even when it comes from a fact-checking source. Similarly, when disinformation is shared by trusted figures, it gains even more traction. Given these challenges, we wanted to find an approach that could engage people on a deeper, more emotional level - leading us to explore art as a means of communication. As the saying goes, an image speaks 1000 words and can often tap into people’s emotions.

“This collaboration came about through a unique intersection of our academic interests. I have a background in Russian foreign policy and information warfare, while Paul’s research focuses on religion and society, particularly in the Philippines. We first connected when Paul noted how Russian Orthodox Church narratives played a role in Kremlin disinformation, while in contrast, the Catholic Church in the Philippines was countering fake news. From this discussion, we developed a broader project examining the intersection of religion and disinformation, leading to the commissioning of six cartoonists to work with academics.”

Handing over to Paul-François Tremlett, he stated  “This particular image serves as the visual foreword to the entire project. It encapsulates the key theme - how art can be used to fight disinformation - and was a true collaborative effort between the three of us [Paul, Precious and Christian]. Unlike the other images, where we simply facilitated collaborations between different academics and artists, this one was our joint creation.

“One of the biggest challenges in research is ensuring that its findings reach beyond academia. Traditional academic work often remains confined within specialist circles. However, disinformation affects everyone, and engaging the wider public is crucial. We believe that visual storytelling has the power to do just that.

 “Since the project’s inception, we have exhibited these comics at academic conferences, museums, and public spaces such as the Foundry Social Justice Centre in London. Young people have even created their own artworks inspired by the comics, highlighting the real-world impact of this approach. Children producing artwork about the social issues that matter to them - that’s impact.

“The OU’s mission is to be open to people, places, and ideas, and this research perfectly embodies that ethos. Our project aligns with the Open Societal Challenges platform, particularly within the themes of tackling inequality, promoting well-being, and ensuring access to reliable information. The OU has a strong social justice mission, that’s one of the things that makes me so proud to be at the OU, and this project is entirely consonant with that mission.”

Precious finished by stating “Having this image selected as Research Image of the Month is deeply meaningful to us. It’s an acknowledgment that our work is resonating beyond academic circles. It gives us a little bit of confirmation that the idea behind the project is meaningful to other people. There genuinely is a hope that our cartoons can convey important messages to wider audiences. We are grateful for this recognition and hope that more people will engage with our research through these comics.”

Christian Mirra summed up, “It’s an honour and a pleasure. It’s proof that what we’re doing has meaning to people. And it’s a good feeling that this is where we can have impact and tackle disinformation. Disinformation is a global challenge, but by combining research with creative visual storytelling, we believe we can make a difference.”