In some way, social media is like a weather vane in a storm: it spins quickly to show where the wind’s blowing, but you can’t tell how fierce the storm really is.

The Cracker Barrel story should serve as a reminder that "What a journalist can discern from publicly available social media data is not exactly what is typically thought of as 'public opinion.'” We & our colleagues outlined this problem back in 2018. policyoptions.irpp.org/2018/09/when...

"Cracker Barrel Outrage Was Almost Certainly Driven by Bots, Researchers Say" gizmodo.com/cracker-barr...

Here's a peek at who has been trying to sway Americans on Facebook and Instagram over the past seven days. app.polidashboard.org/meta_ads?cou...

Scammers are targeting seniors again. When we released our new @polidashboard.org app for tracking political ads, we did not expect that it could also be used to detect financial & other types of fraudulent activities on Meta’s advertising platforms. socialmedialab.ca/2025/07/29/p...

This year proved the courts won’t save America. Next year might prove the ballot box alone won’t either. That’s not a reason to give up, it’s a reason to dig in. The system won’t fix itself. Democracy only works if we fight for it, together. Keep showing up. Keep speaking out. Keep building power.

"If you can't win the game, change the rules."

Meta just gave advertisers wider access to "Meta’s Value Rules," a new tool to let advertiser fine-tune and target nich audience who are likely to buy their products. (Note: product can also be a social issue or policy position.) www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-ad...

@PoliDashboard.org Launches Major Update to Advance Transparency in Political Advertising on Facebook & Instagram. - AI-Generated Ad Summaries - Semantic Ad Search - Advanced Data Filtering - Enhanced Demographics Visualization w/ Interactive Demographic Drilldowns socialmedialab.ca/2025/07/29/p...

Here's a peek at what we're working on for @PoliDashboard.org, our app for tracking ads re: political, election, & social issues on FB/IG. 1) semantic and keyword search of all ads for a particular country & 2) a summary of the advertiser's entire ad portfolio/campaign. #transparency #TargetedAds

Giving water to people in line to vote in the US is illegal. But "Billionaire Elon Musk can hand out million-dollar checks to two voters in Wisconsin and promised smaller payments to others who help elect a conservative candidate to the state's top court" www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...

“Our goal is to make political ad data more accessible & meaningful—not just for researchers & journalists, but for anyone who wants to see how digital platforms are being used to shape pub. opinion. Transparency is the first step toward accountability.” - @gruzd.ca socialmedialab.ca/2025/03/31/p...

PoliDashboard.org Launches with Powerful New Features to Track Political Ads on Facebook and Instagram — Just in Time for the 2025 Canadian Federal Election socialmedialab.ca/2025/03/31/p... #cdnpoli #elbowsup

TikTok Canada Launches Election Centre for Federal Election: "TikTok users in Canada will encounter prompts directing them to the Election Centre when engaging with election-related content or searches, such as 'Canada Election 2025” and “Federal Election.'" www.iphoneincanada.ca/2025/03/24/t...

As expected: - X usage in Canada continues to decline: 42% in 2020, 40% in 2022, and 37% in 2025. - There are fewer left-leaning Canadians on X than center and right-leaning Canadians. Stay tuned for more details in our upcoming report the “State of Social Media in Canada 2025” (ETA 04/2025)

Some of our new followers may be wondering why a social media research lab—one that primarily focuses on sharing insights about social media research and the latest developments in social media platforms—also engages with political topics.

"There's an old saying in diplomatic circles: 'If you are not at the table, you are on the table.' Hard to believe it's 2025, and two superpowers are meeting to split up a sovereign nation—like colonialism never went out of style. #Ukraine

What’s the loss of a few million lives when proving a point takes priority? I was once a child refugee, surviving on USAID rations—without them, my family would have perished. I will never understand the deep-seated cruelty some people carry in their hearts.

Remember when televisions in public spaces—airports, bus stations, military bases, and even waiting rooms—were almost always tuned to CNN. It was the default backdrop, shaping the way travelers, service members, and commuters absorbed the day’s news.

Democrats still communicate like it’s the Clinton era, relying on press conferences and stale press releases that mirror the party’s aging leadership. Few are willing—or able—to engage on social media authentically without staff mefiating and filtering their words.

There's not a table big enough ... "Canada’s Freeland Calls for Summit of Nations Targeted by Trump" www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

OPM just unveiled a new deferred resignation program for most full-time federal employees: www.opm.gov/fork. The announcement feels like something straight out of @theonion.com though it might need a title change. Instead of "Fork in the Road," a more fitting name might be "Our Way or the Highway."

90% of X's Community Notes never see daylight. As with many of our other projects such as @polidashboard.org & @deepfakestracker.org, our aim with this new "X Misleading and Manipulated Media Dashboard" app is to make the invisible visible. #transparency #accountability #medialitteracy

If you read one thing this weekend, make it this: a comprehensive new study that examines how autocracies endure. Lots of insights into what Americans are up against. Key takeaway: "Media indoctrination and the suppression of civil liberties are the strongest predictors of autocratic survival."

It's the first day after the inauguration, but the campaign for your heart and mind is never over. Here's who trying to influence you and your family with Meta ads. Click on any advertisers in @polidashboard.org & explore. All the charts are interactive. app.polidashboard.org/facebook_ads...

TikTok is now back up and running for some users in the United States. What is even happening in the US? #TikTokRefugees #TikTokban

Given Meta's recent decision to terminate all fact-checkers & significantly alter its moderation policies, we're re-upping our recent study on the effectiveness of misinfo warning labels on social media. TLDR: Fact-check labels are effective at reducing spread. socialmedialab.ca/2024/09/11/n...

Is Europe ready? U.S. tech bros are coming after the EU and its sovereign right to regulate its own markets. This time, they have Trump and other US politicians on their side and the US Trade Representative office on speed dial.

🚨TikTok plans to shut down its app in the U.S. on Sunday in response to an impending federal ban. This decision goes beyond what the law requires. Users will be redirected to a website providing details about the ban and options to download their data. www.theinformation.com/articles/tik...

Our ability for sensemaking—the way people gather and interpret information to give meaning to their lives and the world—will need a total overhaul ... as will our laws & norms. #AI

If you are so inclined, here's "How to delete your Facebook account and take your data with you. Meta has buried account deletion and deactivation within your Facebook settings, but we found them." www.popsci.com/diy/how-to-d...

Given the waves of alarming changes emerging from Meta, it's clear that the myth of tech being inherently liberal needs to be retired. Tech owners, like sunflowers, always turn toward power.

For many people, a lie or factually inaccurate post or statement doesn't register as misinformation if its core message aligns with their preexisting beliefs or worldview. #ConfirmationBias #CognitiveDissonance #BeliefPerseverance

Sadly, we're entering an era that I can only describe as "#democracytheatre." In this grim performance, those in power go to great lengths to preserve the outward appearances & rituals of democracy—elections, legislative bodies, & public debates—but strip these institutions of their essence.

One of the few antidotes we have is transparency henced @polidashboard.org. But beyond that, more importantly, we need new anti-SLAPP laws to protect journalists & researchers. cfe.torontomu.ca/guidesadvice...

It's happening. The migration to Bluesky is real. "Canadian MPs among social media users pivoting from X to Bluesky in the wake of U.S. vote. Basically, what we're seeing is a reconfiguration of the social media landscape"- @philipmai.com, co-director of @socialmedialab.ca www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

This is another reminder of how design choices and opaque algorithms on platforms like X, Facebook & Instagram subtly shape our information environment and worldview. The ability to train and choose our algo is reason enough to be here on Bluesky.

We know that there's a lot of devs on here, we've an open source proj. @PoliDashboard.org that could use some ♥️. If you care re: political transparency/micro ads targeting on FB/IG, pls👀

We are now on Bsky!

Until and unless there is legally mandated data access for qualified researchers, journalists and regulators, the public will always be in the dark.

1/7 Social media platforms frequently tweak weights in their recommender algorithms to optimize engagement. In addition, many of these algorithms are self-learning and personalized to individual users or groups of users.

Researchers & scholars from across various fields are increasingly at risk of intimidation & harassment for their work. A new resource offers practical and actionable suggestions for navigating conversations with your institution. Pls, bookmark & share. researchersupport.org