News & Commentary

A look at our top articles, events, and more from the past year.

To really understand the potential risks and harms of social media, platforms and policymakers need to ensure accessible pathways for empirical research.

Legislators in 46 states passed 238 bills, a 163 percent increase from last year, focusing on AI, child online safety, and more

In the absence of federal regulation, states continue to lead the development of technology policy in the United States, passing 238 bills in 46 states in 2024, a 163 percent increase from last year.

The European Commission's Digital Services Act is a critical step towards supporting data access for independent research. We submitted comments on this legislation, advocating for structures and mechanisms that would ensure secure and standardized data sharing.

Conducting rigorous research to understand the increasingly fragmented media environment is more important than ever.

New research sheds light on Latino online political engagement and susceptibility to false claims

From Kamala Harris memes to the nationalization of elections to election denialism, part three of our new series highlights several areas we’re looking at this year.

From foreign influence campaigns to the role of WhatsApp to social media data access, part two of our new series highlights several areas we’re looking at this year.

From generative AI and misinformation, to young voters and TikTok, part one of our new series highlights several areas we’re looking at this year.

Through online submissions and research by our team, this new joint project seeks to track the full range of uses of generative AI across local, state, and national races in 2024.

Study provides new data about Nextdoor, America’s most popular hyperlocal platform

At CSMaP, Allen and Barrie will serve as core faculty members leading research projects on urgent topics related to digital media and democracy.

A look at our top articles, events, and more from the past year.

When the Supreme Court considers the Florida and Texas laws, it should craft rulings that leave ample room for legislative and regulatory efforts to mandate transparency and access to data.

Generative AI has the potential to supercharge the production and spread of disinformation on social media. In an op-ed for The Hill, Joshua A. Tucker breaks down the risks AI poses going into the 2024 election -- and what can be done to mitigate them.

Since taking over at Twitter, Elon Musk's personal beliefs have had an outsized influence on the platform. As its content and user base evolve, it's unclear whether a Musk owned Twitter can maintain the platform's central role in the American political media landscape.

In response to the European Commission's Digital Services Act, we submitted comments highlighting the importance of data access for independent research and suggested standards for data access mechanisms.

BlueSky is a half-decentralized social network designed to replace Twitter. Will it keep its luster as it scales up?

As a leader in applied data science with high-level experience across Twitter, Meta, and Pew, Messing will leverage his strong technical background and deep knowledge of the platforms to expand CSMaP’s research capacity.

A look at our top articles, events, and more from the past year.

The grant will help us conduct cutting-edge research and advance evidence-based public policy. It also supports research from Tiago Ventura, a CSMaP postdoc who will join the latest cohort of Siegel Research Fellows.

We still don’t know the extent of what Musk has actually changed within Twitter. But without mandated data access for researchers, we risk never knowing their impact on society as well.

Ahead of a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on platform transparency, we submitted a letter outlining the type of research questions we want to answer — and the social media data we need to answer them.

There are three areas — content moderation, transparency, and data access — to watch closely as Musk takes ownership of Twitter.