Come join us!
The researcher would be asked to study online media manipulation through software designed to detect it. These include digital investigations and open source intelligence as well as textual analysis, network analysis, and other content-agnostic, behavioural approaches such as coordinated inauthentic behaviour. The work includes stakeholder usage analysis in workshop and co-creation settings.
This is what you will be doing
- Actively participating in an international consortium;
- Facilitating workshop and data sprint projects;
- Designing and conducting research under the guidance of the project leader, resulting in peer-reviewed academic publications as well as training materials; and
- Writing project deliverables.
This is what we ask of you
- PhD in a field relevant to digital investigations;
- Considerable experience with online data analysis;
- Experience in data journalism and digital investigations;
- Experience with leading data sprints and workshops as well as writing academic articles and reports; and
- Good academic English.
This is what we offer you
- The employment is full-time (1,0fte/38 hours) for 30 months. The starting date is 01 September 2026;
- The salary will be between EUR 3.546 and EUR 5.538 gross, excl. 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end of the year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities is applicable;
- A world-leading research environment;
- An inspiring international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam; and
- The opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers in the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis.
Disclaimer: Actual contracting can only take place after the official grant agreement has been signed by the Research Executive Agency (REA), expected by the end of August 2026 at the latest.
This is where you'll be working
You will be employed in the Department of Media Studies. The New Media team, together with 5 other teams, forms the Media Studies Department. It is one of the largest departments of the faculty, where PhD students, researchers, and academic and practice-based teachers work closely together. Due to the international character of the department, the working language alternates between Dutch and English. The project is conducted with the Digital Methods Initiative, which is part of the Humanities Labs, University of Amsterdam, where you will participate in annual Digital Methods Winter and Summer Schools as well as the Spring Data Sprint. The Humanities Labs is part of the Faculty of Humanities, which encompasses a wide spectrum of progressive education and research. From the historical heart of Amsterdam, it maintains intensive contacts with many partners in culture, society, and business. In this way, it is part of a humanities hub of international stature.
We are seeking a digital investigations researcher for the Europe Horizon project FIMI-RESIST. Its objective is to strengthen European resilience against disinformation. The successful candidate would join the Digital Methods Initiative, Humanities Labs, one of Europe’s leading internet research groups. The researcher is expected to use and test software that detects social media manipulation, synthetic media, coordinated inauthentic behaviour and other forms of online media interference.
Come join us!
The researcher would be asked to study online media manipulation through software designed to detect it. These include digital investigations and open source intelligence as well as textual analysis, network analysis, and other content-agnostic, behavioural approaches such as coordinated inauthentic behaviour. The work includes stakeholder usage analysis in workshop and co-creation settings.
This is what you will be doing
- Actively participating in an international consortium;
- Facilitating workshop and data sprint projects;
- Designing and conducting research under the guidance of the project leader, resulting in peer-reviewed academic publications as well as training materials; and
- Writing project deliverables.
This is what we ask of you
- PhD in a field relevant to digital investigations;
- Considerable experience with online data analysis;
- Experience in data journalism and digital investigations;
- Experience with leading data sprints and workshops as well as writing academic articles and reports; and
- Good academic English.
This is what we offer you
- The employment is full-time (1,0fte/38 hours) for 30 months. The starting date is 01 September 2026;
- The salary will be between EUR 3.546 and EUR 5.538 gross, excl. 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end of the year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities is applicable;
- A world-leading research environment;
- An inspiring international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam; and
- The opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers in the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis.
Disclaimer: Actual contracting can only take place after the official grant agreement has been signed by the Research Executive Agency (REA), expected by the end of August 2026 at the latest.
This is where you'll be working
You will be employed in the Department of Media Studies. The New Media team, together with 5 other teams, forms the Media Studies Department. It is one of the largest departments of the faculty, where PhD students, researchers, and academic and practice-based teachers work closely together. Due to the international character of the department, the working language alternates between Dutch and English. The project is conducted with the Digital Methods Initiative, which is part of the Humanities Labs, University of Amsterdam, where you will participate in annual Digital Methods Winter and Summer Schools as well as the Spring Data Sprint. The Humanities Labs is part of the Faculty of Humanities, which encompasses a wide spectrum of progressive education and research. From the historical heart of Amsterdam, it maintains intensive contacts with many partners in culture, society, and business. In this way, it is part of a humanities hub of international stature.
Questions?
For questions about the position, you can contact us during office hours at:
Richard Rogers, rogers@uva.nl
Professor of New Media & Digital Culture, Media Studies
Application
If you see yourself in the position and are interested in applying, please send your cover letter, CV and a writing sample (preferably academic) up to 8,500 words as a single PDF file.
The vacancy closes on 16-6-2026. Interviews will take place on 23 June 2026.
