Award Winners

Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden is a well-researched book that feels very necessary given the current state of the world and the rampant misinformation we all encounter. A book on this topic could be depressing or disheartening, but van der Linden brings in a sense of hope as he helps readers think about what they can do in their own lives to build resilience against misinformation. The committee found this book readable, informative, and much needed.

Sander van der Linden, Ph.D., is Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He has won numerous awards for his research on human judgment, communication, and decision-making, including the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS). He co-developed the award-winning fake news game Bad News and regularly advises governments, public health authorities, and social media companies on how to combat the spread of misinformation. He is ranked among the top 1% of highly cited social scientists worldwide and has published over 175 research papers. His research is regularly covered in outlets such as the New York Times, BBC, NPR, and Rolling Stone. Before joining Cambridge, he held academic positions at Princeton, Yale, and the LSE.