King's College London

Dr Krzysztof Krakowski was recognised for his research on reducing vulnerability to misinformation and conspiracy thinking among young people through the establishment of a network of debating clubs.

The research, piloted in Poland, involved more than 400 students across 18 secondary schools and sought to test whether the skills developed by debating increased the likelihood that the student would believe a true statement and decrease the likelihood they would believe a false statement.

In their results, Dr Krakowski and co-authors found those who participated in the debates were less likely to agree with conspiratorial statements than those who did not participate. They also found the students who participated in the debates were better at discerning true from false statements.

Dr Krakowski was awarded £2,000 by the faculty in recognition of his work, which he hopes to use to fund an expansion of the project into schools in South America.

The annual SSPP Impact Awards recognise outstanding research taking place across the faculty. The winners each receive a £2,000 prize to spend on impact activities. As part of the awards, the winners are also invited to present their research to a panel of judges, with an overall winner then selected and awarded an additional £1,000.

The winning research at the 2025 awards spanned disinformation and policy, public health messaging, the reshaping of mental health research, and experimental government.