🚨New Science Advances🚨 Untrustworthy sources on Facebook and Instagram in 2020: Concentrated exposure but no attitudinal effects www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... -Exposure very low but highly concentrated -Reducing exposure by ~70% for months had no measurable effects *even among frequent consumers*

We have re-opened our search for a 3-year AI-research postdoc at NYU's Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics!! The position starts this **September 1st** (or as soon as possible thereafter) and is in person at NYU. If necessary, we will also consider a 1/1/27 start. 1/3

"Institutional influence": how governments shape AI chatbots through the training data they ingest — with measurable effects on what the models actually say. A new Nature study by CDS-affiliated Prof. @jatucker.bsky.social and CSMAP's @solmg.bsky.social. 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

State media control influences large language models - Nature

Government-controlled media influences the output of large language models via their training data, and models queried in the languages of countries with lower media freedom show a stronger ...

nature.com

“State Media Control Influences Large Language Models.” by @hwaight.bsky.social @eddieyang.bsky.social @reasonyy.bsky.social Solomon Messing, Margaret E. Roberts, @bstewart.bsky.social and @jatucker.bsky.social in @nature.com (2026) #SummerReading

State media control influences large language models - Nature

Government-controlled media influences the output of large language models via their training data, and models queried in the languages of countries with lower media freedom show a stronger ...

nature.com

This paper benefitted enormously from the very involved and insightful editorial team @nature.com, led by @meharpist.bsky.social.

Mary Elizabeth Sutherland@meharpist.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Millions of people(including me) turn to LLMs for information and advice. But who shapes their output? A @nature.com paper shows the influence of state controlled media on LLM output. Read all the details in the article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1/ Excited to report we have a new paper out @nature.com today! The bottom line: training data for LLMs does not just fall from the sky - it is created in the context of existing social political institutions - and that has consequences for LLM output. nature.com/articles/s41...

State media control influences large language models - Nature

Government-controlled media influences the output of large language models via their training data, and models queried in the languages of countries with lower media freedom show a stronger ...

nature.com

New in Nature: LLMs give "the party line" in the languages of authoritarian regimes. This works when they control the media, which feeds pretraining data. We show more state control over the media means less critical LLMs. 6 studies spanning 38 languages & 13 models. Details ↓

I’m excited to share a new paper in Nature that shows how large language models launder the strategic rhetoric of authoritarian states. Paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... A thread.

New study out in Nature Human Behaviour: 37 million US users were exposed to deceptive networks on Facebook & 3 million on Instagram during the 2020 elections—roughly 15% and 2% of active users. 🧵

Orban concedes in Hungary. Good reminder that incumbents can lose even in competitive authoritarian regimes if there is enough a wave of popular support for the opposition. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/w...

Hungary’s Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Election Defeat

nytimes.com

🚨New paper alert🚨 What happens when a polarized democracy bans a social media platform? New work with @cbarrie.bsky.social, Molly Roberts, Chris Schwarz, and @jatucker.bsky.social. We study Brazil's 2024 ban on X and find it created what we define as a "partisan sorting ratchet ." 1/

I thought this was an interesting and balanced contribution to the AI discussion here. As an old dog trying to learn the new tricks, let me make a few observations from my own experience using Claude (not Claude code, just the chatbot). 🧵

Joshua Tucker@jatucker.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Are you a social scientist who has been hearing about Claude Code but hasn't checked it out yet? Or are you a social scientist who has been playing with Claude Code and has been wondering what it means for the future of social science research? www.brookings.edu/articles/the... 1/

Are you a social scientist who has been hearing about Claude Code but hasn't checked it out yet? Or are you a social scientist who has been playing with Claude Code and has been wondering what it means for the future of social science research? www.brookings.edu/articles/the... 1/

The train has left the station: Agentic AI and the future of social science research | Brookings

A new era of agentic AI agents has begun. What does it mean for social scientists? Solomon Messing and Joshua Tucker discuss.

brookings.edu

Thoughtful piece from @jatucker.bsky.social and @solmg.bsky.social about agentic AI and social science.

The train has left the station: Agentic AI and the future of social science research | Brookings

A new era of agentic AI agents has begun. What does it mean for social scientists? Solomon Messing and Joshua Tucker discuss.

brookings.edu

Brookings article: www.brookings.edu/articles/6-p... Website and full list of signatories: www.ascona-principles.org

6 principles for independent research in a digital world | Brookings

Lancieri, Peukert, and Tucker offer six principles to guide research on digital markets, fostering data transparency and rigorous research

brookings.edu

Digital platforms shape markets and public debate at a scale that would have been hard to imagine a decade ago. At the same time, independent researchers face obstacles when trying to study them. As a result, much of the digital economy remains difficult to examine from the outside.

Was excited to get a chance to talk about the TikTokification of social media in recent years this morning on @cnbc.com's Squawk Box. Full clip available here: www.cnbc.com/video/2026/0...

It doesn’t say it as directly, but at its core all of this stuff is Calhounism and Dred Scott: An assertion that the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were conceived in purely racial terms and to include exclusively the white race.

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof@evanbernick.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The Rubio speech really is appalling, and if you haven’t read it yet, you should. www.state.gov/releases/off...

Honored to be invited to contribute to the NYU Law @democracyproject.bsky.social "100 ideas" series. democracyproject.org/posts/embrac...

Embracing Platform Transparency in a Digital World to Strengthen Democracy

A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

democracyproject.org

NYU Law Democracy Project@democracyproject.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Next up in our "100 ideas" series — New by @jatucker.bsky.social @csmapnyu.org — "Embracing Platform Transparency in a Digital World to Strengthen Democracy" Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project's "100 Ideas in 100 Days" Read the full piece here: democracyproject.org/posts/embrac...

🌐 📲 With international collaborators, the Observatory’s director @andreucasas.bsky.social revisited recent “TikTok censorship” claims after the TikTok USDS takeover ➡️ Detailed information about the analysis available: goodauthority.org/news/was-the... 🧵[1/5]

Was there censorship on TikTok after the U.S. takeover?

A TikTok outage more likely explains recent anomalies – there’s no evidence of larger platform changes so far.

goodauthority.org

Was TikTok blocking certain political posts last week? We investigated & found no systematic evidence of political censorship on TT post-restructuring at this point. A server outage better explains the data. But the story isn't over, and platforms need to provide the public more transparency.

Sol Messing@solmg.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Last week the story was that TikTok censored anti-Trump/ICE/Pretti videos after the U.S. ownership change. We investigated with a large set of US TikTok data and found some interesting results, short thread...

Last week the story was that TikTok censored anti-Trump/ICE/Pretti videos after the U.S. ownership change. We investigated with a large set of US TikTok data and found some interesting results, short thread...

⬇️ Please repost in your networks, thank you! @csmapnyu.org @jatucker.bsky.social @solmg.bsky.social @henryhenryhenry.com @benansell.bsky.social @nachristakis.bsky.social @dingdingpeng.the100.ci @claesdevreese.bsky.social @dgrand.bsky.social @ecpr.bsky.social @fil.bsky.social

Karsten Donnay@karstendonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🚨Job alert 🚨 I have an opening for a postdoc in my team at @ipz.bsky.social in the area of digital democracy starting Sep 1, 2026. If you are working on the impact of the digital transformation on politics, please apply by 🗓️ Mar 1, 2026. 📤 Please share widely! www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns...

CSMaP is now the Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics (CSMAP). Our research has expanded beyond social media to include digital media more broadly—especially generative AI and large language models and their role in politics and public life. Learn more at csmapnyu.org

NYU's Center for Social Media and Politics

Strengthening democracy by conducting rigorous research, advancing evidence-based public policy, and training the next generation of scholars.

csmapnyu.org

We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps: - It’s ‘voilà,’ not ‘wallah!’ - It’s ‘a lot,’ not ‘alot.’ - It’s ‘further ado,’ not ‘farther adieu.’ - It’s ‘flesh out,’ not ‘flush out.’ - It’s ‘sneak peek,’ not ‘sneak peak.’ No worries if not!!!

Is there anyone out there who actually likes the newest version of Overleaf with the comments to the left of the text? And the panel where you now have to toggle between comments and the file tree?

Is Joe Rogan really just a voice of the right? Our new @csmapnyu.org piece for @goodauth.bsky.social shows he’s just as much a space for the left and the center, too. A look inside today’s surprisingly complicated podcast information ecosystem. 🎙️ goodauthority.org/news/podcast...

Check out our newest piece on @goodauth.bsky.social! Especially if you are someone who thinks the left needs a "Joe Rogan of the left". Exciting analysis from our new podcast dataset👇. Huge kudos to project leads @melinamuch.bsky.social & Kylan Rutherford!

Good Authority@goodauth.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Is Joe Rogan as MAGA as people think? The Joe Rogan of the left, right, and center is just… Joe Rogan. See the data here: goodauthority.org/news/podcast...

@jennyallen.bsky.social and @jatucker.bsky.social add a fantastic Perspective piece on the importance of platform-independent experiments on social media's impact on us: science.org/doi/10.1126/... Strongly agree!

Platform-independent experiments on social media

Changing algorithms with artificial intelligence tools can influence partisan animosity

science.org

Joint work with @tiziano.bsky.social, @jiachenyan.bsky.social, Jeff Hancock, Jeanne Tsai, @mbernst.bsky.social Link: doi.org/10.1126/scie... And a very thoughtful perspective by @jennyallen.bsky.social and @jatucker.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1126/scie... /1