“Russian propaganda on Bluesky first became notable during Germany’s elections last year, when the Kremlin sought to bolster Germany’s far right, led by the Alternative for Germany party, known as AfD.” #giftlink #disinformation #propaganda

Bluesky Says Kremlin Is Hacking Its Platform to Spread Propaganda

nytimes.com

One of my favorites paper got published 🤓 It covers a lot of ground and it’s the best summary of my views on misinformation and what to do about it. Give it a read :) 🔓 osf.io/preprints/ps... 👉 doi.org/10.1177/1461...

How can counterfactual thinking help tackle conspiracy theories? The short (~3 minute) answer is in our @spspnews.bsky.social blog post (with @kwinter.bsky.social, @kaiepstude.bsky.social, and Bob Fennis): spsp.org/news/charact... 1/2

Recently, van der Stigchel and colleagues posted a provocative commentary suggesting that we should be wary of bots in online behavioral data collection (🧵by @cstrauch.bsky.social here: bsky.app/profile/cstr...). But should we? Here is my response letter osf.io/preprints/ps.... 1/5

We're looking for a PhD student working on the (mis)perception of social norms in social networks (in collaboration with Vincent Buskens at Utrecht University). Deadline: April 1, 2026. More information here: socion-program.org/vacancy/phd-...

Check out this recent @nature.com paper reporting a field experiment on X. It shows X's algorithm boosts conservative content and downranks traditional media—shifting users’ views on key issues. Switching to chronological doesn’t reverse the effect. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - Nature

Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared...

nature.com

What do laypeople think causes conspiracy beliefs? New research suggests that people tend to attribute these beliefs most strongly to influence from social media and misinformation. Read more in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin: https://ow.ly/HSrZ50YioS5

Despite all the chatter, social media bans for teens lack evidence! New paper out in Nature Health. (1) Harms from social media are real & serious. (2) We need regulatory action but bans are not nuanced, do not empower youth, & are not supported by evidence. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

What do laypeople think causes conspiracy beliefs? We (@kaiepstude.bsky.social, Bob Fennis, and I) look at this and other questions in a new PSPB paper combining six correlational studies and a qualitative one. Read the open-access paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... A 🧵 1/5

If you are interested in our recent paper on how counterfactual thinking can reduce engagement with conspiracy theories but don't have the time to read it; here is a short summary of our main findings: www.psychreg.org/thinking-wha...

Thinking About “What Might Have Been” Linked to Lower Conspiracy Engagement, Study Finds

Imagining negative consequences of conspiracy beliefs reduced time spent engaging with conspiracy content without changing beliefs.

psychreg.org

A new paper by George Borjas—who served this past year in the Trump White House designing some of its anti-immigration policies—claims to display evidence of ideological bias among researchers who study immigration. doi.org/10.1126/scia... 🧵 Thread—>

Are leaders blamed for disasters that eventually did not occur? The answer points to the crucial impact of partisanship in assigning blame for events that almost happened. @jexpsocpsych.bsky.social w/ Matejas Mackin, @danieleffron.bsky.social, and Neal Roese authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Motivated reasoning is a well-understood phenomenon - or is it? In a new paper just published at @collabrapsychology.bsky.social we discuss three known unknowns. doi.org/10.1525/coll... Here is a 🧵

Big new blogpost! My guide to data visualization, which includes a very long table of contents, tons of charts, and more. --> Why data visualization matters and how to make charts more effective, clear, transparent, and sometimes, beautiful. www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/salonis-gu...

New paper out in @jexpsocpsych.bsky.social ! We (@kwinter.bsky.social, @kaiepstude.bsky.social , Bob Fennis and I) found that encouraging counterfactual thinking reduces engagement with conspiracy theories (i.e., clicks on, and reading times for, conspiracy articles). A 🧵 1/n

At ZPID we are searching for a tenure track assistant professor for Psychological Metascience in joint appointment with @unitrier.bsky.social preferably someone who has conducted quantitative research in metascience in psychology or related disciplines. Questions? Feel free to contact me personally.

1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv. There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.

The deadline for the meeting on counterfactuals is coming up. Don't forget to send in your contribution.

Kai Epstude@kaiepstude.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We're organizing an EASP small group meeting on counterfactuals in March 2026. More details can be found here: www.easp.eu/news/itm/eas...

“Bypassing” is a promising strategy for countering misinformation by sharing truthful, positively framed statements instead of direct corrections. New research shows it can correct misperceptions effectively, especially when people are still open to learning. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misg...

Is There a Better Way to Fight Misinformation?

What if the best way to counter misinformation isn’t arguing facts, but offering better truths instead?

psychologytoday.com

Killing both academic research and government watchdogs protecting us from foreign manipulation campaigns apnews.com/article/rubi...

The State Department closes the office that flags disinformation from Russia, China and Iran

The State Department has shut down the office that sought to deal with misinformation and disinformation that Russia, China and Iran have been accused of spreading.

apnews.com

I got an email yesterday afternoon that my NSF SPRF Postdoctoral Fellowship was terminated. My grant focused on testing interventions to address online misinformation and I was 8 months into a two year appointment.

Mike Wagner@prowag.bsky.social · last yr.

Friday Night Massacre of accurate information. A devastating day for the USA as tens of millions of dollars of grants seeking to combat the spread of false information were terminated. We have a federal govenrment that does not consider the verifiable truth a priority. www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

This statement from the NSF is insane. Science is, in essence, designed to separate the true from the false. Understanding how falsehoods spread is key to the scientific endeavor. It is not a violation of free speech to be proven wrong.

Call for papers: “The Psychology of Pushback: Understanding Resistance and Compliance During Democratic Decline.” Edited by Jonas R. Kunst and John F. Dovidio. advances.in/psychology/1...

Special Issue on "The Psychology of Pushback"

We are currently accepting submissions for a special issue on "The Psychology of Pushback: Understanding Resistance and Compliance During Democratic Decline."

advances.in

🚨New paper alert🚨 How do different "Great Replacement" conspiracy narratives (blaming relatively powerful left-wing elites or relatively powerless Muslim communities) affect radical collective action intentions against different targets across the political spectrum? A 🧵 about what we found:

Hakan Çakmak@hakancakmak.bsky.social · last yr.

Our registered report with @valentinmang.bsky.social and @feitenglong.bsky.social has now been published in BJSP! We examined the radicalizing effects of different Great Replacement conspiracy narratives (Muslim vs. left-wing conspirators). See the link for the paper: doi.org/10.1111/bjso...

I’ve created a starter pack of scholars who study conspiracy theories academically. If I’ve missed anyone off of the list, let me know (indeed, tag yourself) go.bsky.app/PZPcxeL

Since we’re talking about trust in science right now (shout out to the TISP project!), here’s the updated „Trust in Science Scholars“ starter pack once more! Please share and reach out if you identify as a trust in science researcher and want to be added! #trustinscience #scicomm

The spread of misinformation and disinformation top the WEF short-term global risk report for 2025. www.weforum.org/publications...

Great to see this paper being accepted! @hakancakmak.bsky.social and @feitenglong.bsky.social made working on this project a pleasure! If you are interested in how different Great Replacement conspiracy narratives shape hostility against Muslims and political elites, DM one of us for the preprint.

Hakan Çakmak@hakancakmak.bsky.social · 2y ago

The first paper of the new year has been accepted for publication in BJSP! This work is in collaboration with the brilliant @valentinmang.bsky.social and @feitenglong.bsky.social. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in the preprint version.

If you're interested in research on misinformation and conspiracy beliefs, I can highly recommend checking out this special issue!

Advances.in@advances.in · 2y ago

🌟We are thrilled to announce the publication of our Special Issue: From Vulnerability to Vigilance. This issue brings together 11 impactful articles on psychological resilience against misinformation and conspiracy beliefs. advances.in/psychology/1...

New paper alert! In this new publication in advances.in/psychology, I systematically reviewed the literature on source credibility effects in misinformation research together with my supervisors Bob Fennis and @kaiepstude.bsky.social. A short summary of the highlights of the paper:

Advances.in@advances.in · 2y ago

🔊New in advances.in/psychology: "Source credibility effects in misinformation research: A review and primer" by Mang, Fennis, & Epstude This systematic review unravels the complex role of source credibility in misinformation contexts. advances.in/psychology/1...