Dr Hugo Leal

Hugo is the Methods Fellow at Cambridge Digital Humanities and a former Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), University of Cambridge.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow, he was associated with the Internet branch of the project Conspiracy and Democracy. Hugo combines research and teaching activities on misinformation, collective action and digital methods. His current research focuses on three topics: a cross-comparative analysis of conspiracy beliefs in Europe and the United States; the strategic use of misinformation by political actors; and nativist mobilisation driven by beliefs in the “Islamisation of Europe”. Also in the pipeline is the examination of “alternative knowledge” networks and their effects in the public perception of scientific and public health debates. His work cuts across disciplines, from sociology to political science, and combines qualitative and quantitative methods, with an emphasis on digital methods and social network analysis.

He is currently putting together a grant application on the anti-vax movement, whose objective is to explain and counter the spread on anti-vaccine misinformation and networks.