(c) Operational and financial background of untrustworthy websites

I qualitatively and quantitatively mapped the operational and financial backgrounds of untrustworthy websites, primarily in Slovakia and Czechia. Specifically, I (i) co-created an open-source tool to uncover networks of untrustworthy websites based on the use of the same Google Analytics/AdSense IDs, with the added ability to expose networks based on historical data; I applied this tool in a two-wave study to create maps of Slovak untrustworthy website networks, where I argued that direct foreign control of Slovak untrustworthy websites is minimal; (ii) qualitatively mapped the companies and individuals owning, controlling, or running disinformation websites in Slovakia, arguing that financial incentives are the primary reasons behind running untrustworthy websites; and (iii) mapped the tech stacks of Slovak untrustworthy websites and proposed a tech-stack regulation approach to this issue.

Papers:
Hide and Seek in Slovakia: Utilizing Tracking Code Data to Uncover Untrustworthy Website Networks. (2021)
Examining the Tech Stacks of Czech and Slovak Untrustworthy Websites. (2022)
Slovakia: Snake Oil Spills Onto the Web. Report. (2019)

Projects:
The Business of Misinformation - (Co-Investigator — country leader for Slovakia) - Funded by: Open Society Foundations
Cognitive Analytics for Real World Security Threats - (Deputy Principal Investigator) - Funded by: IBM
Possibilities of cognitive analysis of security threats on social networking services - (Co-Investigator) - Funded by: VEGA (Slovakia)