Grégoire Darcy — PhD Candidate in Cognitive Science at ENS-PSL

Grégoire Darcy

PhD Candidate in Cognitive Science

Institut Jean Nicod · ENS-PSL

I study how our narrative, moral, and political beliefs and preferences take shape, and why we so often misjudge what other people think.

A graduate of the École normale supérieure, I am a PhD candidate in cognitive science at Institut Jean Nicod (ENS-PSL, EHESS, CNRS), supervised by Jean-Baptiste André and Nicolas Baumard.

In particular, I have worked on public policies to counter disinformation. To learn more about how it spreads, how to counter it, the effects of artificial intelligence, or its role in elections, see my online brief.

Research

My research focuses on the formation of these narrative, moral, and political beliefs and preferences, and on the picture, often distorted, that we form of what others think: we tend, for instance, to judge our fellow citizens as less cooperative than they really are.

I am especially interested in moral and social norms, trust, and misinformation. Three questions guide my work:

  • Why do some ideas, political preferences, or narratives spread more than others?
  • Why do some societies develop trust-based institutions while others rely on social control?
  • How can we counter misinformation?

More broadly, I study the psychology of public policy, as well as the way expertise and science are integrated, or fail to be, into public decision-making.

Book

Cover of the book La désinformation by Grégoire Darcy (Éditions La Découverte, in French)

My book La désinformation (in French) was published on 2 July 2026 by Éditions La Découverte, in the Repères series. It is a synthesis of research on disinformation: how far its effects really go, who produces it, why people believe and share it, and how to counter it.

About the book (in French) · Publisher’s page · Press kit (PDF, in French)

Teaching and expertise

I teach at the Master’s level at ENS-PSL, Sciences Po, Paris Dauphine, and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, as well as at the EMSST and the École de Guerre - Terre, where senior officers of the French Army are trained. I have led consulting and expertise missions for several public institutions, and notably authored a Policy Brief on disinformation countermeasures (in French) for Institut Jean Nicod.

Theatre

When I’m not doing research, I write plays and act in theatre, notably at the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse.

Co-authors

Institutional Affiliations