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Commentary
Beyond Red Teaming: Facilitating User-based Data Donation to Study Generative AI
Just like social media, a key challenge to studying the public's use of generative AI is the lack of data. AI companies could solve this by making it easier for users to donate their data to research.
November 1, 2023
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Commentary
AI Could Create a Disinformation Nightmare in the 2024 Election
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.
July 14, 2023
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Commentary
White House OSTP Comments on AI
In response to the Biden-Harris Administration's public request for information on mitigating the risks of AI, we submitted comments highlighting the importance of transparent standards for identifying and labeling AI generated content online.
July 7, 2023
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Commentary
Twitter Was Central to American Politics. Musk’s Ownership Puts That at Risk.
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.
May 25, 2023
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Commentary
Feedback on EU Article 40
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.
May 23, 2023
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Commentary
On BlueSky
BlueSky is a half-decentralized social network designed to replace Twitter. Will it keep its luster as it scales up?
May 12, 2023
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Commentary
What Can We Learn From Twitter's Open Source Algorithm?
What we can (and can't) learn from Twitter's partial open-sourcing of its recommendation algorithm.
April 3, 2023
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Commentary
The Problem with TikTok’s New Researcher API is Not TikTok
While TikTok’s Researcher API is a promising step in the right direction, mandated data requirements are paramount for ensuring that these lines of research continue.
March 1, 2023
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Commentary
Globally, Russia May Actually Not Be Losing the Information War
In the modern digital information era, information wars are always global.
February 24, 2023
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Commentary
Musk’s Twitter Shake-Up Could Deliver a Critical Blow to Social Media Research
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.
November 9, 2022
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Commentary
Big Tech Must Step Up Now to Fight Misinformation in the Midterms
As 2022 candidates embrace Trump's Big Lie, social platforms are reducing election integrity efforts. What should they do to safeguard the midterms?
July 10, 2022
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Commentary
The Social Media Data We Need to Answer Key Research Questions
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.
May 4, 2022
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Commentary
How to Evaluate Elon Musk’s (Potential) Impact On Twitter
There are three areas — content moderation, transparency, and data access — to watch closely as Musk takes ownership of Twitter.
April 26, 2022
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Commentary
The People Who Believe Russia’s Disinformation
Will Russia’s propaganda campaign continue to work on its citizens and others? Or will the lies fall apart?
April 12, 2022
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Commentary
A Modest Ox: Examining Two Approaches to Testing Crowdsourced Fact Checking
Crowdsourced fact-checking, far from being a panacea to our so-called information disorder, could potentially be one tool in what certainly needs to be a much larger toolkit to discern facts in a complex ecosystem.
December 10, 2021
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Commentary
Academic Researchers Need Access to the Facebook Papers
With access to these documents, scholars could support the media, public, and policymakers in identifying where Facebook’s internal research is conclusive, what inferences can be drawn, which topics require more evidence and future research, and what that research should be.
November 4, 2021
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Commentary
Facebook, Open Your Data Trove
As the Facebook Papers revelations continue, it’s critical for the government, through legislation or regulation, to require social media platforms to be more transparent and open up more data to outside researchers.
October 5, 2021
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Commentary
The Limited Room for Russian Troll Influence in 2016
Coordinated campaigns by sock puppets on social media are likely neither necessary nor sufficient to signify serious foreign threats to electoral integrity.
October 27, 2020
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Commentary
How to Safeguard Researchers Who Study Social Media
Here’s how we create a healthy research environment for those studying harmful online content.
May 18, 2020
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Commentary
Why Tyrants and Despots Love Social Media
Although social media may have given dissidents a temporary advantage over repressive governments, now that Twitter is a mature platform, repressive regimes can and do use social media to solidify their grip on power.
July 24, 2015
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Commentary
Tweeting Tragedy: From Prayer to Politics
Initial emotional responses on Twitter gave way to a call for more political responses in the wake of Newtown massacre.
December 12, 2012