Misleading Consumers: Introducing the researchers
Get to know our researchers! In this news article, we introduce the researchers working on the Misleading Consumers project.
Image
Hanna Leipämaa-Leskinen
What is your role at the university?
I work as an Associate professor (Tenure Track) of consumer marketing at the School of Marketing and Communication.
What is your role in the project?
I am Principal Investigator of the project. I also participate in research in WP2 and WP4.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Too many pop-up windows that suddenly appear on the screen and complicate shopping.
Image
Maria Eronen-Valli
What is your role at the university?
I work as a postdoctoral scholar in Communication Studies
What is your role in the project?
I lead the work package related to misleading market actors. In that WP, we analyze both controversial and scam actors in online shopping, the ways they use technological affordances, rhetorical means, and AI.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
That would be AI-generated visuals (particularly GIFs and still images of products) in advertisements.
Image
Henna Syrjälä
What is your role at the university?
I work as an Associate Professor in marketing and also lead our research group “Marketing and Consumption Research”.
What is your role in the project?
I lead the work package 2 on Consumer Actors, where I am mostly involved in the social media research on how consumers are misled and being misleaders themselves. I also participate research on meaningful gamification in work package 4.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Many small things matter, but especially when appearing together, they should ring a bell, for example sense of urgency, bad translations and AI generated pictures.
Image
Jaana Rahko
What is your role at the university?
I work as an associate professor in Economics.
What is your role in the project?
I lead work package 4 on empowering consumer actors, which focuses how meaningful gamification and digital financial literacy can empower consumers to avoid scams.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
If an offer appears too good to be true, then it’s probably not, especially if you are urged to do a decision in a hurry.
Image
Panu Kalmi
What is your role at the university?
Professor of Economics at the School of Accounting and Finance.
What is your role in the project?
I am supervising the research team in economics on the topic of fraud detection and protection.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Time pressure to make a decision.
Image
Anni Airaksinen
What is your role at the university?
I am a doctoral student in marketing.
What is your role in the project?
Researcher, working with WP4 and researching meaningful gamification.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Fake pictures, and poor copywriting or translations.
Image
Tiia Alkkiomäki
What is your role at the university?
I am a doctoral researcher and belong to the Marketing and consumer research group.
What is your role in the project?
In my dissertation I research consumer fraud in fast fashion.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Clothes and items that are not used or used only slightly and then thrown away.
Image
Emmanuel Anti
What is your role at the university?
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Marketing and Communication.
What is your role in the project?
I am part of the WP1 of the Mislead project and I am part of analyzing scam actors psychological influences from a cybersecurity perspective, and technological affordances.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
If a product is being offered at a suspiciously low price, especially compared to multiple reputable stores.
Image
Hamid Hosseininesaz
What is your role at the university?
Doctoral researcher at the Economics department.
What is your role in the project?
I work in WP4, developing digital financial literacy programs to protect consumers, especially young adults, from misleading online marketing.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Artificial urgency and fabricated scarcity, such as fake countdown timers or highly aggressive "only 1 left in stock".
Image
Minna-Maarit Jaskari
What is your role at the university?
I work as a senior university lecturer and program manager for master's in marketing management.
What is your role in the project?
In the project I am looking into meaningful gamification practises as a tool to help consumers learn about harmful marketing practices.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
I get concerned when there is no real contact information on the website.
Image
Jaakko Mustonen
What is your role at the university?
Doctoral researcher.
What is your role in the project?
Researcher.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Spelling errors on the website.
Image
Nuppu-Maija Pelevina
What is your role at the university?
I am a project researcher in Communication Studies working on the SYNTHETICA and MISLEAD projects.
What is your role in the project?
I focus on the role of social media influencers in misleading consumers. I am interested both in how influencers use deceptive technologies and persuasive techniques to mislead, and in how they expose scams and warn their audiences about shady businesses.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
An offer that seems too good to be true usually isn’t true!
Image
Rebekah Rousi
What is your role at the university?
I am a Professor of Communication and Digital Economy at the University of Vaasa.
What is your role in the project?
I lead the work package related to deceptive patterns and design in fast fashion e-commerce, where we investigate what people look at and detect when browsing websites.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Too good to be true.
Image
Eveliina Salmela
What is your role at the university?
I work as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on digital media and online environments from a user-centered perspective.
What is your role in the project?
In the project, I research online discussions and social media content to understand how consumers share information and experiences about online shopping scams and deceptive e-commerce practices.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Image
Essi Vesterinen
What is your role at the university?
I am a postdoctoral researcher working in two projects, both related to clothing context. I also teach alongside my research.
What is your role in the project?
I lead the task 2.2. which investigates how the exposure to fashion advertising influences consumer's well-being.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Aggressive marketing.
Image
Joonas Widlund
What is your role at the university?
I work as a postdoctoral researcher in Public Law.
What is your role in the project?
I lead task 3.1 in WP3 "Misleading media platforms". My task sets out to analyse the regulatory framework for media platforms and their responsibilities.
If you had to name one “red flag” in online shopping, what would it be?
Missing, incomplete or suspicious contact information.