New paper with Don Green and @ethanvporter.bsky.social in the QJPS. After much deliberation, we went with a title that just states the result. 📝 journal: www.emerald.com/qjps/article...
From September 2025 - Rethinking Citizen Competence: A New Theoretical and Empirical Framework - cup.org/3I85Zlp - @stevenklein.bsky.social & @ethanvporter.bsky.social #OpenAccess
Fact-checks improve accuracy. But can they penalize spreaders of misinfo? At @polbehavior.bsky.social, Jacob Ausubel, Annika Davies and I show that the answer is yes--sometimes. Unknown misinfo producers can be penalized, but well-known figures get off. Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The Reputational Penalty: How Fact-Checking Can Penalize Those Who Spread Misinformation - Political Behavior
Whether or not political leaders pay a price for spreading misinformation has profound implications for democracy. In this paper, we identify the conditions under which corrections of misinformation c...
link.springer.com
When 'When Prophecy Fails' Fails: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1... (h/t @ethanvporter.bsky.social )
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
it would be hilarious and cosmically correct in the year 2025 for a canadian team to win the world series toronto is america’s team
On October 21 at 4 PM, I hope you will join me, @gwiddp.bsky.social and The New Republic at GW for "The State of Democracy in Trump's America: Year One," featuring @ryanenos.bsky.social + others discussing U.S. democracy. Ro Khanna is keynoting! Space is limited. RSVP: lnkd.in/euqqNB9s
Study shows that fact-checking reduces false belief in misinformation. A 2023 @bjpols.bsky.social article by Alexander Coppock, Kimberly Gross, @ethanvporter.bsky.social, @emilythorson.bsky.social & @thomasjwood.bsky.social has been referenced by @3streamsblog.bsky.social. https://cup.org/3WdASby
Do fact-checks really work against misinformation?
A recent study shows that fact-checking reduces false belief in misinformation
cup.org
🚨 new paper out w/ @simonchauchard.bsky.social in BJPS @bjpols.bsky.social on the link between misinformation and religiosity- does religious belief cause people to endorse more misinformation? And if so, what can we do about it? thread below ⬇️
Curious to know about where IDDP is headed? In a Q&A with GW Today, @catiebailard.bsky.social and @ethanvporter.bsky.social spoke about their vision for the Institute. Read it at gwtoday.gwu.edu/q-new-co-directors-gws-institute-data-democracy-and-politics.
Q & A with the New Co-Directors of GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics | GW Today | The George Washington University
As co-directors, Bailard and Porter aim to strengthen IDDP’s role in supporting informed public dialogue.
gwtoday.gwu.edu
Our first post! And what better way to mark this occasion than by announcing the start of a new chapter at IDDP. Last month @catiebailard.bsky.social and @ethanvporter.bsky.social stepped in as the Institute's Co-Director's. Read their full statement at iddp.gwu.edu/about.
About | Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University
IDDP’s mission is to help the public, journalists, and policymakers understand digital media’s influence on public dialogue and opinion.
iddp.gwu.edu
‼️ New paper! In "Rethinking Citizen Competence," Steven Klein and I argue that common concerns about citizen competence do not reflect recent evidence, especially in the misinfo + persuasion literatures. We're more competent than we give ourselves credit for. Link: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Rethinking Citizen Competence: A New Theoretical and Empirical Framework | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core
Rethinking Citizen Competence: A New Theoretical and Empirical Framework - Volume 55
cambridge.org
Some people find politics interesting. Others do not. In a new paper, I show that appealing to MEANING increases political interest. In 6 experiments, connecting what people find meaningful in their lives to politics increases political interest. Link: osf.io/preprints/so...
Today, @catiebailard.bsky.social and I take the reins at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy + Politics! We'll work to make IDDP a one-stop shop for research on misinfo, platform manipulation, and threats to democratic ideals. To follow our work + learn about opportunities, visit: bit.ly/45GLggi
Sign up
signup.e2ma.net
Bard president Leon Botstein says Trump’s campaign against colleges follows ‘a classic antisemitic routine’ forward.com/fast-forward...
Bard president Leon Botstein says Trump’s campaign against colleges follows ‘a classic antisemitic routine’
Botstein, born in 1946 in Europe to Holocaust survivors, has led the liberal arts college for 50 years.
forward.com
Cool "micro-sabbatical" opportunity for tenured or tenure-track faculty at GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics (IDDP).
Micro Sabbatical | Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University
Micro-sabbaticals at GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) provide a 2-4 week-long visit to IDDP.
iddp.gwu.edu
A 2023 NHB paper concluded that corrections of science-relevant misinformation are, on average, ineffective. Our response (in press) challenges this conclusion, showing why corrections *are* effective, and why considering measurement is important: 🔗 osf.io/preprints/ps... (1/5)
OSF
osf.io
Do citizens have the capabilities required for democracy? The standard story is that empirical research debunks normative democratic theory. With @ethanvporter.bsky.social, we argue for a better framework and show empirical research supports citizen capacities. Forthcoming in @bjpols.bsky.social
stevenmklein.com
Literally describing themselves as occupying a blue state like hostile territory with the military and federal forces.
Justin Baragona@justinbaragona.bsky.social · last yr.Kristi Noem: "We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city." Sen. Alex Padilla is then forcibly removed!
must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away
Best of Dying Twitter@bestofdyingtwit.bsky.social · last yr.“In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately”
Important message from @ethanvporter.bsky.social @aaronshaw.bsky.social @emmaspiro.bsky.social “NSF has accepted a dangerous myth that misinformation research (and research more generally) is really just partisan activism […] Nothing could be further from the truth” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Misinformation research continues to be urgent science
By one account, roughly 70% of Americans regard misinformation as a major threat, outpacing fears about climate change and infectious disease (1). This is true although the current and longer-term imp...
science.org
‼️ Two new post-docs at GW! Both affiliated with the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics, one will be more computational, the other more experimental. Links: www.gwu.jobs/postings/119... and www.gwu.jobs/postings/119... Spread the word!
Postdoctoral Associate
The George Washington University Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics (IDDP) seeks exceptional candidates for a full-time, academic research position at the rank of post-doctoral fellow. The mis...
gwu.jobs
There's this old joke: "War is how Americans learn geography." I guess DOGE is how Americans learn what government does.
Lots of discussion about fact-checks--but what do they actually DO? In a new working paper, Jacob Ausubel, Annika Davies and I show that they improve belief accuracy + penalize leaders who spread misinfo--*IF* the leader is unknown bit.ly/3WraNGs
My take on the Meta announcement @npr.org in coverage from @bobbyallyn.bsky.social www.npr.org/2025/01/07/n...
*175 years later* Hang on, the Camptown Race Track is five miles long? That seems awfully long for a race track!