Mission Statement
COSMOS is at the vanguard of the ever-evolving field of social computing that brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from over 15 countries. Founded in 2015, COSMOS is developing big ‘social’ data analytical tools to understand digital behaviors and forecast trends to achieve social good.
At COSMOS, we study the good, bad, and ugly aspects of our cyber social behaviors, including social movements, campaigns raising awareness about social issues, information and influence operations, mis/disinformation campaigns, computational and AI-based propaganda tactics, algorithmic warfare, and the rise of violent extremism. Aiming to strengthen our socio-cognitive security apparatus and help build community resiliency, these multi-year, multi-domain, and multicultural studies are supported by grants with a total funding of over $20 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Army Research Office (ARO), U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Research at COSMOS has made foundational contributions to social network analysis, (deviant) behavior modeling, combating socio-cognitive threats, group dynamics, influence, trust, collective action, social-cyber forensics, computational narratology, smart health, data mining, and privacy. Our research has examined anti-NATO and anti-West propaganda campaigns, COVID-19 mis/disinformation campaigns, elections, conflicts/wars, terrorism, and violent extremism in different regions of the world, specifically Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific region. To further our mission to bridge science, society, and policy through technology and innovation, the research conducted at COSMOS is transitioned to usable software tools, recognized internationally by NATO and WHO, and at home by the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center and Arkansas Office of the Attorney General.
Nitin Agarwal, Ph.D.
Founding Director, COSMOS Research Center
Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Chair and Donaghey Distinguished Professor of Information Science
University of Arkansas – Little Rock
Projects
COSMOS undertakes interdisciplinary research projects focused on understanding and mitigating socio-cognitive security threats in digital environments. These projects, often funded by prestigious institutions like the U.S. Army Research Office, NSF, and ONR, tackle challenges such as combating misinformation, analyzing covert influence operations, and developing socio-computational tools to safeguard social media ecosystems. By blending computational methods with social science, COSMOS addresses global issues ranging from propaganda and extremism to health misinformation and collective action.
All ProjectsDeveloping Socio-computational Approaches to Mitigate Collective Action-based Socio-cognitive Security Threats in a Multi-platform Multimedia-rich Information Environment. PI: Dr. Nitin Agarwal
U.S. Army Research Office (ARO)
$5,000,000
Developing Socio-computational Capabilities to Evaluate Emerging Social Cyber Threats. PI: Dr. Nitin Agarwal
U.S. Army Research Office (ARO)
$5,000,000
Developing Novel Big Data Mining Algorithms for a Safer Social Media and Creating Training Opportunities for Workforce Development and Retention. PI: Dr. Nitin Agarwal
U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
$95,227
Publications
COSMOS is at the forefront of social media research, publishing groundbreaking books, articles, and tools for researchers worldwide. Join us in understanding the impact of social media on behavior. Follow our work by subscribing to our newsletter or by viewing our publications.
All Publications
Books
COSMOS has published 11 books, about topics including social, behavioral and cultural modeling, predictive analytics, collective action, AI, malicious behaviors, social media, and cyber forensics.
Tools
Discover ToolsAt COSMOS, we have developed four cutting-edge tools that have transformed the way researchers study social media and online behavior. These tools provide valuable insights and analysis, empowering researchers around the globe to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of social media on society.
B-Tracker
B-Tracker is a socio-computational tool that can be employed to track, monitor, and understand blogs, bloggers, and real-time world events.
V-Tracker
VTracker is a tool that can track, monitor, and identify influential YouTube groups and content, allowing users to gain insights into content engagement.
C19 Misinformation
COVID-19 Misinfo provides near-real-time public documentation for COVID-19 misinformation that tracks unique narratives, such as fraud and scams.
Network FSA
Focal Structure Analysis (FSA) is an algorithm to identify key sets of individuals called focal structures in a social network.