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Manon Berriche and Emma Gauthier honored at the 2025 INA thèque Research Awards

One year after defending her PhD at Sciences Po’s médialab, Manon Berriche has received the 2025 Research Prize awarded by INA thèque. A special mention was also awarded to Emma Gauthier for her work conducted under the co-supervision of Sylvain Parasie.

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The INA thèque Research Awards were established by INA to support academic research that either draws on resources available at the INA thèque or explores audiovisual and digital media.

Each year, a jury composed of industry experts and scholars selects works that offer new insights into the transformations of the media and digital landscape. In 2025, as every year, the jury awarded both the Research Prize and the Encouragement Prize.

The 2025 Research Prize awarded to Manon Berriche

This year, Manon Berriche received (jointly with Anthony Blanc) the 2025 Research Prize for her PhD thesis carried out at the médialab. Her dissertation, titled "Do you think it’s true? Diversity of expression regimes in the face of fake news and mechanisms of conversational self-regulation", focuses on fake news and how it is received by the general public.

In her work, Manon Berriche explores two key paradoxes:

  • Why do most empirical studies show that fake news accounts for only a small fraction of the information consumed and shared on social media, even though these platforms are not subject to editorial control or journalistic ethics?
  • How can we explain the rise in political polarization, given that users don’t appear to be highly receptive to fake news? 

Emma Gauthier receives a special mention 

The jury also awarded a special mention to Emma Gauthier, whose thesis was completed at Université Gustave-Eiffel, under the supervision of Sylvain Parasie (Sciences Po) and Bilel Benzoudid (Université Gustave-Eiffel).

Her dissertation, « Je n'avais pas conscience d'être une meuf avant d'être sur internet », demonstrates how deeply gendered the French YouTube ecosystem is, both in terms of content categories and audience demographics. Her research also highlights how both algorithmic and human recommendation systems disadvantage women on the platform.

Congratulations to both Manon and Emma for these well-deserved recognitions!