2016 Election
Academic Research
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Journal Article
Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency Foreign Influence Campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US Election and Its Relationship to Attitudes and Voting Behavior
Nature Communications, 2023
There is widespread concern that foreign actors are using social media to interfere in elections worldwide. Yet data have been unavailable to investigate links between exposure to foreign influence campaigns and political behavior. Using longitudinal survey data from US respondents linked to their Twitter feeds, we quantify the relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and attitudes and voting behavior in the 2016 US election. We demonstrate, first, that exposure to Russian disinformation accounts was heavily concentrated: only 1% of users accounted for 70% of exposures. Second, exposure was concentrated among users who strongly identified as Republicans. Third, exposure to the Russian influence campaign was eclipsed by content from domestic news media and politicians. Finally, we find no evidence of a meaningful relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and changes in attitudes, polarization, or voting behavior. The results have implications for understanding the limits of election interference campaigns on social media.
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Journal Article
The Times They Are Rarely A-Changin': Circadian Regularities in Social Media Use
Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 2021
Reports & Analysis
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Analysis
How Russian Trolls Are Adapting Cold War Propaganda Techniques
A new study shows how states are adapting classic propaganda tactics to social media, and why policymakers must consider how information spreads across platforms to protect voters from these covert campaigns.
May 15, 2020
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Analysis
Who Was Most Likely to Share Fake News in 2016? Seniors.
In general, people don't tend to share a lot of links to fake news websites, but those that do are more likely to be older and more politically conservative.
January 9, 2019
News & Commentary
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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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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