We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026. For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901

Since 2020, our team has iterated on a model for “rapid research” to help surface, analyze, & resolve rumors about election administration. This work demonstrates an innovative role for researchers to support public sensemaking during rapidly unfolding events. uw.pressbooks.pub/rapidresearc...

Recently accepted at ICWSM: arxiv.org/abs/2512.06129 (w/ @kayladuskin.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social, and @emmaspiro.bsky.social) We look at how algorithmic feeds affect Twitter account visibility. More visible accounts: -Are agitators -Get attention from Elon Musk -Are not legacy verified

🧵A new tool developed by researchers, including @cip.uw.edu faculty member @msaveski.bsky.social, shows it is possible to reduce partisan rancor in an X feed — without removing political posts and without the direct cooperation of the platform. (1/3) www.washington.edu/news/2025/12...

“Our information systems reward the production of mystery and speculation,” @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholar @mertcanbayar.bsky.social recently wrote in a blog post about online discourse around the 3I/ATLAS interstellar comet. Read more in @geekwire.com: www.geekwire.com/2025/alien-i...

We're currently seeking nomination materials for the @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. The submission deadline is January 15, 2026. Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...

3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object we’ve seen. Astronomers see an interesting but natural comet. Online, it quickly became an “alien mothership” with a secret mission. I wrote about how that happened and what it tells us about us and our info systems.

Giving a talk in #Seattle at Ada’s Technical Books Monday, December 8. Please join & share? Thanks! My book is on backorder 💅 but Ada’s has copies in stock. 😉

In the latest from @cip.uw.edu, Mert Can Bayar @mertcanbayar.bsky.social analyzes how knowledge gaps can lead to the spread of speculative theories, such as those shared by a Harvard astrophysicist that the comet known as 3l/ATLAS might be an alien "mothership." (1/3) www.cip.uw.edu/2025/12/03/3...

UW CIP postdoc @mertcanbayar.bsky.social explains how a high-profile scientist's statements about the 3l/ATLAS comet harnessed uncertainty and attention dynamics, and spawned widespread speculation about an alien visitor, an "alien of the gaps" in human knowledge: www.cip.uw.edu/2025/12/03/3...

We recently co-hosted a webinar, "Understanding and Navigating Political Divides," featuring research presentations from CIP postdoctoral scholar @alextheefstra.bsky.social and CIP research scientist @maddyjalbert.bsky.social. Watch the webinar: youtu.be/jbpGgVHIivE?...

The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901

After taking @jevinwest.bsky.social and @carlbergstrom.com's online course and learning with the @cip.uw.edu, Sedro-Woolley teacher Linsey Kitchens incorporated more AI literacy in her classroom. Students were surprised that an AI program provided incorrect information.

🧵We're seeking nominations for the CIP Award for Impact & Excellence, which recognizes outstanding contributions, achievements or bodies of work that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities and institutions navigate complex information challenges.

Our team at the @cip.uw.edu is currently seeking applications for up to two postdoctoral scholar positions. Applications received prior to January 15, 2026 will be given priority. Learn more about the positions, salary range, qualifications and application process: apply.interfolio.com/177901

People are generally more prone to believing misinformation when they see it in videos, @jevinwest.bsky.social told @atmosmag.bsky.social. “Even if you almost know they’re fake, it’s hard to dislodge yourself from them not being real,” the @cip.uw.edu co-founder says. atmos.earth/science-and-...

Watch a recording of @cip.uw.edu faculty member @carlbergstrom.com speaking at a recent @salish-current.org Knowledge Festival event in Bellingham. ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Slate: Scholars, including @cip.uw.edu graduate research assistant and @hcde.uw.edu PhD candidate @zarine.net, say "recent attacks on Wikipedia differ from earlier critiques" of the website, which had focused on Wikipedia's content. Read more: slate.com/technology/2...

Check out this @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast interview with @cip.uw.edu co-founder @rcalo.bsky.social, a professor at @uwlaw.bsky.social and @ischool.uw.edu ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Our team presented five papers at the CSCW (computer supported cooperative work and social computing) conference this week in Bergen, Norway. (CSCW is an ACM conference and a “home conference” for my team.) I’m going to share a few highlights in a thread here.

Excited to be in Bergen for CSCW 2025! This (Monday) afternoon I’ll be presenting a study I led with a fantastic team of undergraduate and Masters students, supervised by @katestarbird.bsky.social, on sudden attention, influencers, and TikTok - more details in 🧵 1/

Annie Zhang, who studies effective strategies in science communication, public perceptions of science and how scientists can better inform the communication of their research and expertise, has started work as a new @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholar. Learn more: www.cip.uw.edu/2025/10/15/a...

Check out this recent @seattletimes.com op-ed by @cip.uw.edu research manager @danielletomson.bsky.social ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Postdoc spotlight: Meet Dr. Alexandros Efstratiou of the @cip.uw.edu! He is a computational social scientist studying social media polarization, echo chambers, intergroup interactions and depolarization interventions, among other topics. @alextheefstra.bsky.social www.cip.uw.edu/2025/02/06/a...

Recently published work from colleagues Morgan Wack (postdoc at University of Zurich) & Joey Schafer (UW PhD candidate) showing how state election policies that delayed vote counting fueled rumoring and conspiracy theorizing around the 2020 election: blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

New study by @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @jasonreifler.bsky.social & colleagues demonstrates that prebunking election fraud rumors — by warning about anticipated false claims & filling conceptual gaps that those claims exploit — helps to reduce belief in falsehoods: www.science.org/content/arti...

What if conspiracy theories were taken to their logical endpoint and put into practice as a form of governance? @mertcanbayar.bsky.social and I explore this question in our new article on the conspiracist theory of power in @cogitatiopag.bsky.social. www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...

Check out "The persuasive potential of AI-paraphrased information at scale," an open-access article exploring "AIPasta," written by a team of @cip.uw.edu researchers led by @dashsaloni.bsky.social with co-authors @yiweixu.bsky.social, @maddyjalbert.bsky.social and @emmaspiro.bsky.social ⤵️

In a recent @fastcompany.com interview, @cip.uw.edu co-founder @rcalo.bsky.social reflected on the Office of Technology Assessment, which Congress shuttered 30 years ago. www.fastcompany.com/91378299/off...

Does your work explore mis/disinformation, scams, hate speech, or other forms of harmful information online? We are convening a CSCW workshop to bring together a global community focused on information disorder. We welcome short submissions, due August 8th. cscw2025infodisorder.netlify.app

Excited to announce that my paper "The persuasive potential of AI-paraphrased information at scale" with my wonderful collaborators @yiweixu.bsky.social, @maddyjalbert.bsky.social, and @emmaspiro.bsky.social has been published at PNAS Nexus! Link: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

My article on the stakes around mis/disinformation controversies is finally out at @poppublicsphere.bsky.social. It is the product of my work at @eui-schuman.bsky.social with support from @stephofmann.bsky.social and inspiration from @cip.uw.edu.

"There’s a pressing need for a generation of people who possess a technical understanding of the technology itself and also are informed about the methods and tools of regulation," @cip.uw.edu co-founder @rcalo.bsky.social said in an @ischool.uw.edu Q&A: ischool.uw.edu/news/2025/07...

Proud to have co-led this paper with @morganwack.bsky.social (and other coauthors @ikennedy.bsky.social @beeeeeers.bsky.social @emmaspiro.bsky.social @katestarbird.bsky.social) looking at the impacts of state-level election laws on uncertainty and election integrity rumors!

Really excited to draw attention to this dissertation by Melinda McClure Haughey (@melm.cc‬). Melinda's research explored collaborative infrastructure for supporting the "sensemaking" work of journalists working on high-stakes, fast-paced & often data-driven beats. www.melm.cc/research/dis...

In @lawfaremedia.org, @cip.uw.edu graduate research assistants @ashlynba.bsky.social and @sprochas.bsky.social explore how "fringe election fraud rumors are becoming legal drama — weaponized lawsuits and policies that present fiction as fact on social media." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

“The design of social media platforms facilitates and even incentivizes this kind of rumoring and political point-scoring in the wake of crisis events,” @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social said in an interview with @nbcnews.com. www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...

In a @seattletimes.com opinion article, Danica Noble, a @cip.uw.edu community fellow and antitrust attorney, writes that Congress should not silence the states on AI oversight: "We need every tool available to protect ourselves as AI gets more powerful." www.seattletimes.com/opinion/we-n...

Great opportunity for practitioners to learn and collaborate with academic partners on projects about resisting strategic misinformation, promoting an informed society, and strengthening democratic discourse.

Our team at the UW Center for an Informed Public is recruiting for our next class of Community Fellows (for the 2025-2026 school year). Learn more about the program, apply, and/or pass our call along to folks you think might be a good fit for our next cohort!

Do you work in journalism, education, technology, librarianship, government, community organizing or law? We're currently accepting applications for the 2025-26 cohort for our @cip.uw.edu Community Fellowship program. The application deadline is June 20. www.cip.uw.edu/2025/05/27/c...

Thrilled to be at the CHI conference this week where PhD student @schafer.bsky.social will present our paper — co-authored w/ Rachel Moran (1st author) & @mertcanbayar.bsky.social — titled, "The End of Trust and Safety?" dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

"If something sounds too good to be true or looks too good be true, it probably is," @cip.uw.edu co-founder @jevinwest.bsky.social told @washingtonpost.com in an article where he shared tips for being able to spot fake AI-generated movie trailers. Gift link: wapo.st/3S8fRgi

In a newly published research article in the Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, a team of @cip.uw.edu researchers interviewed trust and safety professionals and explored upheavals within the T&S industry.

Timely new paper from UW Center for an Informed Public's PhD student @sydneydemets.bsky.social & current Director @emmaspiro.bsky.social looking at "trajectories" of guests acoss political podcasts, showing how many move from the periphery into the center. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Learn how to spot misinformation & build trust in community health! Join our April workshop series starting April 16, led by Dr. Rachel Moran from @cip.uw.edu Free registration → bit.ly/P4HEApril2025Workshop #Partners4HE

Fantastic paper by @mertcanbayar.bsky.social, a postdoc at the UW Center for an Informed Public, examining how conspiracy theories drive political action in the U.S. and Turkey — and revealing key differences between partisan vs. non-partisan conspiracy theories.

Coming up April 22, 5-6 p.m. (Pacific): UW Impact and @cip.uw.edu are co-hosting a webinar, "Preparing informed citizens in an AI-powered world," featuring @shahanmemon.bsky.social @katypearce.bsky.social and @jevinwest.bsky.social. Event and registration info: www.washington.edu/alumni/event...

"Our social media systems — and X in particular — are designed in such a way that rumors spread extremely quickly, while corrections lag far behind," @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social told @bobbyallyn.bsky.social of @npr.org in an interview. www.npr.org/2025/04/07/n...

This afternoon, @cip.uw.edu co-founders @emmaspiro.bsky.social and @jevinwest.bsky.social shared highlights from the CIP's research, programming and impact across Washington during a WA House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee work session in Olympia: tvw.org/video/house-...