Jozef Michal Mintal

Jozef Michal Mintal

Hello.

I am a Researcher at the Research and Innovation Center, and the Co-Director and Co-Founder of both the Institute for Democracy and the Data & Society Lab — all based at Matej Bel University (UMB). My research explores the role of information and communication technologies in political life, examining both the technologies themselves and their use as tools for analyzing various political phenomena.

I am currently co-coordinating the Horizon Europe project BRRIDGE, which aims to strengthen research capacities in the field of democracy and policy and contribute to a deeper understanding of the current democratic disconnect that stems from changes in technologies, inequalities, culture and governance. I also lead a work package in the Horizon Europe project EMMELO, and coordinate the POSILA project, funded by VAIA.

In my work, I strive to cross disciplinary boundaries as well as work together with people across sectors to create meaningful and impactful change for the benefit of society — for my work I was named on the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list.

Research Areas

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Digital Politics and Government
I am focusing on the security and governance challenges posed by social networking platforms and online disinformation ecosystems. My work addresses both the structural vulnerabilities of digital platforms and the societal responses required to mitigate their impact on democratic processes.
Public Opinion and Political Behavior
I am leading the implementation of large-scale quantitative data collections on Slovak voters and political parties, including the Volebný Kompas voting advice application for the 2023 Slovak parliamentary elections and a longitudinal panel experimental survey, to explore various aspects related to political behavior.
Volebný kompas
Launched a new voting advice application (VAA) called ‘Volebný kompas’ for the 2023 Slovak snap parliamentary elections. The tool was a joint effort by our Institute for Democracy at Matej Bel University and the European Governance and Politics Programme at the European University Institute.
Development of a feasibility study for the implementation of the new civil protection system of the Slovak Republic
Conducting a feasibility study, including a proposal and implementation plan, for the establishment of a new civil protection system for the Slovak Republic. The study will be based on best practices from selected civil protection and crisis management systems, with a focus on the role of the armed forces.
Possibilities of cognitive analysis of security threats on social networking services
COVID disinformation and their negative impact on ability to prevent the pandemic
The project aims to address the growing issue of mis/disinformation, particularly related to COVID-19, by raising awareness and proposing prevention strategies. The project also emphasizes the impact of behavioral biases on the dissemination of disinformation and highlights the importance of media consumption patterns in preventing its spread, especially in vulnerable groups and V4 countries.
BRRIDGE
BRRIDGE aims to build research excellence in the domain of democracy and policy at UMB, while generating knowledge that contributes to the quality of democracy in Slovakia and in Europe as a whole.
Cognitive Analytics for Real World Security Threats
Funder: IBM (USA) Coordinator(s) / Principal Investigator(s): Professor Karol Fabián (PI), Dr. Jozef Michal Mintal (Co-PI)
The Business of Misinformation
The Business of Misinformation project at CMDS at Central European University aims at mapping the companies and individuals owning, controlling or running mis/disinformation websites. Such a map, presenting the ownership, sources of funding and links with other entities, will help understand the scope of the problem and the actual power fueling dis/misinformation online.
Fakespotting
The goal of Fakespotting is to provide advanced digital literacy skills to higher education students, teachers, unemployed adults, and adult education organizations. The project comprises four outputs, which include a web-based learning tool, a toolkit, a guideline, and a digital assessment tool designed to evaluate students’ ability to identify misinformation.

Education and Experience

I graduated from Matej Bel University and King’s College London, and hold an IBM-funded PhD (with distinction) in International Relations. In addition to my graduate degree education, I completed further research training in political methodology at Harvard University.

My academic experience includes previous roles as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations at Matej Bel University, and as a CMDS fellow at the Center for Media, Data and Society at Central European University. Additionally, I have also held visiting professorships at UBS’s Faculty of Sciences and Engineering in France and ZYU in China, as well as a visiting graduate student fellowship at the University of Vienna. I am a member of multiple professional associations including the International Studies Association in which I previously served as an at-large member of the STAIR executive committee. In 2023, I became an affiliate of the Technological Change and Society Cluster at the European University Institute and Regional Manager for Central Europe at the Digital Society Project. My work has been supported by IBM, the European Union (Horizon Europe), and Open Society Foundations, among others. I have advised a range of international and national institutions, including Meta Platforms Inc., the Slovak Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Slovak Council for Media Services, and the European Commission. My research has been cited by the European Parliament and featured in national and European media.

Prior to academia, I worked in various NGOs in the fields of foreign and security policy, and innovation. My NGO journey started in the Euro-Atlantic Center (EAC), a student-led non-governmental organization. Later, I co-founded the Central European Start-up Center, an NGO that was dedicated to the support and development of innovative business ideas in the regions of Slovakia. Besides my non-governmental experience I also had a half year stint at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, where I worked in the Department for Horizontal Coordination as a Liaison officer for the UK.

Publications

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(2024). The Volebny Kompas Datasets on Slovak Voter and Party Positions. In Scientific Data.

DOI

(2022). Examining the Tech Stacks of Czech and Slovak Untrustworthy Websites. In Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies.

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(2021). Hide and Seek in Slovakia: Utilizing Tracking Code Data to Uncover Untrustworthy Website Networks. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

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(2019). (Un)Trendy Japan: Twitter bots and the 2017 Japanese general election. In Politics in Central Europe.

Cite DOI

(2019). Slovakia: Snake Oil Spills Onto the Web. Report. Center for Media, Data and Society at Central European University.

Report

Contact

  • hello@mintal.is
  • Kuzmányho 3, Banská Bystrica, 974 01, Slovakia
  • Enter door n. 1 in the building next to the boom barrier
  • Office hours by appointment — please book bellow
  • Book an appointment