David Lazer

@davidlazer.bsky.social

6.4K followers 1.4K following 290 posts

computational social scientist

David Lazer is a distinguished professor of political science and computer and information science at Northeastern University, as well as the co-director of the NULab of Texts, Maps, and Networks. .. more

Political science 23%

Communication & Media Studies 18%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by David Lazer, Will Jennings, David R. Miller , and 3 more David Lazer, Will Jennings, David R. Miller, Michael D. McDonald, Ann Bartow, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 9h

A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms

Ox31a56e9E690c621eD2...
Joined Dec 2025 • 4.4k views
• Profit/Loss
$408,146.72°
All-Time
1D 1W 1M
ALL
• Polymarket
Positions Value
$5,754.58
Biggest Win
$404.2k
Predictions
4
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• Search positions.
=I Profit/Loss
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TOTAL BETI
AMOUNT WON v
• Won
Maduro out by January 31, 2026?
436,759.6 Yes at 7c
$32,537.28
$436,759.61
$404,222.33 (1,242.34%)|

Reposted by David Lazer

Pepper Culpepper @pculpepper.bsky.social · 19h

“A recurring feature of bubbles is how often they find new ways of democratising gambling.”

Hard to time, but not hard to spot. Incisive from @financialtimes.com’s John Plender.

How the bubble bursts

AI-fuelled market euphoria is a new telling of an old story that will not play out differently this time, writes John Plender — but it may have some way still to go

www.ft.com

Reposted by David Lazer

Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 2d

A compelling graphic look at all the ways that Trump and his family and friends have been monetizing the White House in his second term to enrich themselves more than any presidential clan has ever done before. @lazarogamio.bsky.social Amy Schoenfeld Walker
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump’s Tangled Web of Deal-Making, Policy and Riches

The president, his family and some of their closest associates have engaged in a sprawling campaign of deals that stretches across industries and the globe.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by David Lazer, Steve Peers, Serge Egelman , and 6 more David Lazer, Steve Peers, Serge Egelman, Bessma Momani, Greg Linden, Aleksandra Urman, Ryan Calo, David Darmofal, Pieter Vantieghem

Jeff Horwitz @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social · 3d

We got Meta’s “general global playbook” for defeating advertiser verification regulations, which the company knows would reduce scams. It includes making scam ads “not findable” for regulators searching Meta’s ad library through targeted scrubbing.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Meta created ‘playbook’ to fend off pressure to crack down on scammers, documents show

As regulators pressure Meta to verify the identity of advertisers on Facebook and Instagram, the social media giant has drafted a “playbook” to stall them. A Reuters investigation examines its tactics...

www.reuters.com

Reposted by David Lazer, Will Jennings, Fabrizio Gilardi , and 2 more David Lazer, Will Jennings, Fabrizio Gilardi, Mark J. Brandt, Jens Rydgren

Political Science Research and Methods @psrm.bsky.social · 4d

✖️Who produces most online hate speech and how effective is counterspeech?

➡️ @gloriagennaro.bsky.social et al. find that hate speech is concentrated among a few users and that counterspeech on X mostly fails to curb prolific offenders www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer, Joshua S. Weitz , and 5 more Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer, Joshua S. Weitz, Smith, David R. Miller, McKenzie Wark, Dana R. Fisher, Kate Starbird

Yoel Roth @yoyoel.com · 7d

Requested a correction from @princetonupress.bsky.social. Let's see what happens.

Dear Princeton University Press Editorial Team,

I am writing to request a correction to In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us by Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee. The book contains a significant misquotation that inverts the meaning of my published work.

In 2023, I published an article for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University titled "Getting the Facts Straight: Some Observations on the Fifth Circuit Ruling in Missouri v. Biden." In that piece, I directly refuted false claims about government jawboning of social media platforms. One claim I specifically pushed back against was the myth that the FBI demanded Twitter censor online speech.

And yet, I was recently surprised to find that In Covid's Wake quotes me as stating that "the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands" — the exact claim I was refuting, presented as though I endorsed it. The book uses my refutation of a false narrative to support that very narrative, employing my name, former position, and scholarly writing to buttress the authors' argument at the expense of the integrity of my own views.

This is not a case of authors disagreeing with my interpretation or selectively quoting from a nuanced argument. The book attributes to me a position that is the precise opposite of what I argued. The passage the authors quote is a section heading that introduces my refutation of that claim, not an endorsement of it.

The misrepresentation is particularly harmful because it lends Princeton University Press's credibility to demonstrably false claims about government censorship. My article exists specifically to establish what actually happened versus what conspiracy theories allege. By quote-mining a section heading and divorcing it from the argument that follows, the book weaponizes my attempt to establish facts against the truth itself.

I request that the authors and Princeton University Press:
Issue a formal correction acknowledging the misquotation
Revise the relevant passage in future editions to accurately represent my argument
Post an erratum on the book's webpage
I recognize that scholarly interpretation involves judgment calls about sources. However, quoting someone's statement of a position they are about to refute as though they endorse that position is not interpretation — it is dishonest, misleading, and a self-evident factual error. This is not a matter of academic disagreement but of basic accuracy in representing published work.

I hope Princeton University Press shares my commitment to factual rigor and will address this matter promptly.

Sincerely,

Yoel Roth, PhD

Reposted by David Lazer

Center for Media Engagement @engagingnews.bsky.social · 7d

What does it mean to take bias seriously in journalism?
In a recent Nieman Lab piece, @taliastroud.bsky.social explores why 2026 may be the year newsrooms move beyond simply claiming neutrality, and instead actively examine how bias is perceived, evaluated, and addressed.

What does it mean to take bias seriously in journalism?
In a recent Nieman Lab piece, Talia Stroud explores why 2026 may be the year newsrooms move beyond simply claiming neutrality, and instead actively examine how bias is perceived, evaluated, and addressed.

Reposted by David Lazer

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 8d

The end of the year is an opportunity to catch up on reading or to purchase books as gifts. In 2025, a number of authors joined the Tech Policy Press podcast, providing fresh insights into how technology interacts with people, politics, and power. Check out the list: buff.ly/oGnVbOt

Reposted by David Lazer, Juanjo Medina

Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 10d

I've enjoyed reading various definitions of slop, the word of the year according to Merriam-Webster. But they all focus on its attributes, which misses the resignation to a cynical instrumentality that I think explains why many people find slop repulsive

Slop is not distinguishable by its attributes. It is an attitude of production | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science

statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu

Reposted by David Lazer, Robert C. Richards

Kate Klonick @klonick.bsky.social · 11d

The internet is revolutionary to free speech because it empowers individuals and citizens to route around censorship in all its forms—even a captured “free” press.

This is why private platform governance; law on internet access or online content, and anonymity online will always matter.

Reposted by Luca Rossi, Taha Yasseri

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 12d

Excited to see this out! congrats to @tahayasseri.bsky.social & all contributors!

Taha Yasseri @tahayasseri.bsky.social · 15d

Thrilled to announce the Handbook of Computational Social Science is officially out! 956 pages, 118 authors, and truly global, interdisciplinary perspectives. Deep thanks to the contributors and anonymous reviewers who shaped this over 4 years. Buy your copy now!
@elgarpublishing.bsky.social

Reposted by David Lazer, Scott Clifford

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 12d

Perhaps others have seen it already, but I found this pre-print (first posted in September) deeply troubling, raising concerns about how LLMs used for classification tasks in research open new researcher-degrees-of-freedom, which they call "LLM-hacking" (akin to p-hacking)

arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825

arxiv.org

Reposted by David Lazer

Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · 14d

This is a must-read visionary (and pragmatic) piece from @alondra.bsky.social on how to promote ethical AI development and use by building on, learning from, and improving the ELSI genetics model, which I missed when it came out back in September:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An ELSI for AI: Learning from genetics to govern algorithms

In the United States, the summer of 2025 will be remembered as artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) cruel summer—a season when the unheeded risks and dangers of AI became undeniably clear. Recent months h...

www.science.org

Reposted by David Lazer, Johannes Breuer

Taha Yasseri @tahayasseri.bsky.social · 15d

Reposted by David Lazer

New papers in Network Science @networkspapers.bsky.social · 15d

PNAS: Perception of own centrality in social networks
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2420334122?af=R

Reposted by David Lazer, Alan Richardson

J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 16d

So what's the alternative to grantwashing you ask? We offer several ideas, including one by Alondra Nelson that borrows from the structure of the Human Genome project to dedicate 3-5% of R&D funding from emerging technologies to safety and ethics research.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An ELSI for AI: Learning from genetics to govern algorithms

www.science.org

Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, David Lazer, Brian Keegan , and 2 more Jan W. Mueller, David Lazer, Brian Keegan, Amy Orben, Dana Howard

J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 16d

Should scientists apply to OpenAI's fund for research on AI & mental health? Should policymakers consider it a credible safety effort?

Avriel Epps & I see it as "grantwashing," and it's an insult to anyone whose loved one's death involved chatbots. We explain:

www.techpolicy.press/beware-of-op...

Beware of OpenAI's 'Grantwashing' on AI Harms | TechPolicy.Press

J. Nathan Matias and Avriel Epps say OpenAI's announced research funding is the perfect corporate action to make sure we don't find answers for years.

www.techpolicy.press

Reposted by David Lazer, Rebecca Sear

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 17d

Surely the people who file hundreds of demands that libraries they've never been to remove books that they've never read — surely those people wouldn't abuse an open syllabus law to harass professors teaching topics they don't like the sound of.

Important reporting from @stephaniemlee.bsky.social

When Everyone Can See Your Syllabus

More states are requiring public colleges to make class syllabi available to the masses. Proponents say these measures boost higher ed’s credibility, while faculty fear being targeted.

www.chronicle.com

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Nandita Sharma, David Lazer , and 9 more Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Nandita Sharma, David Lazer, Justin Wolfers, John Horgan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller, Mark Rice, Noah L. Nathan, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 17d

What this will mean, in practice, that if you are deemed an enemy of the administration, they will pore through your citizenship application paperwork looking for some reason to retroactively disqualify you.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...

Trump Administration Aims to Strip More Foreign-Born Americans of Citizenship

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Dorothy Bishop, David Lazer , and 5 more Richard S.J. Tol, Dorothy Bishop, David Lazer, Joshua Goodman, Jacob T. Levy, Henry Farrell, David L. Anderson, David Stott

Reposted by David Lazer

Reposted by David Lazer, Melanie C. Green, Shelley Boulianne

Digital Democracy Centre @ddc-sdu.bsky.social · 19d

FULL PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY
...at the DDC and DIAS, here at the University of Southern Denmark 🇩🇰

...open to various disciplines, including law, economics, political science, communication, journalism, or AI.

More info:
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Reposted by David Lazer, Stuart Soroka, Hugo Mercier , and 3 more David Lazer, Stuart Soroka, Hugo Mercier, Ariadne Vromen, Alessandro Nai, Damian Trilling

Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 19d

Excellent job opportunity: Full professorship in Digital Society and Democracy @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and @d-ias.bsky.social.

Top conditions, environment & colleagues.

Candidates welcome across places and disciplines.

🗓️ DL: March 15, 2026

fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

DIAS Professorship in Digital Society and Democracy

Application deadline: March 15, 2026, 11.59 PM/23.59 CET/CEST.

fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com

Reposted by Paul Glasziou, David Lazer, Scott L. Greer , and 5 more Paul Glasziou, David Lazer, Scott L. Greer, Erica Chenoweth, Juan Cole, Nazita Lajevardi, Michael Jones‐Correa, Matthew Bodie

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 20d

For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.

~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.

We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.

Infographic titled “2025 Billionaire Gains vs. Grocery Spending.” On the left, a large gold square shows that the top 100 richest Americans gained $995 billion in wealth in 2025, about $7,595 per U.S. household, representing wealth gains for just 100 individuals. On the right, a slightly smaller green square shows total U.S. grocery spending of $775 billion, about $5,916 per household, covering roughly 131 million households. A callout at the bottom reads “The Scale of Inequality,” noting that billionaire wealth gains exceeded national grocery spending by $220 billion. Sources listed: Bloomberg Billionaire Index and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 24d

So much gerrymandering!
We know gerrymandering is bad for democratic representation, but new research suggests candidates campaigning in non-competitive districts campaign differently; using more moral & emotional language in tweets during primaries than those in more competitive districts 🧵

Reposted by David Lazer, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 24d

"With only 18% coming from megadonors, Dems have a fundraising advantage among grassroots supporters that enabled them to outraise Republicans in 2024. Yet the party courts billionaires while campaigning against oligarchy," writes @adambonica.bsky.social. data4democracy.substack.com/p/money-does...

Money Doesn't Buy Elections. It Does Something Worse.

Campaign ads barely move the needle. The real influence is hiding in plain sight.

data4democracy.substack.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David Lazer, Will Jennings , and 12 more Kim L. Scheppele, David Lazer, Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Sanford F. Schram, Laurent Pech, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller, Robert Wolfe, Aaron Sojourner, Dana R. Fisher, Anders Sundnes Løvlie, Kate Starbird, Rune Møller Stahl, Aviel Roshwald

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 25d

The decline of democracy in the US means you can’t visit the US if you commented on the decline of democracy in the US

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 25d

This is INSANE www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

and these are our closest allies!

Travelers visiting the United States from countries like Britain, France, Germany and South Korea could soon have to undergo a review of up to five years of their social media history, according to a proposal filed on Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The change would affect visitors eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows people from 42 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they first obtain electronic travel authorization.

In a document filed on Tuesday in the Federal Register, C.B.P. said it plans to ask applicants for a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children.

Under the current system, applicants from visa waiver countries must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. They pay $40 and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. The authorization is good for two years.

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Joanna Bryson, David Lazer , and 34 more Michael E. Mann, Joanna Bryson, David Lazer, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Euan G. Ritchie, John R. Hutchinson, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Stefanie Walter, Leigh Sparks, Martin Tomko, Nancy T. Ammerman, David R. Miller, Holger Hestermeyer, Scott A. Imberman, James Goodwin, Seán Hanley, Dana R. Fisher, Anders Sundnes Løvlie, Nora V. Demleitner, David Murakami Wood, Ann Bartow, Kai Gehring, Andrew Rudalevige, Richard M. Carpiano, Steven A. Bank, Simon Lester, Tim Stephens, Ben Kaden, Daxton R. Stewart, Pádua Fernandes, Gwénola Ricordeau, Michael Gentile, Peter Bergman, David Darmofal

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 25d

This is INSANE www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

and these are our closest allies!

Reposted by David Lazer

Network Science Institute @nunetsi.bsky.social · 25d

David Lazer on the gaps in Americans’ trust in science—and how to address them—in this Northeastern Global News piece, based on a new Nature Human Behaviour paper (tinyurl.com/4tm8769p).

@davidlazer.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2025/12/09/s...

Trust in science is low among minorities for a reason, research finds

Researchers at Northeastern trace distrust of scientists among certain groups to massive gaps in representation within science itself.

news.northeastern.edu

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 25d

More emphasis on first gen recruitment into sciences would help. Re divide, I think this is partially because of growing correlation between religiosity and class/rurality/partisanship. Something did change in aughts. For partial answer, check out: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Continuity and Change in Trust in Scientists in the United States: Demographic Stability and Partisan Polarization

<span>Americans’ trust in scientists has been stable and high, relative to other political and social institutions, for the last half century (Krause et al. 201

papers.ssrn.com

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