Ben Lyons
@benlyons.bsky.social
Associate prof at University of Utah Dept of Comm. Associate ed @misinforeview.bsky.social
Pinned
Ben Lyons
@benlyons.bsky.social
· Jul 8
Updated "Exposure to low-credibility online health content...", now w YouTube data: Older adults consume less YT, but a higher proportion is low-cred. Dubious political news ex is linked w low-cred health ex.. suggests shared consumption profile spans topics + platforms
osf.io/preprints/os...
osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
"While high-quality content is posted more and receives more total engagement across platforms...a given author attracts higher levels of engagement when they post lower-quality content"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
Divergent patterns of engagement with partisan and low-quality news across seven social media platforms | PNAS
In recent years, social media has become increasingly fragmented, as platforms evolve
and new alternatives emerge. Yet most research studies a sing...
www.pnas.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
"While high-quality content is posted more and receives more total engagement across platforms...a given author attracts higher levels of engagement when they post lower-quality content"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
Reposted by Ben Lyons
cultural over economic coverage on cable news mobilizes viewers who would otherwise watch entertainment programming, so cable news emphasizes cultural politics much more than politicians trying to maximize vote share
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
November 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
cultural over economic coverage on cable news mobilizes viewers who would otherwise watch entertainment programming, so cable news emphasizes cultural politics much more than politicians trying to maximize vote share
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Why do older adults engage more with #misinformation online, even when they often identify falsehoods correctly in surveys?
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
November 4 | Dubious News and the Aging American: Understanding Discernment
stanford.io
October 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Why do older adults engage more with #misinformation online, even when they often identify falsehoods correctly in surveys?
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Recruitment was tricky, but we got ~200 people in our pre-post experiment
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
October 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Recruitment was tricky, but we got ~200 people in our pre-post experiment
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
Reposted by Ben Lyons
This preprint reports on a project with @j-rock.bsky.social.
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
October 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
This preprint reports on a project with @j-rock.bsky.social.
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
Reposted by Ben Lyons
@electoralstudies.bsky.social If you’re interested in academic studies of political polarisation we have loads of great papers at Electoral Studies. Check out this one by Joseph Phillips www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Affective polarization and habits of political participation
Affective polarization, or relative dislike of opposing partisans, is associated with several negative outcomes for democracy. However, a number of st…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:35 PM
@electoralstudies.bsky.social If you’re interested in academic studies of political polarisation we have loads of great papers at Electoral Studies. Check out this one by Joseph Phillips www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Really excited that our book just came out!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
NEW - 'The Power of the Crowd: How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information'
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
October 9, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Really excited that our book just came out!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
The 2024 @electionstudies.bsky.social has the share of "pure independents" in the US at its lowest level since 1952 (7%)
October 7, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The 2024 @electionstudies.bsky.social has the share of "pure independents" in the US at its lowest level since 1952 (7%)
our new Element on social corrections is now published and currently open access
NEW - 'The Power of the Crowd: How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information'
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
October 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
our new Element on social corrections is now published and currently open access
The Simulacra (PK Dick, 1964)
OPINION | Maybe Americans would finally vote for a female president if she were girl-next-door cute-but, you know, not an actual human woman, writes @michaelianblack.bsky.social.
My Fellow Americans, It’s Time to Elect an AI President
Why stop with casting an ‘AI actor’ in movies when we could take future tech all the way to the White House?
trib.al
October 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The Simulacra (PK Dick, 1964)
Reposted by Ben Lyons
We already know that lagged effects in CLPMs are likely to be upwardly biased, but just how easy is it to find significant effects? Way too easy. I tested CLPMS in 100 randomly selected pairs of correlated variables and found significant effects in 98 of them. New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
October 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
We already know that lagged effects in CLPMs are likely to be upwardly biased, but just how easy is it to find significant effects? Way too easy. I tested CLPMS in 100 randomly selected pairs of correlated variables and found significant effects in 98 of them. New preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
In our PNAS we don't necessarily find a negative relationship between affpol and antidemocratic norm support, but certainly a non-linear one (appendix fig. below).
Personally, I think FT measures have some pretty major empirical oddities we're still evaluating
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Personally, I think FT measures have some pretty major empirical oddities we're still evaluating
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 22, 2024 at 6:31 PM
In our PNAS we don't necessarily find a negative relationship between affpol and antidemocratic norm support, but certainly a non-linear one (appendix fig. below).
Personally, I think FT measures have some pretty major empirical oddities we're still evaluating
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Personally, I think FT measures have some pretty major empirical oddities we're still evaluating
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Now live: “Do language models favor their home countries? Asymmetric propagation of positive misinformation and foreign interference audits” by Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Tracy Weener, Yung-Chun Chen, Sean Noh, Mingyue Zha, Hsuan Lo misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/do-l...
September 23, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Now live: “Do language models favor their home countries? Asymmetric propagation of positive misinformation and foreign interference audits” by Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Tracy Weener, Yung-Chun Chen, Sean Noh, Mingyue Zha, Hsuan Lo misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/do-l...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
super cool work.
A new preprint, lead by lab undergrad Aymin Triki, with machine learning support from @abbycassario.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
September 17, 2025 at 6:19 PM
super cool work.
great title link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A Tutorial for Deception Detection Analysis or: How I Learned to Stop Aggregating Veracity Judgments and Embraced Signal Detection Theory Mixed Models - Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
Historically, deception detection research has relied on factorial analyses of response accuracy to make inferences. However, this practice overlooks important sources of variability resulting in pote...
link.springer.com
September 2, 2025 at 8:26 PM
great title link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Now live: “New sources of inaccuracy? A conceptual framework for studying AI hallucinations” Anqi Shao misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/new-...
August 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Now live: “New sources of inaccuracy? A conceptual framework for studying AI hallucinations” Anqi Shao misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/new-...
hey I wrote a book... coming to you at some point in the future from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
August 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM
hey I wrote a book... coming to you at some point in the future from @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Lyons
✨The Kaid-Sanders Best Political Communication Article of the Year Award
🏅 Awardee: Nicolai Berk (U Zurich)
📄 The Impact of Media Framing in Complex Information Environments
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🏅 Awardee: Nicolai Berk (U Zurich)
📄 The Impact of Media Framing in Complex Information Environments
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The Impact of Media Framing in Complex Information Environments
To what extent do news frames influence public opinion? While a large body of experimental research suggests sizable effects, it is unclear how these findings translate to authentically complex inf...
www.tandfonline.com
June 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
✨The Kaid-Sanders Best Political Communication Article of the Year Award
🏅 Awardee: Nicolai Berk (U Zurich)
📄 The Impact of Media Framing in Complex Information Environments
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🏅 Awardee: Nicolai Berk (U Zurich)
📄 The Impact of Media Framing in Complex Information Environments
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Ben Lyons
✨The Kaid-Sanders Best Political Communication Article of the Year Award
Runner-up article: Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity
By Jan G. Voelkel et al.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Runner-up article: Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity
By Jan G. Voelkel et al.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity
Scholars warn that partisan divisions in the mass public threaten the health of American democracy. We conducted a megastudy (n = 32,059 participants) testing 25 treatments designed by academics and p...
www.science.org
June 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
✨The Kaid-Sanders Best Political Communication Article of the Year Award
Runner-up article: Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity
By Jan G. Voelkel et al.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Runner-up article: Megastudy testing 25 treatments to reduce antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity
By Jan G. Voelkel et al.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Want to get a sense of my book with @ekvraga.bsky.social but not ready to commit? @oxfordacademic.bsky.social has released Chapter One free and downloadable for the next month. academic.oup.com/book/60489/c...
Introduction
Abstract. This chapter introduces the core concept of the book, observed correction, which occurs when direct public corrections of misinformation are witn
academic.oup.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Want to get a sense of my book with @ekvraga.bsky.social but not ready to commit? @oxfordacademic.bsky.social has released Chapter One free and downloadable for the next month. academic.oup.com/book/60489/c...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
This is a nice write-up of our recent paper by PsyPost, with clear info about limitations and small effect sizes.
I would like to clarify that I am not in fact the person in the photo, though
doi.org/10.1002/ejsp...
I would like to clarify that I am not in fact the person in the photo, though
doi.org/10.1002/ejsp...
August 11, 2025 at 10:22 PM
This is a nice write-up of our recent paper by PsyPost, with clear info about limitations and small effect sizes.
I would like to clarify that I am not in fact the person in the photo, though
doi.org/10.1002/ejsp...
I would like to clarify that I am not in fact the person in the photo, though
doi.org/10.1002/ejsp...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Normalizing lies...👇
Repeated exposure effect on moral condemnation of fake news www.nature.com/articles/s41... @dgrand.bsky.social
"...frequently seen headlines receive lower moral condemnation"
"Without this condemnation, the publication & spreading of online misinformation may be more common."
Repeated exposure effect on moral condemnation of fake news www.nature.com/articles/s41... @dgrand.bsky.social
"...frequently seen headlines receive lower moral condemnation"
"Without this condemnation, the publication & spreading of online misinformation may be more common."
August 6, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Normalizing lies...👇
Repeated exposure effect on moral condemnation of fake news www.nature.com/articles/s41... @dgrand.bsky.social
"...frequently seen headlines receive lower moral condemnation"
"Without this condemnation, the publication & spreading of online misinformation may be more common."
Repeated exposure effect on moral condemnation of fake news www.nature.com/articles/s41... @dgrand.bsky.social
"...frequently seen headlines receive lower moral condemnation"
"Without this condemnation, the publication & spreading of online misinformation may be more common."
Reposted by Ben Lyons
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
August 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
Love that thing where you use Google Scholar too much so get locked out because it thinks you're sending automated queries.
July 25, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Love that thing where you use Google Scholar too much so get locked out because it thinks you're sending automated queries.
Reposted by Ben Lyons
How effective are user corrections on social media, and does adding a link to a fact check improve effectiveness?
In piece led by @sachaltay.bsky.social we find corrections have small effects, adding a fact-check unlikely to make them more effective misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-... 1/6
In piece led by @sachaltay.bsky.social we find corrections have small effects, adding a fact-check unlikely to make them more effective misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-... 1/6
July 23, 2025 at 1:03 PM
How effective are user corrections on social media, and does adding a link to a fact check improve effectiveness?
In piece led by @sachaltay.bsky.social we find corrections have small effects, adding a fact-check unlikely to make them more effective misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-... 1/6
In piece led by @sachaltay.bsky.social we find corrections have small effects, adding a fact-check unlikely to make them more effective misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-... 1/6