Voluntarily or not, social distancing in 2020 means relying on digital communication more than ever before. Which challenges and choices arise from the all-digital living lab? A new dedicated ESMH Digital Humanities series explores the developing on-life in the EU.

An ambitious new project aims to develop new ways of communicating about science through the growing army of people volunteering their time to take part in research.

How do citizens keep themselves informed about the most controversial scientific issues? Which sources of information do they choose? A two-year project aims to answer these questions in order to obtain valuable information on communication to the public, to be taken into account for the near future.

Science communication is no longer the same. A project involving seven European countries aims to understand how science communication has changed. It’s not only a question of knowledge but also a matter of opportunities for the future.

Social media platforms are used by one-third of the world population, they are changing how we find partners, access news and engage with politics. But the rise in disinformation and data privacy breaches are denting public trust. Is it too late to harness the potential of social media for good?

Open access publications will be exceeding 43 000 journals in 2020 thanks to a push by some research funders. Critics object on grounds of sustainability, tight timelines and restrictions that look unsuitable for social sciences.

A major new EU research project is mapping the state of science communication through journalism, social media and museums in several European countries. The goal is to inform future efforts based on a better understanding of communicating science, as well as to produce guides on best practice.

Horizon-2020-supported Social Observatory for Disinformation and Social Media Analysis links academic, technological and media expertise to combat disinformation (SOMA).