Gary F. Sinclair
Papers
2
Total Citations
5
H-Index
2
About
Gary F. Sinclair is a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of computational social science, public health communication, and digital misinformation. His scholarship focuses on the role of automated software programs (ASPs) and social bots in shaping online health discourse, with particular attention to anti-vaccine communities on social media platforms. Sinclair's most notable contribution examines the prevalence and behavior of bots within the COVID-19 anti-vaccination conversation on Twitter, offering early empirical evidence of how automated actors infiltrate and amplify health misinformation networks. His 2021 paper, "Bad Robot," provided a preliminary but foundational exploration of this phenomenon, accumulating citations that have helped establish the conversation around computational propaganda in public health contexts. His follow-up work extends this inquiry by investigating the more nuanced, benevolent uses of automation by influencers within the same discourse, highlighting the complex and often contradictory ways automated tools are deployed online. Collectively, Sinclair's research raises important questions about institutional trust, platform governance, and the integrity of digital health communication — concerns that have become increasingly urgent in a post-pandemic information landscape.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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