Find out more about our theoretical resoning, the dataset and additional results in our open access full text here: doi.org/10.1093/esr/...

The reputation of professors measured in prior citations has a significant effect on whether or not a professor is mentioned in the media, but not on the number of future media attention. Reputation might get you into the media but it may not keep you there.

Importantly, the cumulative advantage for the number of future media mentions is tronger for men than for women. Together with on average less mentions in the media for women which points to inequalities in media attention for women in science.

We find that having appeared previously in the media significantly increases the probability to appear in the media again and on average increases the number of future media mentions, lending strong support to a cumulative advantage effect of media appearences for professors.

Public outreach is ever more important for scientists, so we look at who actually appears in the media. For over 2000 German professors from the social sciences, we look at cumulative advantage, reputation and gender as possible effects on whether or not someone gets mentioned in legacy media.

Our study highlights the awareness of disinformation across societal sectors as well as the importance of tailored approaches according to sectors and specific roles. Bringing expertise from different sectors together (where it doesn't happen already) could lead to better mitigation strategies.

Experts focusing on a single feature, experts focusing mostly on features of individual disinformation pieces, experts focusing mostly on features of disinformation campaigns and experts with a multidimensional perception of disinformation.

Drawing on their perception of features of individual features of disinformation and features of disinformation campaigns, we provide a typology of disinformation foci including four major types:

While most interviewees share a similar definition of what disinformation entails, they provide very different insights into the actors, reasons, targets, audiences and processes of disinformation.

Johanna Klapproth, @zwizwasvens.bsky.social, @nilsvief.bsky.social, @boesch.bsky.social, @christianstoecker.de, @thorstenquandt.bsky.social and I conducted and analysed 58 expert interviews with politicians, the governmental sector, journalists, and representatives of private businesses.