Trust in a Social and Digital World

Distinguishing on-line information from disinformation can be difficult. This epistemological task can be greatly assisted by networks of trusted peers, but figuring out who to trust is itself a challenge. Identifying, designing, and facilitating networks of trust is therefore an urgent task. This project constitutes the first attempt to offer a systematic and empirically-informed account of the way networks facilitate or hinder knowledge. By using the tools of social epistemology, virtue epistemology, and network science, we will identify how individuals should distribute their trust when embedded in epistemically hostile environments.