Yphtach Lelkes, who was recently promoted to full professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, studies the structure, dynamics, and causes of political attitudes, uncovering how psychology, media, and institutions shape political attitudes and polarization in the United States:

Political Communication Scholar Yphtach Lelkes Promoted to Full Professor

asc.upenn.edu

Join us in celebrating the 2025 Cozzarelli Prize Class V: Behavioral and Social Sciences winning paper, “The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research.” Read the article here: https://ow.ly/BFA450YKxZF

"We should be certainly very worried about political violence and its destabilizing effect, but the country has seen far worse and survived,” @seanjwestwood.bsky.social, government professor and director of the @prl.bsky.social, says in the @nytimes.com.

Is the U.S. in a Politically Violent Age? What the Data and History Say

nytimes.com

Join us in celebrating the 2025 Cozzarelli Prize Class V: Behavioral and Social Sciences winning paper, “The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research.” Read the article here: https://ow.ly/GL4K50YKy7E

MPSA papers submitted! I will be presenting work with @hmridge.bsky.social on the conditional effect of ascriptive identities on tolerance for democratic transgressions next Saturday. We are very grateful to the @prl.bsky.social for including our experiments in their survey in Germany and Israel!

Today, January 5, is the final day to apply for PRL's postdoc position at Dartmouth! apply.interfolio.com/175722

🚨 3-Year Postdoc in Political Science at Aarhus University 🚨 I’m seeking to recruit a postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu research project 𝑬𝑸𝑼𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑩𝑹𝑰𝑼𝑴 on state-citizen interactions. Link and more information in second post. Position Start: Fall 2026 Application Deadline: ‼️ February 5, 2026, 23:59 CET ‼️

🚨 Job reminder 🚨 1 month left to apply for PRL's 2026-2027 postdoc at Dartmouth! Apply by January 5 on Interfolio apply.interfolio.com/175722

One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/CWvM50XzuBk For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/5q7x50XzuBi.

.@thefireorg.bsky.social’s most recent quarterly National Speech Index, conducted by the @prl.bsky.social at #Dartmouth, finds that a record number of Americans now believe that freedom of speech in the country is headed in the wrong direction.

NEW HIGH: 3/4 of Americans say free speech is headed in the wrong direction

A new FIRE poll finds that a record number of Americans now believe that freedom of speech in the country is headed in the wrong direction.

thefire.org

Many have asked for the LLM Survey paper. The release was bungled a bit by PNAS, but it is live now: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The potential existential threat of large language models to online survey research | PNAS

The advancement of large language models poses a severe, potentially existential threat to online survey research, a fundamental tool for data coll...

pnas.org

Paper: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/55uok...

AI presents a fundamental threat to our ability to use polls to assess public opinion. Bad actors who are able to infiltrate panels can flip close election polls for less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee. Models will also infer and confirm hypotheses in experiments. Current quality checks fail

PRL welcomes postdoc applications at Dartmouth for 2026-2027. Work with @seanjwestwood.bsky.social & @ylelkes.bsky.social on projects like www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... and elite rhetoric analysis using americaspoliticalpulse.com/elites/ Pls apply by Jan 5 on Interfolio 🙏 apply.interfolio.com/175722

Very few Americans support actual political violence. Many more support intimidation. Almost no one thinks it’s appropriate to kill your political opponents, but many more would dox them. Read the latest: goodauthority.org/news/very-fe...

Very few Americans support actual political violence. Many more support intimidation.

Almost no one thinks it’s appropriate to kill your political opponents, but many more would dox them.

goodauthority.org

A non-partisan team has found reducing polarization and “partisan animosity” is remarkably difficult. “Without systemic change, America’s political divisions will only deepen,” says Annenberg associate professor Yphtach Lelkes.

Research Shows There Are No Easy Fixes to Political Hatred

asc.upenn.edu

⚠️New paper fothcoming in POQ! ⚠️ With @marcjacob.bsky.social and @seanjwestwood.bsky.social, we worried about norm-violating local politicians rising to higher office. We tested when voters defect from such politicians in local, state and federal races. osf.io/preprints/ps... 🧵...

Job 🚨! PRL is looking for a postdoc based at Dartmouth College for next year. Candidates should bring advanced data skills and enjoy writing. Read more about our work at polarizationresearchlab.org and apply through Interfolio by February 15, 2026: apply.interfolio.com/175722

Polarization Research Lab

Research on the origins, effects, limits and solutions to polarization

polarizationresearchlab.org

“This isn’t a problem that can be fixed at the grassroots level alone.” Research from @prl.bsky.social, co-led by professor @seanjwestwood.bsky.social, finds most attempts to reduce partisan animosity are modest and fleeting. Structural reform and civic education are key to lasting depolarization.

Research Shows There Are No Easy Fixes to Political Hatred | Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Study finds that interventions to reduce partisan animosity have fleeting effects.

fas.dartmouth.edu

"We are collecting data continuously so we have a baseline understanding of what level of support for political violence exists in our country.” Professor @seanjwestwood.bsky.social, director of @prl.bsky.social, discusses political violence in the U.S. on @theguardian.com’s Science Weekly podcast.

Is the US on the brink of a new era of political violence? – podcast

The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of polit...

theguardian.com

New in PNAS with @seanjwestwood.bsky.social and @ylelkes.bsky.social: Why depolarization is hard: Evaluating attempts to decrease partisan animosity in America @prl.bsky.social @pnas.org www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

“The core problem is not a widespread desire for violence, but a profound misperception of the other side.” Professor @seanjwestwood.bsky.social, director of the @prl.bsky.social, reflects on a seeming cycle of political violence in America, via @politico.com.

10 Political Violence Experts on What Comes Next for America

Can America escape the spiral of political violence after Charlie Kirk’s killing?

politico.com

A bullet casing found after the killing of Charlie Kirk had an inscription reading, “Hey fascist! Catch!” Charges of fascism have become a fixture of the nation’s political dialogue.

‘Fascist’ Ended Up on an Assassin’s Bullet. It Has Become Common Currency in Politics.

Democrats and Republicans alike call each other fascist. That is unlikely to stop after the killing of Charlie Kirk.

on.wsj.com

Experts on political violence say Charlie Kirk’s assassination alone won’t tear the country apart. Here’s what would.

Why We’re Not Doomed to a Cycle of Violence After Charlie Kirk

Experts on political violence say Charlie Kirk’s assassination alone won’t tear the country apart. Here’s what would.

nymag.com

Can America escape its spiral of political violence? 10 experts in the US and abroad give their takes on what comes next👇

10 Political Violence Experts on What Comes Next for America

Can America escape the spiral of political violence after Charlie Kirk’s killing?

politico.com

PRL brought 10 Dartmouth undergraduates to DC in June to introduce them to people and orgs across the political spectrum working for democracy. Many thanks to those who hosted us!! home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/07...

Democracy Fellows Explore How to Bridge the Partisan Divide | Dartmouth

home.dartmouth.edu

📢 The final piece of my dissertation is out in @polbehavior.bsky.social! Does being an ideologue matter for political disagreement—beyond how many issues are involved? It does, shaping both animosity and how people engage. 🧵https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-025-10049-z

Partisanship swamps other factors in determining support for recent policies, even when they seemingly implicate traditional support for free expression. Data from @thefireorg.bsky.social's April 2025 National Speech Index, part of @prl.bsky.social's fantastic national panel.

Negative partisanship is a helluva drug: Up until a few months ago, liberal and conservative Americans held pretty much the same views on free trade. Now, not so much…

More partisan atttitudinal asymmetries -- since the presidential election, Democrats' national pride/trust in government has collapsed, while Republicans' values have only edged upwards. Data from @prl.bsky.social