Cybersafety
This page provides a non-exhaustive list of my publications related to understanding and countering cybersafety, online harms, other socio-technical issues. For each entry, a link to an open-access version of the paper is also provided.
A. Galeazzi, P. Paudel, M. Conti, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini
Revealing The Secret Power: How Algorithms Can Influence Content Visibility on Twitter/X
33rd Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS 2026)
pdf
B. Treves, E. De Cristofaro, M. Faloutsos, Y. Dong
VIKI: Systematic Cross-Platform Profile Inference of Tech Users
17th ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci 2025)
pdf
A. Efstratiou, M. Efstratiou, S. Yudhoatmojo, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro
“Here’s Your Evidence”: False Consensus in Public Twitter Discussions of COVID-19 Science
27th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (ACM CSCW 2024)
pdf
M. Hammas Saeed, K. Papadamou, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini
TUBERAIDER: Attributing Coordinated Hate Attacks on YouTube Videos to their Source Communities
18th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2024)
pdf
J. Patel, P. Paudel, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
iDRAMA-Scored-2024: A Dataset of the Scored Social Media Platform from 2020 to 2023
18th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, Dataset Paper (ICWSM 2024)
pdf
P. Paudel, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, S. Zannettou
Lambretta: Learning to Rank for Twitter Soft Moderation
44th IEEE Symposium on Security & Privacy (S&P 2023)
pdf
A. Efstratiou, J. Blackburn, T. Caulfield, G. Stringhini, S. Zannettou, E. De Cristofaro
Non-Polar Opposites: Analyzing the Relationship Between Echo Chambers and Hostile Intergroup Interactions on Reddit
17th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2023)
pdf
S. Baskoro Yudhoatmojo, E. De Cristofaro, J. Blackburn
Understanding the Use of e-Prints on Reddit and 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Board
15th ACM Web Science Conference 2023 (WebSci 2023)
best paper
pdf
U. Balci, C. Ling, E. De Cristofaro, M. Squire, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
Beyond Fish and Bicycles: Exploring the Varieties of Online Women’s Ideological Spaces
15th ACM Web Science Conference 2023 (WebSci 2023)
pdf
W. Man Si, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, S. Zannettou, Y. Zhang
Why So Toxic? Measuring and Triggering Toxic Behavior in Open-Domain Chatbots
29th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS 2022)
honorable mention
pdf
media coverage: FastCompany
A. Efstratiou and E. De Cristofaro
Adherence to Misinformation on Social Media Through Socio-Cognitive and Group-Based Processes
25th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2022)
pdf
H. Bin Zia, A. Raman, I. Castro, I. Anaobi, E. De Cristofaro, N. Sastry, G. Tyson
Toxicity in the Decentralized Web and the Potential for Model Sharing
ACM International Conference on Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems (SIGMETRICS 2022)
pdf
M. Hammas Saeed, S. Ali, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, S. Zannettou, and G. Stringhini
TROLLMAGNIFIER: Detecting State-Sponsored Troll Accounts on Reddit
43th IEEE Symposium on Security & Privacy (S&P 2022)
pdf
media coverage: Wired
C. Ling, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini
Slapping Cats, Bopping Heads, and Oreo Shakes: Understanding Indicators of Virality in TikTok Short Videos
14th ACM Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci 2022)
pdf
A. Papasavva, M. Aliapoulios, C. Ballard, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, S. Zannettou, and J. Blackburn
The Gospel According to Q: Understanding the QAnon Conspiracy from the Perspective of Canonical Information
16th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2022)
pdf
media coverage: New Scientist
K. Papadamou, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, and M. Sirivianos
“It is just a flu”: Assessing the Effect of Watch History on YouTube’s Pseudoscientific Video Recommendations
16th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2022)
pdf
A. Ishaku, I. Castro, A. Raman, H. Bin Zia, E. De Cristofaro, N. Sastry, G. Tyson
Exploring Content Moderation in the Decentralised Web: The Pleroma Case
17th International Conference on emerging Networking EXperiments and Technologies (ACM CoNext 2021)
pdf
Y. Wang, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, B. Bradlyn, E. De Cristofaro, and G. Stringhini
A Multi-Platform Analysis of Political News Discussion and Sharing on Web Communities
2021 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (IEEE BigData 2021)
pdf
P. Doerfler, A. Forte, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn, and D. McCoy
“I’m a Professor, which isn’t usually a dangerous job”: Internet-Facilitated Harassment and its Impact on Researchers
24th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2021)
impact recognition award
pdf
M. Horta Ribeiro, S. Jhaver, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, and R. West
Do Platform Migrations Compromise Content Moderation? Evidence from r/The_Donald and r/Incels
24th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2021)
honorable mention
pdf video
media coverage: WaPo, El Pais, The Brink, Wired
K. Papadamou, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, and M. Sirivianos
“How over is it?” Understanding the Incel Community on YouTube
24th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2021)
pdf video
C. Ling, I. AbuHilal, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, S. Zannettou, and G. Stringhini
Dissecting the Meme Magic: Understanding Indicators of Virality in Image Memes
24th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2021)
pdf video
media coverage: Input Magazine
S. Ali, M. Hammas Saeed, E. Aldreabi, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, S. Zannettou, and G. Stringhini
Understanding the Effect of Deplatforming on Social Networks
13th ACM Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci 2021)
pdf
A. Papasavva, J. Blackburn, G. Stringhini, S. Zannettou, and E. De Cristofaro
“Is it a Qoincidence?”: An Exploratory Study of QAnon on Voat
30th The Web Conference (WWW 2021)
pdf video
media coverage: Wired, Echosec, The Daily Beast
M. Aliapoulios, E. Bevensee, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, and S. Zannettou
A Large Open Dataset from the Parler Social Network
15th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2021)
pdf
media coverage: USA Today, The Conversation, Business Insider-1, Business Insider-2
M. Horta Ribeiro, J. Blackburn, B. Bradlyn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, S. Long, S. Greenberg, S. Zannettou
The Evolution of the Manosphere Across the Web
15th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2021)
pdf
media coverage: Newsweek, MIT Tech, Daily Mail
Y. Wang, F. Tahmasbi, J. Blackburn, B. Bradlyn, E. De Cristofaro, D. Magerman, S. Zannettou, and G. Stringhini
Understanding the Use of Fauxtography on Social Media
15th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2021)
pdf video
A. Papasavva, S. Zannettou, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
Raiders of the Lost Kek: 3.5 Years of Augmented 4chan Posts from the Politically Incorrect Board
14th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2020)
pdf video
A. Mittos, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, and E. De Cristofaro
Analyzing Genetic Testing Discourse on the Web Through the Lens of Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan
ACM Transactions on the Web (TWEB), Volume 13, Issue 4, August 2020
pdf
S. Zannettou, B. Bradlyn, T. Caulfield, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, and J. Blackburn
Characterizing the Use of Images in State-Sponsored Information Warfare Operations by Russian Trolls on Twitter
14th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2020)
pdf
A. Mittos, S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, and E. De Cristofaro
“And We Will Fight For Our Race! A Measurement Study of Genetic Testing Conversations on Reddit and 4chan
14th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2020)
pdf video
media coverage: The Times, StatNews
E. Mariconti, G. Suarez-Tangil, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, N. Kourtellis, I. Leontiadis, J. Luque Serrano, and G. Stringhini
“You Know What to Do”: Proactive Detection of YouTube Videos Targeted by Coordinated Hate Attacks
22nd ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2019)
pdf
A. Raman, S. Joglekar, E. De Cristofaro, N. Sastry, G. Tyson
Challenges in the Decentralized Web: The Mastodon Case
19th ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC 2019)
pdf video
D. Chatzakou, I. Leontiadis, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, A. Vakali, and N. Kourtellis
Detecting Cyberbullying and Cyberaggression in Social Media
ACM Transactions on the Web (TWEB), Vol. 13, No. 3, 2019
pdf
media coverage: The Register, BBC, NewsBusters, SkyNews
S. Zannettou, T. Caulfield, E. De Cristofaro, M. Sirivianos, G. Stringhini, and J. Blackburn
Disinformation Warfare: Understanding State-Sponsored Trolls on Twitter & Their Influence on the Web
4th WebConf Workshop on CyberSafety, Online Harassment, and Misinformation (CyberSafety 2019)
best paper
pdf
J. Echeverria, E. De Cristofaro, N. Kourtellis, I. Leontiadis, G. Stringhini, S. Zhou
LOBO – Evaluation of Generalization Deficiencies in Twitter Bot Classifiers
34th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC 2018)
pdf
S. Zannettou, T. Caulfield, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, M. Sirivianos, G. Stringhini, and G. Suarez-Tangil
On the Origins of Memes by Means of Fringe Web Communities
18th ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC 2018)
distinguished paper
pdf code
media coverage: BBC Trending, BBC News, MIT Technology Review, CBS News, The Independent, VICE, Business Insider, The Daily Dot, Quartz, El Pais, MotherJones, InfoWars, Thinkprogress, Iflscience, Hornet, Bellingcat
S. Zannettou, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, M. Sirivianos, G. Stringhini
Understanding Web Archiving Services and Their (Mis)Use on Social Media
12th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2018)
pdf
S. Zannettou, B. Bradlyn, E. De Cristofaro, H. Kwak, M. Sirivianos, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
What is Gab? A Bastion of Free Speech or an Alt-Right Echo Chamber?
3rd WWW Workshop on Computational Methods for CyberSafety (CyberSafety 2018)
pdf
S. Zannettou, T. Caulfield, E. De Cristofaro, N. Kourtellis, I. Leontiadis, M. Sirivianos, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
The Web Centipede: Understanding How Web Communities Influence Each Other Through the Lens of Mainstream and Alternative News Sources
17th ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC 2017)
pdf blog
media coverage: Nature, The Atlantic, La Repubblica (in Italian), Ansa (in Italian), Sky News, Hacker News, BoingBoing, Phys.org, Naked Security
M. Ikram, L. Onwuzurike, S. Farooqi, E. De Cristofaro, A. Friedman, G. Jourjon, D. Kaafar, M. Zubair Shafiq
Measuring, Characterizing, and Detecting Facebook Like Farms
ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security, Vol. 20, No. 4 (ACM TOPS 2017)
D. Chatzakou, N. Kourtellis, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, A. Vakali
Mean Birds: Detecting Aggression and Bullying on Twitter
9th International ACM Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci 2017), also appeared as a poster at WWW 2017
pdf
G. Hine, J. Onaolapo, E. De Cristofaro, N. Kourtellis, I. Leontiadis, G. Stringhini, J. Blackburn
Kek, Cucks, and God Emperor Trump: A Measurement Study of 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Forum and Its Effects on the Web
11th International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM 2017)
best paper runner-up
pdf blog
media coverage: Nature, Motherboard, The Independent, The Conversation, MIT Technology Review, Vice, La Stampa (in Italian), La Repubblica (in Italian), BoingBoing, Pacific Standard
D. Chatzakou, N. Kourtellis, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, A. Vakali
Hate is not binary: Studying abusive behavior of #GamerGate on Twitter
28th ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media (ACM HyperText 2017)
pdf
S. Farooqi, M. Ikram, E. De Cristofaro, A. Friedman, G. Jourjon, D. Kaafar, M. Zubair Shafiq, F. Zaffar
Characterizing Key Stakeholders in an Online Black-Hat Marketplace
12th IEEE/APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (eCrime 2017)
pdf
D. Chatzakou, N. Kourtellis, J. Blackburn, E. De Cristofaro, G. Stringhini, A. Vakali
Measuring #GamerGate: A Tale of Hate, Sexism, and Bullying
2nd WWW Workshop on Computational Methods for CyberSafety (CyberSafety 2017)
pdf
R. Nithyanand, S. Khattak, M. Javed, N. Vallina-Rodriguez, M. Falahrastegar, J.E. Powles, E. De Cristofaro, H. Haddadi, S.J. Murdoch
Ad-Blocking and Counter Blocking: A Slice of the Arms Races
6th USENIX Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet (FOCI 2016)
pdf
A. Chaabane, T. Chen, M. Cunche, E. De Cristofaro, A. Friedman, D. Kaafar
Censorship in the Wild: Analyzing Web Filtering in Syria
14th ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC 2014)
best paper runner-up
pdf
media coverage: The Register, MIT Tech Review, Boing Boing, ACM Tech News, Physics Central, Motherboard, The Conversation
E. De Cristofaro, A. Friedman, G. Jourjon, D. Kaafar, M. Zubair Shafiq
Paying for Likes? Understanding Facebook Like Fraud Using Honeypots
14th ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC 2014)
pdf
media coverage: MIT Tech Review, Pacific Standard, The Telegraph, ACM Tech News, Yahoo Finance, Zero Hedge, Media Post, The New Republic