Veridicality, rhetorical tropes, and epistemic vigilance in on-line communication: semantic and pragmatic underpinnings

This project will examine what semantic and pragmatic conditions must be met for an individual to recognize that a claim made online requires investigation and cannot be taken at face-value, as well as what epistemic conditions must be met for individuals making genuine truth claims to anonymous collectives. Using methodologies from linguistics and from the philosophy of language, the team will examine whether or not social media reshapes what users consider “evidence” to be, what specific interactions between evidence and truth arise in a social media environment that do not arise in normal speech, and what kinds of evidence serve to form the basis of judgements of truth value and trustworthiness.

Supporting mechanism: UChicago-CNRS PhD Joint Programme

Active dates: July 1, 2025-June 30, 2027