The three-year Mercury Project was launched in November 2021 with USD 7.5 million in seed funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and additional support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, applies the principles of large-scale, team-based science to the problem of vaccination demand.

The Mercury Project is a global consortium of researchers dedicated to combating the impacts of mis- and disinformation on public health and to finding interventions that support the spread and uptake of accurate health information.

Together, we can build a healthier information environment

The information networks that carry public health guidance into communities are among the most essential elements in a disease outbreak response. However, in today’s information ecosystem, accurate information is not getting through to everyone, everywhere. The viral spread of mis- and disinformation has been widely acknowledged in the global health space as a major and growing threat to public safety and to effective pandemic response.

The Mercury Project, which alludes to the ancient Roman god Mercury of messages and communication, will fund researchers to discover new, evidence-based, data-driven tools, methods, and interventions to counter mis- and disinformation and to support the spread and uptake of accurate health information. These solutions will be an essential resource for social media and technology companies and for global policymakers as they build an information ecosystem that supports the sharing of accurate and effective health information.

The Mercury Project will provide research grants over a three-year period to researchers and organizations for the purpose of:

a) estimating the causal impacts of mis- and disinformation on online and offline outcomes in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, including health, economic, and/or social outcomes, differential impacts across socio-demographic groups, and quantifying the global costs of those impacts;

b) estimating the causal impacts of online or offline interventions in the United States, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America to increase uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and other recommended public health measures by countering mis- and disinformation, including interventions that target the producers or the consumers of mis- and disinformation, or that increase confidence in reliable information.

The Mercury Project will also provide a suite of research sharing and policy development activities for grantees and other invited organizations to enable more effective policy and regulatory responses to current and future public health emergencies. The work of the consortium will provide a foundation for data-driven policy and regulatory interventions enabling the creation of a healthier information environment. Call for Proposals

The Mercury Project is a 10M research consortium investigating the impacts of health misinformation and evaluating interventions to prevent its spread in the United States, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. ¹⁾

The World Health Organization and the United Nations define an infodemic as the spread of “false or misleading information in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak. It causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities and undermines the public health response.” The U.S. Office of the Surgeon General has declared health misinformation to be a significant public health challenge.

In an October 17, 2021 interview on MSNBC, outgoing National Institute of Health Director Francis Collins expressed regret over the U.S. response to Covid-19 misinformation: “I think we underestimated the vaccine hesitancy issue…I wish we had somehow seen that coming, and tried to come up with some kind of a ‘Myth Buster’ approach to try to block all of the misinformation and disinformation that’s gotten out there, all tangled up with politics, and which is costing lives.”

Online Information, Misinformation, and Uptake

There is some evidence that inaccurate and misleading health information circulating on social media platforms may reduce Covid-19 vaccination uptake.

Finally, there is also some evidence that increasing individuals’ exposure to reliable online health information may increase uptake. Breza et al (2021) found that U.S.-based Facebook users randomized to view ads containing video messages from health professionals about the dangers of travel during the 2020 holiday season decreased distance travelled and Covid-19 infection rates in intervention counties and zip codes. Moehring et al (2021) found in a large international Facebook survey experiment that Increasing exposure to accurate information about growing Covid-19 vaccine acceptance increased vaccine acceptance. However, we have little other causal evidence about online interventions that may increase the uptake of reliable health information.

Finally, there are some studies of informational interventions that may be able to mitigate racial and ethnic disparities in information uptake. In a U.S.-based survey experiment, Alsan et al (2021) found that physician video messages delivering Covid-related health information increased Covid-19 knowledge among Black and Latinx subjects, but that alternative interventions tailored to Black and Latinx communities had no additional effects for either Black or Latinx subjects. In a similar U.S.-based survey experiment, Torres et al (2021) likewise found that physician video messages delivering Covid-related health information increased Covid-19 knowledge, the demand for Covid-19 information, and the willingness to pay for a mask among both Black and white subjects, but that videos tailored to Black communities had no additional effects for either Black or white subjects. More work is needed to identify interventions that can mitigate disparities in information uptake around the globe. ²⁾

Mercury Project to Boost Covid-19 Vaccination Rates and Counter Public Health Mis- and Disinformation in 17 Countries Worldwide Rockefeller Foundation Press Release 08.23.22

The Social Science Research Council is providing USD 7.2 million to 12 teams advancing ambitious, applied social and behavioral science to combat the growing global threat posed by low Covid-19 vaccination rates and public health mis- and disinformation

NEW YORK | August 23, 2022—The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) announced it will provide an initial USD 7.2 million in direct research funds to 12 teams working in 17 countries in order to better understand how health mis- and disinformation spreads, how to combat it, and how to build stronger information systems, while increasing Covid-19 vaccination rates. Through the Mercury Project—enabled by The Rockefeller Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation with a total of USD 10.25 million so far—the SSRC is supporting a first cohort of social and behavioral scientists from around the world to generate much-needed new research on locally tailored solutions in Bolivia, Brazil, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, United States, and Zimbabwe.

Following the characterization of inaccurate health information by the U.S. Surgeon General as an “urgent threat,” and by the World Health Organization as an “infodemic,” the SSRC issued a call for proposals to counter the growing global threats posed by public health mis- and disinformation and low Covid-19 vaccination rates, and received nearly 200 submissions from around the world.

“With Covid-19 prevalent and rapidly evolving everywhere, there is a pressing need to identify interventions with the potential to increase vaccination take-up. Vaccines are only effective if they become vaccinations; vaccines are a scientific marvel but their potential is unfulfilled if they are left on the shelf,” said Anna Harvey, President of SSRC. “The large volume of high-quality proposals submitted to the Mercury Project underscores just how eager the social and behavioral science community is to evaluate interventions to increase vaccination demand and build healthier information environments.”

Researchers in the Mercury Project’s first cohort are affiliated with research institutions and implementing partners around the world:

• Canada: University of Regina
• Côte d’Ivoire: Centre for Research and Action for Peace
• England: The London School of Economics, London School of Health and Tropical Medicine, the University of Bristol, University of Lincoln, and University of Warwick
• France: Aix-Marseille School of Economics
• Ghana: Ghana Health Service, Innovations for Poverty Action, University of Health and Allied Sciences
• Haiti: Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health)
• Kenya: Partnership for African Social and Governance Research
• India: Centre for Policy Research
• Malawi: Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (Partners in Health)
• Mexico: Center for Research and Teaching in Economics, Institute Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
• Sierra Leone: Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ram Labs, Unicef
• Spain: University Carlos III
• Rwanda: Inshuti Mu Buzima (Partners in Health)
• Tanzania: Economic and Social Research Foundation, National Institute of Medical Research, University of Dar es Salaam
• United States: Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Duke, Harvard and Harvard Medical School, MIT, New York University, Rutgers, St. Augustine University, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Southern California, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, and Yale

“This initial cohort’s ideas exemplify the creativity and vision behind the Mercury Project,” said Dr. Bruce Gellin, Chief of Global Public Health Strategy at The Rockefeller Foundation. “They go far beyond quick fixes, with the goal of identifying robust, cost-effective, and meaningful solutions that can be widely adopted and scaled. We hope that more, better, and science-based knowledge about what we need to do will lead to increased uptake of reliable information—and serve as a powerful counter to the effects of misinformation and disinformation on vaccine demand.”

Funded projects will provide evidence about what works–and doesn’t–in specific places and for specific groups to increase Covid-19 vaccination take-up, including what is feasible on the ground and has the potential to be cost-effective at scale. Each of the 12 teams will have access to findings from the other teams while exploring interventions including, but not limited to:

• Conducting literacy training for secondary school students in partnership with local authorities to help students identify Covid-19 vaccine misinformation;
• Equipping trusted messengers with communication strategies to increase Covid-19 vaccination demand;
• Using social networks to share tailored, community-developed messaging to increase Covid-19 vaccination demand.

The complete list of grantees, and descriptions of each project, are at https://www.ssrc.org/mercury-project-grantees.

“The viral, vaccine, and information environments are all rapidly evolving–but that doesn’t mean it is impossible to make progress towards more effective and equitable responses,” said Heather Lanthorn, Program Director at the Mercury Project. “By funding projects on the ground around the world, this work will help us understand what works where, and why, and identify new ways to harness the power of connection and communication to advance public health goals.”

The three-year Mercury Project, which launched in November 2021 with USD 7.5 million in seed funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and additional support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, applies the principles of large-scale, team-based science to the problem of vaccination demand. SSRC carefully selected interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, and international teams—with over 80 participating researchers—to create a network that can work in coordination to tackle the global problems of Covid-19 vaccine misinformation and low vaccination take-up.

Regular convenings, both virtual and in-person, will ensure that grantee research projects are both informed by and inform health and technology decision-makers around the world. The first convening will occur in late August at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, where thousands of scientists, policymakers, authors, and artists have turned innovative ideas into action since 1959. Grantee teams will share their research designs with each other and with global health policy leaders, and will build a shared research framework to guide evaluations of interventions to increase Covid-19 vaccination demand and create healthier information environments. A second cohort of research teams will receive funding from the National Science Foundation.

More information about the Mercury Project can be found on the Social Science Research Council website.

The Social Science Research Council, an independent and international nonprofit, mobilizes necessary knowledge for the public good by supporting social and behavioral science worldwide, generating new research across disciplines and linking researchers with decision-makers. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at ssrc.org and follow us on Twitter @ssrc_org and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/social-science-research-council.

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @RockefellerFdn. ³⁾

Media Contacts;

Jeff Mosenkis, Social Science Research Council mosenkis@ssrc.org

Davina Dukuly, The Rockefeller Foundation ddukuly@rockfound.org +1-212-852-0000

A new $20 million partnership with the National Science Foundation will advance the scientific frontier of building Covid-19 vaccination demand and a healthier information environment. ⁴⁾

Rockefeller Foundation, Nonprofits Spending Millions on Behavioral Psychology Research to ‘Nudge’ More People to Get COVID Vaccines

The Rockefeller Foundation, the National Science Foundation and other nonprofits are pouring millions of dollars into a research initiative “to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and other recommended public health measures by countering mis- and disinformation.” By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. September 13, 2022 Childrens Health Defense

The Rockefeller Foundation, the National Science Foundation (an “independent” agency of the U.S. government) and other nonprofits are pouring millions of dollars into a research initiative “to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and other recommended public health measures by countering mis- and disinformation.”

In conjunction with the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the Rockefeller Foundation last month announced $7.2 million in funding for the Mercury Project, initially launched in November 2021, under the slogan, “Together, we can build a healthier information environment.”

The funds will support 12 teams of researchers in 17 countries who will conduct studies on “ambitious, applied social and behavioral science to combat the growing global threat posed by low COVID-19 vaccination rates and public health mis- and disinformation,” the Rockefeller Foundation said.

The Rockefeller Foundation and the SSRC claim the aim of the Mercury Project, whose name is derived from the ancient Roman god of messages and communication, is to bolster public health and safety.

However, some critics described the project as one based on “propaganda” aimed at “nudging” the unvaccinated to get vaccinated. ⁵⁾