David Lazer
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David Lazer
@davidlazer.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 290 posts

computational social scientist

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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, Alessandro Nai, Jens Rydgren , and 2 more

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 2d
PLEASE SHARE

📣 Multi-position (PhD and postdoc) call for an interdisciplinary project on "AI in the News Ecosystem: Navigating Trust and Authenticity”

Project @ddc-sdu.bsky.social (Digital Democracy Centre (SDU)).

Multiple positions with different backgrounds and profiles.

Links in🧵

#commsky

Reposted by David Lazer, Nathan P. Kalmoe

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d
This is the current front page of the Times. The Washington Post is even worse. Their headlines are privileging the accounts of the administration with a track record of lying as being as valid as eye witness accounts and videos.
Headline: Minnesota Officials Dispute Federal Account of Fatal ICE Shooting

Reposted by David Lazer, Michael J. Nelson, Erika Franklin Fowler , and 5 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 3d
🚨 the best state policy & public opinion database is now online. ~200 (!!!) state policies and 80 public opinion series on abortion, labor, taxes, environment, guns, education…

dynamicdemocracy.shinyapps.io

Massive public goods provision from @devincaughey.bsky.social & @chriswarshaw.bsky.social
Welcome to the Dynamic Democracy App This app lets you manipulate, explore, and download the Dynamic Democracy datasets with information on state policies and public opinion assembled by Devin Caughey and Chris Warshaw. Click on the triangle next to each category for more details. • State Policies: This dataset includes information on approximately 200 policies in place in at least one state between 1936 and 2024. • State Policy Ideology : Measures summarizing aggregate policy outputs in each state/year between 1936-2024. • Public Opinion: Measures summarizing state publics views on approximately 80 issues, covering 1936-2024. • Mass Ideology.: Measures of state publics' economic and cultural ideological preferences, 1936-2021. • Policy Proximity.: Measures of how closely state policies match public preferences.

Reposted by David Lazer, Ruth Dassonneville, Nils B. Weidmann , and 3 more

kunkakom.bsky.social
Alexander Wuttke @kunkakom.bsky.social · 4d
🧵 PhD position (75%) in Political Behavior / Political Communication / CSS
📍 LMU Munich | ⏳ 3 years | 🗓 start March–May 2026

We’re hiring for DemocraGPT, a @bidt.bsky.social-funded project developing an AI-based training for difficult conversations in times of growing polarization

Reposted by Marc Lynch, David Lazer, Rebecca Tushnet , and 4 more

jameeljaffer.bsky.social
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 6d
Every major free speech org has said the IHRA definition suppresses constitutionally protected speech. Every major human rights group has said it suppresses legitimate advocacy. The scandal is that Adams adopted the definition, not that Mamdani rejected it. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/n...
Inside Mamdani’s Decision to Revoke Executive Orders That Backed Israel
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Philip Leifeld

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 6d
Political Networks is crossing the ocean, to the UK August 4-7!! Should be great.
leifeld.bsky.social Philip Leifeld @leifeld.bsky.social · 18d
2026 Political Networks Conference: 4-7 August 2026 at the University of Manchester. Save the date! More info will be released in early spring. #SNA #polinetworks #polnet #polisky #networkanalysis #politicalnetworks #politicalnets #policynetworks #complexsystems #netsci #polmeth #polisci

Reposted by David Lazer, Will Jennings, Tom Clark , and 4 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 7d
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 Positions Activity Active Closed • Search positions. =I Profit/Loss RESULT MARKET 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

pculpepper.bsky.social
Pepper Culpepper @pculpepper.bsky.social · 7d
“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

peterbakernyt.bsky.social
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 8d
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

jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
Jeff Horwitz @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social · 10d
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

psrm.bsky.social
Political Science Research and Methods @psrm.bsky.social · 11d
✖️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

yoyoel.com
Yoel Roth @yoyoel.com · 13d
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

engagingnews.bsky.social
Center for Media Engagement @engagingnews.bsky.social · 13d
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. 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. 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. 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

techpolicypress.bsky.social
Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 15d
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

jessicahullman.bsky.social
Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 16d
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

klonick.bsky.social
Kate Klonick @klonick.bsky.social · 17d
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 · 18d
Excited to see this out! congrats to @tahayasseri.bsky.social & all contributors!
tahayasseri.bsky.social Taha Yasseri @tahayasseri.bsky.social · 22d
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

leifeld.bsky.social
Philip Leifeld @leifeld.bsky.social · 18d
2026 Political Networks Conference: 4-7 August 2026 at the University of Manchester. Save the date! More info will be released in early spring. #SNA #polinetworks #polnet #polisky #networkanalysis #politicalnetworks #politicalnets #policynetworks #complexsystems #netsci #polmeth #polisci

Reposted by David Lazer, Scott Clifford

kwcollins.bsky.social
Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 19d
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

hollylynchez.bsky.social
Holly Fernandez Lynch @hollylynchez.bsky.social · 21d
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

tahayasseri.bsky.social
Taha Yasseri @tahayasseri.bsky.social · 22d
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

networkspapers.bsky.social
New papers in Network Science @networkspapers.bsky.social · 22d
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

natematias.bsky.social
J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 23d
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
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 Jan W. Mueller, David Lazer, Brian Keegan , and 2 more

natematias.bsky.social
J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 23d
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

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23d
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

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 23d
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

Reposted by David Lazer

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

ddc-sdu.bsky.social
Digital Democracy Centre @ddc-sdu.bsky.social · 26d
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

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 26d
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