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.
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