News & Commentary
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Commentary
People Trust Themselves More Than They Trust the News. They Shouldn’t.
New research finds that Americans’ skepticism about news, which often drives people to use search engines to “do their own research,” could actually make them more misinformed.
March 12, 2024
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Policy
Beyond Competition: Designing Data Portability to Support Research on the Digital Information Environment
Although portability is often considered through a competition lens, policymakers and companies should understand its potential impact on policy-relevant research efforts and ensure that portability can support research on the impacts of digital platforms and services.
February 26, 2024
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Policy
Why the Texas and Florida Social Media Cases are Important for Research Transparency
Two cases before the Supreme Court will address Texas & Florida laws aiming to restrict content moderation on social media. The Court's rulings could also have widespread implications for the government's ability to mandate transparency and data access from platforms.
February 23, 2024
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Commentary
Misunderstood Mechanics: How AI, TikTok, and the Liar’s Dividend Might Affect the 2024 Elections
The widespread reach and accessibility of AI will undoubtedly change the information landscape ahead of global elections in 2024. But rather than letting overblown fears dominate public discourse, we can draw on previous research to better understand and mitigate risks.
January 22, 2024
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News
Evaluating the Truthfulness of Fake News Through Online Searches Increases the Chances of Believing Misinformation
Surprising study results show limits of using recommended steps to debunk false content
December 20, 2023
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News
2023 Year in Review: Our Research & Impact
A look at our top articles, events, and more from the past year.
December 18, 2023
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Policy
CSMaP Files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Social Media Cases
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.
December 7, 2023
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Policy
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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News
First Four Papers from US 2020 Facebook & Instagram Research Election Study Published in Science and Nature
Unprecedented research in the context of the 2020 presidential election reveals algorithms are extremely influential in people’s on-platform experiences and there is significant ideological segregation in political news exposure but, among consenting study participants, changes to critical aspects of the algorithms that determine what they saw did not sway political attitudes.
July 27, 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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Policy
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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Policy
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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News
Twitter’s Transparency Theater
Elon Musk has said that increasing transparency on Twitter is one of his highest priorities, but his actions show otherwise.
April 18, 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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Policy
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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News
Dr. Solomon Messing Joins CSMaP as Research Associate Professor
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.
January 31, 2023
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News
Exposure to Russian Twitter Campaigns in 2016 Presidential Race Highly Concentrated, Largely Limited to Strongly Partisan Republicans
New study shows online push by foreign disinformation accounts didn’t change attitudes or voting behavior — but the disinformation effort may still have had consequences.
January 9, 2023
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News
2022 Year in Review: Our Research & Impact
A look at our top articles, events, and more from the past year.
December 19, 2022
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News
Siegel Family Endowment Renews Support for CSMaP Research
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.
November 16, 2022
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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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News
CSMaP Wins 2022 APSA Award
Our scholars won Best Article in the Information Technology and Politics Section.
September 20, 2022
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News
YouTube More Likely to Direct Election-Fraud Videos to Users Already Skeptical about 2020 Election’s Legitimacy
New study shows how site’s algorithms perpetuate existing misperceptions.
September 1, 2022