References & Sources
Our content is based on the latest scientific research in critical thinking, media literacy, and educational gamification.
Academic Publications
The peer-reviewed research that underpins our pedagogical approach.
3 Inoculation Theory and Prebunking
van der Linden, S. (2024)
Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
W.W. Norton
Harvard Goldsmith Prize 2024
Biddlestone, M. et al. (2025)
Tune in to the prebunking network! Development and validation of six inoculation videos
Political Psychology
Roozenbeek, J. & van der Linden, S. (2019)
Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation
Palgrave Communications, 5, 65
1 Debunking and Correction
Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Ecker, U.K.H. et al. (2020)
The Debunking Handbook 2020
Consensus document by 22 researchers
2 SIFT Method and Verification
Caulfield, M. (2019)
SIFT (The Four Moves)
Hapgood
Wineburg, S. & McGrew, S. (2019)
Lateral reading and the nature of expertise: reading less and learning more when evaluating digital information
Teachers College Record, 121(11), 1-40
8 Cognitive Biases
Douglas, K.M., Sutton, R.M. & Cichocka, A. (2017)
The psychology of conspiracy theories
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(6), 538-542
Fazio, L.K., Pillai, R.M. & Patel, D. (2022)
The effects of repetition on belief in naturalistic settings
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 151(10), 2604-2613
Simons, D.J. & Chabris, C.F. (1999)
Gorillas in Our Midst: Sustained Inattentional Blindness for Dynamic Events
Perception, 28(9), 1059-1074
Asch, S.E. (1956)
Studies of independence and conformity: A minority of one against a unanimous majority
Psychological Monographs, 70(9), 1-70
Franzen, A. & Mader, S. (2023)
The power of social influence: A replication and extension of the Asch experiment
PLoS One, 18(11), e0294325
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974)
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131
Kruger, J. & Dunning, D. (1999)
Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121-1134
Wikipedia contributors (2025)
List of cognitive biases
Wikipedia
4 Media Literacy
NAMLE (2024)
Snapshot 2024: The State of Media Literacy Education in the U.S.
National Association for Media Literacy Education
UNESCO (2024)
Media and Information Literacy: Policy and Strategy Guidelines
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Goffman, E. (1974)
Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience
Harvard University Press
Entman, R.M. (1993)
Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm
Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58
5 Educational Gamification
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990)
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Harper & Row
Deci, E.L. & Ryan, R.M. (2000)
The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior
Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268
Chou, Y.-K. (2015)
Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards
Octalysis Media
Sailer, M. & Homner, L. (2020)
The gamification of learning: a meta-analysis
Educational Psychology Review, 32, 77-112
Zeng, X. et al. (2024)
Exploring the impact of gamification on students' academic performance: A comprehensive meta-analysis
British Journal of Educational Technology
1 Echo Chambers and Polarization
Hartmann, D., Wang, S.M., Pohlmann, L. & Berendt, B. (2025)
A systematic review of echo chamber research: comparative analysis of conceptualizations, operationalizations, and varying outcomes
Journal of Computational Social Science, 8(2)
5 Science & Environment
Legagneux, P. et al. (2018)
Our house is burning: Discrepancy in climate change vs. biodiversity coverage in the media
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 5, 175
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1971)
Belief in the law of small numbers (sample size and reliability)
Psychological Bulletin, 76(2), 105-110
Bickel, P.J., Hammel, E.A. & O'Connell, J.W. (1975)
Sex Bias in Graduate Admissions: Data from Berkeley (Simpson's paradox)
Science, 187(4175), 398-404
Simpson, E.H. (1951)
The Interpretation of Interaction in Contingency Tables
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B, 13(2), 238-241
Vigen, T. (2015)
Spurious Correlations
tylervigen.com
Educational Tools and Games
Research-validated interactive resources to develop critical thinking.
Organizations and Resources
Research centers and organizations working on information literacy education.
Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab
Research on psychological inoculation
Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review
Scientific publications on misinformation
First Draft
Verification tools and training
AFP Factuel
French-language fact-checking reference
Full Fact
UK fact-checking organization
CICAP
Scientific skepticism and critical thinking in Italy
McGill Office for Science and Society
Health and nutrition myths examined by scientists (Canada)
Szkeptikus Társaság
Hungarian Skeptic Society, science and pseudoscience
Kvarkadabra
Slovene science explainer with a pseudoscience archive
Българска наука
Bulgarian popular science magazine and association
ECSO
European umbrella of the national skeptic societies
EDMO
EU observatory on disinformation, with a hub in every member state
NAMLE
National Association for Media Literacy Education (USA)
UNESCO MIL
International media literacy policies
Encyclopedias and References
Encyclopedic resources for deeper concept exploration.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Fallacies
Philosophical encyclopedia on logical fallacies
Purdue OWL - Logical Fallacies
Pedagogical guide on argumentation fallacies
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Philosophy of reasoning errors
Skeptical Science
Climate and debunking resources
Wikipedia - Asch conformity experiments
The reference article on the Asch conformity experiments: protocol, results, variations, and criticisms.
Key Researchers
The scientists whose work has shaped our approach.
Sander van der Linden
University of Cambridge
Pioneer of inoculation theory and prebunking. Author of 'Foolproof'.
Mike Caulfield
University of Washington
Creator of the SIFT method and information verification expert.
Stephan Lewandowsky
University of Bristol
Co-author of the Debunking Handbook and misinformation psychology expert.
Karen Douglas
University of Kent
Expert in the psychology of conspiracy theories.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Claremont Graduate University
Creator of Flow theory - optimal experience in learning.
Yu-kai Chou
Octalysis Group
Gamification expert and creator of the Octalysis framework.
Music credits
The background music in our animations is used in accordance with each track's licence. Thanks to the artists.
- Crypto, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Ossuary 6 - Air, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Dark Walk, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Suonatore di Liuto, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Thinking Music, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Frost Waltz, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Gymnopedie No 1, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Deliberate Thought, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Hidden Agenda, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Investigations, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Nerves, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Movement Proposition, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Ishikari Lore, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
- Empty Hours, Alana Jordan (Pixabay), Pixabay Content License
- Ethereal Visit, Alana Jordan (Pixabay), Pixabay Content License
- Reflected Light, SergePavkinMusic (Pixabay), Pixabay Content License
- Ethereal Ambient Soundscape, NourishedByMusic (Pixabay), Pixabay Content License
Photo credits
The photographs used in our animations and activities come from Wikimedia Commons. They have been cropped; the cropped versions of CC BY-SA images remain under the same licence.
- USACE Martins Fork Dam and Lake, George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Barrels filled with sealants, Cjp24 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Corroded Bolt, ImagePerson (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Red blood cells (2), Scootdive (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Rashomon (1950), photo de presse : Chiaki, Ueda et Shimura, Daiei Studios (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Rashomon (1950), photo de presse : Mifune et Machiko Kyo, Daiei Studios (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Rashomon (1950), photo de presse : Mori et Mifune, Daiei Studios (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Les Habits neufs de l'empereur, gravure de 1849, Vilhelm Pedersen (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Rouleaux de gazon synthétique dans un magasin de bricolage de Tokyo, Syced (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- More Doctors Smoke Camels, publicite des annees 1940, Internet Archive Book Images (Wikimedia Commons), Aucune restriction connue
- L'Aurore du 13 janvier 1898, « J'accuse...! », Emile Zola / Paris Musees (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Portrait d’Ivan Vazov, Auteur inconnu, Archives d’Etat de Bulgarie (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Zdravljica, manuscrit avec la strophe biffee par la censure, France Preseren (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Portrait de Sandor Petoefi, 1848, Miklos Barabas (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Portrait de Ion Luca Caragiale, 1901, Atelier Wandelmann, Bucarest (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Char sovietique dans une rue de Budapest, 1956, CIA (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Village abandonne de Kalliokoski, vue aerienne, Kijimashima (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gargouille rongee par les pluies acides, Nino Barbieri (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.5
- Tours de refroidissement de la centrale de Bell Bend, Jakec (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Crue du Mississippi a Mounds, Illinois, 29 mars 1927, NOAA Photo Library, Historic NWS Collection (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Iceberg pris dans la banquise, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- L'Enfer, chant XX : Virgile reprend Dante, gravure de 1861, Gustave Dore (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- L'Enfer, chant I : la foret obscure, gravure de 1861, Gustave Dore (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Dante et les trois royaumes, cathedrale Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, 1465, Domenico di Michelino (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- La Parabole des aveugles, 1568 (Google Art Project), Pieter Bruegel l'Ancien (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Photographies de Cottingley, troisieme cliche, 1920, Elsie Wright (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Photographies de Cottingley, quatrieme cliche, 1920, Frances Griffiths (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Photographies de Cottingley, cinquieme cliche, 1920, Frances Griffiths et Elsie Wright (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Portrait d'Arthur Conan Doyle, vers 1920, Bain News Service (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- « Fairies Photographed », The Strand Magazine, decembre 1920, page 463, Arthur Conan Doyle / The Strand Magazine (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Illustration de Princess Mary's Gift Book, 1914, source des decoupages, Claude A. Shepperson (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- « Elsie and Frances », instantane de juin 1917 pris par Arthur Wright, et le plan « Cottingley Beck and Glen », Arthur Wright, dans The Coming of the Fairies, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1922 (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- « Frances and the Fairies », juillet 1917, la premiere des cinq photographies, Elsie Wright, dans The Coming of the Fairies, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1922 (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- « Elsie in 1920 » et « Frances in 1920 », portraits des deux cousines, Photographe non identifie, dans The Coming of the Fairies, Arthur Conan Doyle, edition George H. Doran, New York, 1922 (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Map of the Square and Stationary Earth (1893), Orlando Ferguson (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Icebergs in Front of Calving Front, NASA / Christy Hansen (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- COVID-19 Vaccine vial and syringe, United States Census Bureau (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Charles Darwin (1868), Julia Margaret Cameron (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- GEM corn, Keith Weller, USDA (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Cellular 5G Equipment - Cell Tower Antennas, Tony Webster (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0
- Cup of coffee surrounded by beans, Zacharias Korsalka (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- WrNKanal KKW Voeslau, Motox (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Pharmaceutical Blister Pack, Michiel4 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Charcuterie board - Massachusetts, Daderot (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Half closed laptop (Unsplash), Thom (thomweerd) (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Monkfruit Sweetener, SamHolt6 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Corridor on the second level - NÄL hospital 1, W.carter (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Thermometer 13 Degree Celsius, Quant (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Klassenraum Grundschule, Martin Kraft (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Election presidentielle 2007 Lausanne MG 2761, Rama (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 2.0 fr
- Jamie Street 2016-07-24 (Unsplash), Jamie Street (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Brain model 12, John Campbell (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0
- Cianorte desktop (Unsplash), João Silas (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- LOC Main Reading Room Highsmith, Carol M. Highsmith (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Pencil shavings on a notebook (Unsplash), Angelina Litvin (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Righteously Raw chocolate, Mx. Granger (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- 20230430 Bundesautobahn 9 02, Flocci Nivis (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 4.0
- Equipment and glassware, Belikov Maxim (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 4.0
- Colored pen and smartphone on a table (Unsplash 36nRvt6EP2I), Gabriel Santiago (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Stethoscope No.120, Tama998 (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Vancouver (BC, Canada), Devonian Harbour Park -- 2022 -- 2119, Dietmar Rabich (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Filling a glass with water in a kitchen sink closeup, Nenad Stojković (Shixart1985) (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0
- Syringe and Vaccine (14329622976), NIAID (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0
- Bunch of bananas on sale, Wilfredor (Wikimedia Commons), CC0
- Vegan Buddha Bowl, FitTasteTic (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 2.0
- Boiling water, GRAN (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 3.0
- Sunflower fields in Šumadija, Petar Milošević (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Dominoes falling, Kurt:S (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0
- Earth From the Perspective of Artemis II, Reid Wiseman/NASA (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- Margherita Originale, Mario56 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kerze -- 2021 -- 5334-8, Dietmar Rabich (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Burbuja subacuática, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, México, 2024-12-18, DD 27, Diego Delso (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Game start, $ir$terlin (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gota4, Luis nunes alberto (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
- European flag in Karlskrona 2011, MPD01605 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 2.0
- 12in-Vinyl-LP-Record-Angle, Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), Domaine public
- New Orleans Street number tiles - Royal at Marigny - 2301, Infrogmation of New Orleans (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
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