What we do

Ongoing Research, Outreach and Technological Innovation Projects

Get to know the research, outreach and technological innovation projects conducted by coLAB and its network of partners.

coLAB project
coLAB team in the field coLAB data
coLAB research
Humor and Hate: Memes as a Threat to Digital Democracy
Research

Humor and Hate: Memes as a Threat to Digital Democracy

Investigation into the relationships between the humor of digital memes and online extremism.

#MUSEUdeMEMES
Outreach

#MUSEUdeMEMES

A web museum dedicated to gathering and cataloging internet memes created or circulated in Brazil, combining research, teaching and outreach.

coLAB Apps
Technological Innovation

coLAB Apps

A family of lightweight applications, developed by coLAB/UFF, to support academic management, research routines and the laboratory's editorial workflow.

DDoS Lab — Laboratory to Combat Disinformation and Hate Speech in Networked Communication Systems
Research

DDoS Lab — Laboratory to Combat Disinformation and Hate Speech in Networked Communication Systems

DDoS Lab is a research initiative on the circulation of hate speech and disinformation and the monitoring of online extremism.

Elections on WhatsApp
Research

Elections on WhatsApp

Elections on WhatsApp is a project to monitor the activity of extremist groups on private messaging services during the context of Elections.

Political Groups and the Performance of Taste in Digital Culture: Multi-Methodological Perspectives on Data Production
Research

Political Groups and the Performance of Taste in Digital Culture: Multi-Methodological Perspectives on Data Production

DDoS Lab is a research initiative on the circulation of hate speech and disinformation and the monitoring of online extremism.

Map of the Political Memesphere and Humorous Digital Activism in Brazil
Research

Map of the Political Memesphere and Humorous Digital Activism in Brazil

Mapping of the main actors and collectives that produce playful interventions and mobilize supporters for satirical and provocative collective actions.

Restoring Trust in Journalism: A Cross-Country Investigation into the Impact of Journalistic Repair Strategies
Research

Restoring Trust in Journalism: A Cross-Country Investigation into the Impact of Journalistic Repair Strategies

A multinational comparative experimental research project led by the Universiteit van Amsterdam, with the participation of coLAB/UFF.

Concluded Projects

The Politics of Memes and the Memes of Politics: Play and Informal Conversation on the Internet as New Experiences of Political Literacy and Cyberactivism

  • Period: 2014–2024
  • Funding: FOPESQ 2014 Call (UFF Research Support Program); FOPESQ 2017 Call (UFF Research Support Program); CNPq Junior Postdoctoral Scholarship 2018; PAEP/Capes Call 2018; Universal Call No. 28/2018 Range A (MCTIC/CNPq); FOPESQ 2020 Call (UFF Research Support Program); Young Scientist of Our State Scholarship 2020 (Faperj); Research Productivity Scholarship PQ-2 2021 (CNPq)
  • Principal Investigator: Viktor Chagas
  • Team: Viktor Chagas (coordination) and coLAB team

Model Memes Office

  • Period: 2021-2024
  • Funding: PIBITI/CNPq Scholarship
  • Principal Investigator: Viktor Chagas
  • Team: coLAB Team

The Circulation of Dangerous Speech in the 2020 Brazilian Elections

  • Period: 2021-2022
  • Funding: Foundational Integrity Research: Misinformation and Polarization Request for Proposals 2020 (Facebook Research)
  • Principal Investigator: Marco Aurelio Ruediger
  • Team: Marco Aurelio Ruediger, Tatiana Dourado, Dalby Dienstbach, Eurico Matos, Danilo Carvalho, Viktor Chagas, João Guilherme Bastos dos Santos and Victor Piaia

Lives #MUSEUdeMEMES

  • Period: 2020–2021
  • Funding: Call No. 001/2020 ("Cultura Presente nas Redes" Program, State Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy)
  • Principal Investigator: Beatrice de Melo e Silva and Guilherme Popolin
  • Team: Viktor Chagas (coordination) and coLAB team