{"id":10863,"date":"2015-09-17T23:17:32","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T03:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialmedialab.ca\/web\/?page_id=10863"},"modified":"2026-05-22T20:50:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T20:50:56","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/socialmedialab.ca\/web\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”20330″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”The Lab”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

“Making Sense of a Networked World”<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1560525824003{padding-right: 100px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=””]\"Watch<\/a>The\u00a0Social Media Lab<\/a>\u00a0is an interdisciplinary research center at the\u00a0Ted Rogers School of Management<\/a>, part of\u00a0Toronto Metropolitan University<\/a>. The lab examines how social media and digital technologies are transforming the way people and organizations communicate, share information, conduct business, and foster communities. It also examines the broader impact of these shifts on society. Through its research, the lab aims to help the public better understand both the benefits and potential downsides of adopting new technologies\u00a0with a focus on combating and managing the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
\n<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The Lab was established in 2010 and is the first of its kind in North America. It is led by co-directors\u00a0Anatoliy Gruzd (PhD)<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Philip Mai (JD)<\/a>. The Lab is internationally recognized and attracts a diverse range of outstanding multidisciplinary\u00a0scholars\u00a0from around the world each year. It is a leader in social media studies and is the founder of the International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In addition to conducting original\u00a0empirical research<\/a>\u00a0and producing\u00a0public reports<\/a>\u00a0around matters of public interest, the Social Media Lab also develops\u00a0research apps, tools, and information dashboards\u00a0to\u00a0support social science research<\/a>\u00a0on online participation.\u00a0Some of the Lab\u2019s research tools, such as\u00a0Communalytic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Netlytic.org<\/a>\u00a0(Superseded),<\/a>\u00a0PoliDashboard.org<\/a>,\u00a0NoteTracker.socialmediadata.org<\/a>,\u00a0DeepfakesTracker.org<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0ConflictMisinfo.org, <\/a>are used by thousands of students, educators, researchers, analysts and journalists worldwide each year.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_tta_tabs][vc_tta_section title=”Co-Directors” tab_id=”leadership”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”23812″ img_size=”500×500″ alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Anatoliy Gruzd, PhD
\n<\/strong>Director of Research – Social Media Lab<\/h4>\n

Canada Research Chair | Royal Society of Canada College Member| Professor – School of Information Technology Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada<\/p>\n

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Philip Mai, JD
\n<\/strong>Executive Director – Social Media Lab<\/h4>\n

Co-founder of the International Conference on Social Media & Society | Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada<\/p>\n

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