David Lazer
@davidlazer.bsky.social
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computational social scientist
reposted by
David Lazer
Eddie Yang
1 day ago
New paper in Nature. The more a government controls its domestic media, the more it dominates AI training data, the more pro-regime outputs we get from AI. By scraping the open web, LLMs are unwittingly laundering state-coordinated narratives into seemingly objective answers.
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David Lazer
2 days ago
Half of online time goes to two activities: social media (25%) and email (25%). LLM tools (ChatGPT, Gemini) now account for 2.9% of all online time. News sites get 2.5%. AI is already a bigger share of attention than news. For adults 18-29 the gap widens: LLMs 5.1%, news 1.1%.
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David Lazer
2 days ago
Our new report is out: How Americans Spend Their Time Online.
www.nuinfoinstitute.org/publications...
Five companies (Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon) capture more than half of all online time. Alphabet alone takes 35%.
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David Lazer
Nir Grinberg
8 days ago
šØ Excited to share our new paper to appear in the Findings of ACL 2026! "JudgeMeNot" asks: Can LLMs learn the specific reasoning signature of an individual judge? We tackle this in the low-resource setting of Hebrew case law. š
arxiv.org/abs/2604.18041
š§µš
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David Lazer
Justin Hendrix
4 days ago
āItās a massive data pipeline: phone metadata, location pings, SIM card swaps, app usage, social media behavior, sometimes even banking or facial recognition inputs. A lot is āscrapedā from commercial platforms, mobile networks, partner intelligence agencies, or spies on the ground..."
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Inside Israelās AI targeting system: How cellphone data becomes a death sentence | The Jerusalem Post
Ahmad Turmus got in his car, started it up, and drove off. Less than 30 seconds later came the shriek of the two missiles that lanced through his car.
https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-895697
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David Lazer
Alex Engler
6 days ago
The we're-paying-too-much-attention-to-Twitter-and-not-enough-to-YouTube problem, quantified New pre-print from
@dfreelon.bsky.social
@davidlazer.bsky.social
@pranavgoel.bsky.social
@meredithpruden.bsky.social
et al
osf.io/preprints/so...
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Miriam Posner
12 days ago
Hereās a presentation for students on data brokers & digital surveillance, with a lot of links that might be of interest. (Got a little enthusiastic about animations!)
docs.google.com/presentation...
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Copy of DH150 S26 W05B Data Brokers
Data brokers
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uiq7a2GEyG9-H5FDbmkHCAwaIbLlR4GI1lkWa0phwfw/edit?usp=drivesdk
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David Lazer
M.J. Crockett
12 days ago
But science is a social practice, one that depends on cooperation and trust. I've studied cooperation and trust for 25 years, often with computational models, including AI. The longer I've done this work, the more I've seen the limitations of these tools. >>
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M.J. Crockett
12 days ago
Last weekend I received the Troland Research Award from the
@nationalacademies.org
. Iām so grateful to the communities who made this work possible. It's strange to receive this award at a time when much of the work being recognized is not eligible for federal funding. My remarks š and a š§µ>>
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NAS 163rd Annual Meeting - Awards Ceremony
YouTube video by National Academy of Sciences
https://www.youtube.com/live/7sg0J6yPsdo?t=3355s
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David Lazer
Ryan Enos
12 days ago
Making the lunacy clear: The 14th Amendment gives Congress the explicit power to legislate to enforce the Amendment. Congress passed the 1965 Civil Rights Act to explicitly enforce the 14th Amendment. The court guts the legislation as a violation of 14th Amendment.
www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/o...
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Opinion | Ruling by Ruling, the Supreme Court Is Undoing the Civil Rights Movement
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/opinion/supreme-court-voting-rights-act.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fVA.G2pa.Df92pSfro0EI&smid=url-share
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David Lazer
Petter Tƶrnberg
14 days ago
LLMs have been widely reported as left-wing biased. The finding has shaped policy and debate ā with Trump banning "Woke AI". Our new paper challenges this story. It's not that the models are biased. It's that they think the auditor is. š§µ w/
michelleschimmel.bsky.socialā¬
arxiv.org/pdf/2604.276
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David Lazer
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
17 days ago
Science shapes our lives ā but how often do we talk about how it connects to society? We spoke with 2024
SciComm Excellence
award winner
C. Brandon Ogbunu
on why creativity and communication are essential to science itself. Read:
https://ow.ly/X51R50YQLhy
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David Lazer
16 days ago
lol [ It wasnāt like Twitter was best characterized by well-informed, carefully reasoned democratic discourse that constituted a Habermasian ideal speech situation. ] David Nickerson via Edsall
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David Lazer
Tech Policy Press
16 days ago
Michael A. Santoro highlights the denominator problem: counting harms without measuring the opportunities for harm, and attempting to draw conclusions from data that cannot support them. He argues that this measurement gap is undermining AI governance across numerous domains.
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The Denominator Problem in AI Governance
Michael A. Santoro argues that counting AI harms without measuring opportunities for harm makes the data uninterpretableāand undermines effective AI governance.
https://buff.ly/xAc6nf9
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Political campaigns have no idea what's about to hit them
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/o...
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Opinion | Political Campaigns Have No Idea Whatās About to Hit Them
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/opinion/political-campaigns-artificial-intelligence.html
16 days ago
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David Lazer
Stanford Tech Impact and Policy Center
16 days ago
Journal of Online Trust and Safety published its Spring 2026 Issue and here is the list of authors and editors for the issue. Read the issue at
tsjournal.org/index.php/jo...
and follow the authors here!
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David Lazer
Carl T. Bergstrom
16 days ago
More details on the firing of the National Science Board. The NSF now has no director, deputy director, or board. They have issued almost no new awards in 2026. The plan appears to be to completely destroyed the agency. The details are horrifying and have Russ Vought written all over them.
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Board Ouster Raises Further Concerns About NSFās Future
The White House axed all members of the board overseeing the National Science Foundation Friday, leaving the agency with no board, director or deputy director. It finally provided a reason Monday afte...
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2026/04/27/board-ouster-raises-further-concerns-about-nsfs
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Senator Scott Wiener
18 days ago
Political violence is never justified & we must always condemn it, including last nightās attack. But saying the President is āterrible for this countryā ā which he is ā is not the cause of that violence & itās bizarre CNN would suggest it is.
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David Lazer
Jameel Jaffer
20 days ago
"The State Department is excluding tech researchers from the United States because of their constitutionally protected work, and this newly disclosed memo only underscores the unbounded scope and unconstitutionality of the policy" --
@carriedecell.bsky.social
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
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Knight Institute Says State Department Memo Confirms Unbounded Scope of Trump Immigration Policy
https://knightcolumbia.org/content/knight-institute-says-state-department-memo-confirms-unbounded-scope-of-trump-immigration-policy
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David Lazer
Jameel Jaffer
21 days ago
This wild document is the basis for the State Department's decision to cancel the visas and green cards of tech researchers who study the social media platforms and of tech regulators who enforce privacy and transparency laws. Disclosed to us last night in
@thecoalition.bsky.social
v. Rubio.
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David Lazer
Kevin Yang
21 days ago
šØ New preprint alert: we analyzed how social scientists use social media data for empirical research, drawing data from 59 journals, 5 social science disciplines + interdisciplinary, 2010ā2024. Link:
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Details in š§µ 1/8
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David Lazer
Eric Topol
22 days ago
This is a FRAUDULENT paper, AI-generated. My name was used as an author and I had nothing to do with it, never saw it until today
e-pubmed.co.uk/journals/dig...
The "Editors" Angelo Rossi Mori, David Mensah, and Zarnie Khadjesari and this "Journal" should be reported.
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David Lazer
Center for Political Studies
26 days ago
Americans are more polarized in their trust in scientists than in virtually any other societal institution. Jamie Druckman shared insights on the state of America's distrust in science at the
@umisrcps.bsky.social
Miller-Converse Lecture:
cps.isr.umich.edu/news-events/...
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States of Distrust: Science and Politics in America
James Druckman presented the Center for Political Studies 2026 Miller-Converse Lecture At the University of Michiganās most distinguished lecture series on American electoral politics, political scien...
https://cps.isr.umich.edu/news-events/in-the-news/states-of-distrust-science-and-politics-in-america/
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David Lazer
Krissy Lunz Trujillo
26 days ago
An absolutely incredible breakthrough!
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PaCSS (Politics and Computational Social Science) is back! APSA preconference at BU joint with Political Communication, deadline for submission is May 8. Should be great!
cssi.umass.edu/pacss2026
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PACSS 2026: Politics and Computational Social Science Conference | Computational Social Science Institute
https://cssi.umass.edu/pacss2026
27 days ago
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David Lazer
Sarah J. Jackson
28 days ago
Weāre officially two months out from the publication of my book, A Second Sight: How Black Mediamakers Push America Toward Freedom (June 16, 2026), and Iām feeling incredibly grateful for the early reception its already getting. You can pre-order (on discount) and support local bookstores here:
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A Second Sight: How the Wonder and Vision of Black Mediamakers Push America Toward Freedom
How the Wonder and Vision of Black Mediamakers Push America Toward Freedom
https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-second-sight-how-the-wonder-and-vision-of-black-mediamakers-push-america-toward-freedom-sarah-j-jackson/69e661fd005bf9aa?ean=9780358726500&next=t
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David Lazer
Justin Hendrix
28 days ago
"Defunct startups are being liquidated for their Slack archives, Jira tickets, and email threadsāoperational exhaust that AI labs now treat as premium training data."
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AIās New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
AIās New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annatong/2026/04/16/ais-new-training-data-your-old-work-slacks-and-emails/
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Matthew Salganik
28 days ago
I'm speaking at ML-NYC on Monday, April 20 4pm at Flatiron Institute. "Life Trajectories and Life Chances: New Approaches from Population Registries and AI". Registration is free and reception afterwards:
www.eventbrite.com/e/ml-nyc-spe...
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ML-NYC Speaker Series and Happy Hour: Matt Salganik
Life Trajectories and Life Chances: New Approaches from Population Registries and AI
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ml-nyc-speaker-series-and-happy-hour-matt-salganik-tickets-1987342961295
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David Lazer
Conrad Hackett
28 days ago
Say Trump is somewhat or very religious Republicans 50% White evangelicals 49% Catholics 29% Black Protestants 13% Atheists 12% Democrats 10%
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/16/americans-have-become-more-likely-to-say-trump-is-not-too-or-not-at-all-religious/
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+1. FWIW, here is a report we recently did on public opinion regarding higher ed:
edbarometer.org
(Which is in the bibliography, which is pretty extensive! Almost as long at the report. But the cited literature is... quite scarce.)
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28 days ago
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David Lazer
Pam Herd
28 days ago
Really excellent logical discussion about the practical problem with 'viewpoint diversity' as a governing logic for universities-- if truth is the goal of scientific research.
www.aaup.org/academe/issu...
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Extension of Polnet deadline to April 22!
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about 1 month ago
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David Lazer
Dani Rodrik
about 1 month ago
The greatest threat from AI is not that it will displace human work but that it will displace human thought. My latest.
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
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To Work for Us, AI Must Not Think for Us
Dani Rodrik thinks the technologyās undeniable usefulness presents a new, under-appreciated danger.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-danger-of-thinking-for-us-undercutting-knowledge-generation-by-dani-rodrik-2026-04
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David Lazer
Mark Riedl
about 1 month ago
Where are all the Computing Science undergraduates going? Adjacent fields such as data science, robotics, cybersecurity, etc
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
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David Lazer
Brendan Nyhan
about 1 month ago
Lessons that all Americans should contemplate about the road ahead for Hungary and for us
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David Lazer
Kevin Reuning
about 1 month ago
Survey by an AI company, no useful information on the sample, no wording for most of the questions. That's right, we've got more advertising pretending to be surveys.
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David Lazer
Neil Lewis, Jr.
about 1 month ago
While we're celebrating space things, let me direct you to one of my favorite Golden Goose Awards. One of the reasons we have supercomputers now (that run the internet we enjoy) is because scientists needed more powerful computers to study black holes. 1/3
www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/b...
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2014: Black Holes and Supercomputing ā The Golden Goose Award
AWARDEE: Larry Smarr SCIENCE: Black Holes and Supercomputing FEDERAL FUNDING AGENCY: National Science Foundation
https://www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/black-holes
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David Lazer
Charles Franklin
about 1 month ago
Second Term Worse than the First. Consumer sentiment is far worse in 2nd term than in 1st. Economic sentiment was a tremendous advantage in the first Trump term and is a tremendous burden in the second. 1/n
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David Lazer
Magdalena Skipper
about 1 month ago
This is quite extraordinary- scientists set a kind of trap for AI chat bots by inventing a fake disease. AI told people it was real and⦠the deliberately bogus preprints started being cited in peer reviewed literature š«£ š§Ŗ
#MedSky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real
Bixonimania doesnāt exist except in a clutch of obviously bogus academic papers. So why did AI chatbots warn people about this fictional illness?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01100-y
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Jon Freeman
about 1 month ago
šØ NSF is already quietly eliminating the SBE Directorate, despite Congressā mandate that NSF support the behavioral & social sciences. Steps to counter this are in motion. If you - have an SBE proposal under review - serve on an SBE grant panel You can help! Fill out this form:
shorturl.at/xuKw2
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Share Your Story: Impacts of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Following the release of the President's Budget Request (PBR) on April 3rd, NSF quickly and quietly took steps to begin to dismantle the SBE Directorate. The Federation of Associations in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) wants to hear about how the SBE Directorate at NSF has supported your research and career. Your stories help FABBS communicate to policymakers and the public whatās at stake when the federal government fails to fund critical sciences. We may follow up for clarification, but we will not share your name or institution publicly without your permission.
https://shorturl.at/xuKw2
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David Lazer
about 1 month ago
register for our CSDP Conference on Identity and Inequality, April 17-18 url:https://spia.princeton.edu/events/csdp-conference-identity-and-inequality
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David Lazer
Ben Schmidt
about 1 month ago
This is a fun read. I posted in the company Slack and the first response was appropriately yeah, 'scientists.'
www.sciencealert.com/scientists-d...
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Scientists Developed an AI So Advanced They Say It's Too Dangerous to Release
A group of computer scientists once backed by Elon Musk has caused some alarm by developing an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) they say is too dangerous to release to the public.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-developed-an-ai-so-advanced-they-say-it-s-too-dangerous-to-release
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David Lazer
Don Moynihan
about 1 month ago
"To put it bluntly, an X post today receives less than 3% of the views a single tweet delivered seven years ago." If you think it is necessary to be on Twitter to communicate your fact-based worldview, the reality is that worldview is being smothered.
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David Lazer
Center for Democracy & Technology
about 1 month ago
New on NPRās Marketplace Tech š§: CDTās Elizabeth Laird breaks down why trust in US government data practices is slipping and what it means for everyday people.
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Trust in government data practices is rapidly deteriorating
Elizabeth Laird, director of equity in civic technology at the non-profit Center for Democracy and Technology, says about threeāfourths of Americans are concerned about how the federal government handles their personal data, according to the organizationās newest survey.
https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2026/04/09/trust-in-government-data-practices-is-rapidly-deteriorating
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David Lazer
Center for Political Studies
about 1 month ago
In "Partisan Hostility and American Democracy," Jamie Druckman and coauthors explore the recent consequences of polarization. Druckman presents the Miller-Converse Lecture today at
@umisrcps.bsky.social
. More on this work:
cpsblog.isr.umich.edu?p=3354
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David Lazer
Center for Political Studies
about 1 month ago
TODAY: Jamie Druckman gives the Miller-Converse lecture at the
@umisr.bsky.social
, the university's preeminent lecture on American electoral politics. A foremost expert on polarization, Druckman will speak on American distrust in science.
@electionstudies.bsky.social
events.umich.edu/event/139760
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CHIP50 will be doing a (roughly) synchronous, nonprob, replication of parts of the GSS. If: (1) you have a module in the GSS and would potentially like a nonprob sample (no cost), or
about 1 month ago
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David Lazer
Claudia Wagner
about 1 month ago
We opened a new PhD position in our department focusing on CSS research on and with AI agents. Please share the job ad and contact us if you have questions:
gesis.jobs.personio.de/job/2594220?...
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https://gesis.jobs.personio.de/job/2594220?language=de&display=de
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David Lazer
Doug Parry
about 1 month ago
Looks super interesting! I see from this talk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSgR...
that
@davidlazer.bsky.social
gave that they have app-level data and biweekly mental health data too. cross-device data (well browser/phone) is also nice for studying behaviour
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David Lazer
Morgan Quinn Ross
about 1 month ago
š Cool opportunity for mobile data from
@jsradford.bsky.social
and Northeastern's National Internet Observatory
nationalinternetobservatory.org/researchers....
Of interest to
@icamobile.bsky.social
š± Thanks to
@qinli0.bsky.social
for sharing! ā¤ļø
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For Researchers
The National Internet Observatory aims to help researchers understand how people behave online and how platforms structure what people see. This will be accomplished through creating a large panel of ...
https://nationalinternetobservatory.org/researchers.html
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