History

The Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) was created in July 2020 by its founding Director, Associate Professor Edson C. Tandoc Jr, who had been conducting research on fake news in Singapore. This stream of research highlighted the crucial role of online spaces, such as social media platforms and messaging apps, in the spread of information, both real and fake.

Inspired by the Singapore internet Research Centre (SiRC), which used to be housed within the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) from 2007-2017, Dr. Tandoc started an Information Integrity Initiative that brought together his research projects funded by Ministry of Education, the Social Science Research Council, and the WhatsApp Research Awards in August 2018. These projects investigated various facets of misinformation and disinformation in Singapore. In July 2020, through the guidance of Professor Joseph Liow, Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (Co-HASS); Professor Charles Salmon, Co-HASS Associate Dean (Faculty); and Professor May Lwin, chair of the WKWSCI, the Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) was conceptualised, with the goal of tracking information behaviour in Singapore. It conducted its first fieldwork in December 2020 and was formally launched as a research centre on January 26, 2021.