The human brain likes to be deceived. What are the mechanisms that enable the success of disinformation campaigns? How are they inherent to the way our minds work, and how are they specific for today's information environment with weaker traditional media and an increased role of new media?
Josef Šlerka, semiotician and data analysis expert. Josef is at home on the Internet. He is an expert in the analysis of social network data and has been described in the online world as the "Nestor of Czech the digital world".
Read moreJosef Šlerka is interested in the way people live with symbols and how this world can be analysed, which he maps in his semiotic texts and in the development of analytical tools. His current research focuses on the machine analysis of natural language and various aspects of social media. He is a lecturer at Charles University, from which he also graduated. Until last year, he was the director of the Foundation for Independent Journalism, where, among other things, he led the Media Map project, which aims to collect information about the Czech media and various aspects of journalistic work and media practice. Prior to joining the FIJ, he was the head of development and research at Socialbakers.
In addition to his academic work, he founded the translation magazine Plav (Swim) and is involved in the organisation of the Šrámek Sobotka Czech Language Festival. In 2014, he was voted Personality of the Year at the Czech Internet Awards.