C. Henry
@henryhenryhenry.com
political scientist @ University of Zürich
platforms, political violence, social media, computing
research & writing:
henryhenryhenry.com
sometimes land of enchantment, sometimes land of Helvetia
platforms, political violence, social media, computing
research & writing:
henryhenryhenry.com
sometimes land of enchantment, sometimes land of Helvetia
Reposted by C. Henry
New preprint with @jayvanbavel.bsky.social: Novel social identities shape belief in true and false information
In 3 exps (N = 1,459) we randomly assigned people to one of two novel groups. People trusted (and then believed claims more from) their in-group
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Thread 🧵
In 3 exps (N = 1,459) we randomly assigned people to one of two novel groups. People trusted (and then believed claims more from) their in-group
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Thread 🧵
osf.io
February 18, 2026 at 9:25 PM
New preprint with @jayvanbavel.bsky.social: Novel social identities shape belief in true and false information
In 3 exps (N = 1,459) we randomly assigned people to one of two novel groups. People trusted (and then believed claims more from) their in-group
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Thread 🧵
In 3 exps (N = 1,459) we randomly assigned people to one of two novel groups. People trusted (and then believed claims more from) their in-group
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Thread 🧵
Reposted by C. Henry
The American public is absolutely teeming with a variety of conspiratorial and cultic pseudo-knowledges, across every political clade and creed, every class and walk of life and education level. And it’s not just one diffused cloud of consspirituality but a marketplace of bespoke and targeted belief
February 18, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The American public is absolutely teeming with a variety of conspiratorial and cultic pseudo-knowledges, across every political clade and creed, every class and walk of life and education level. And it’s not just one diffused cloud of consspirituality but a marketplace of bespoke and targeted belief
Reposted by C. Henry
What effect do you think it will have now that these people are exposed to CSAM?
The X factor for durably shifting political views
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - Nature
Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared...
www.nature.com
February 18, 2026 at 7:31 PM
What effect do you think it will have now that these people are exposed to CSAM?
Reposted by C. Henry
February 18, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by C. Henry
We've released a self-hostable reference implementation of a PLC read-replica service to make the Atmosphere ever more decentralized. @retr0.id has details on what this all means.
atproto.com/blog/plc-rep...
atproto.com/blog/plc-rep...
PLC Read Replicas - AT Protocol
Introducing a self-hostable did:plc read-replica service
atproto.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:28 PM
We've released a self-hostable reference implementation of a PLC read-replica service to make the Atmosphere ever more decentralized. @retr0.id has details on what this all means.
atproto.com/blog/plc-rep...
atproto.com/blog/plc-rep...
Reposted by C. Henry
Damn, if only there was a word for this phenomenon. A kind informational feedback loop of reconstructing a person’s beliefs in reaction to the informational influence present in their social environment (and which is perceived positively by the participant-victim).
journalists think they "learn more" on X because it is durably shifting users' views on policy and current events towards conservative positions -- which assuredly nets them more positive attention and engagement on the platform
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 18, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Damn, if only there was a word for this phenomenon. A kind informational feedback loop of reconstructing a person’s beliefs in reaction to the informational influence present in their social environment (and which is perceived positively by the participant-victim).
Reposted by C. Henry
X's algorithm is in fact doing what you think it's doing. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 18, 2026 at 5:24 PM
X's algorithm is in fact doing what you think it's doing. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
journalists think they "learn more" on X because it is durably shifting users' views on policy and current events towards conservative positions -- which assuredly nets them more positive attention and engagement on the platform
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 18, 2026 at 7:11 PM
journalists think they "learn more" on X because it is durably shifting users' views on policy and current events towards conservative positions -- which assuredly nets them more positive attention and engagement on the platform
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
interesting and timely research: Twitter's algorithmic recommendation system shapes users' political views ⬇️
Can feed algorithms shape what people think about politics? Our paper "The Political Effects of X's Feed Algorithm" is out today in Nature and answers "Yes."
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM
interesting and timely research: Twitter's algorithmic recommendation system shapes users' political views ⬇️
Reposted by C. Henry
Ethnonationalism is intrinsically utopian in a general sense; it is aesthetics mistaken for effective real-world politics, it is what happens when collective narcissism leads people to overestimate the extent to which common categorical identity is responsible for social order. (1/n)
They're far-right utopians. They think if everyone stops doing institutional cooperation in favor of "national sovereignty," then "western civilization" will form as a natural community among the wealthy, white, male, Xtian elites who run the US, the UK, the states of the Former European Union, etc.
February 18, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Ethnonationalism is intrinsically utopian in a general sense; it is aesthetics mistaken for effective real-world politics, it is what happens when collective narcissism leads people to overestimate the extent to which common categorical identity is responsible for social order. (1/n)
Reposted by C. Henry
yeah man i LOVE technology*
*the implements by which the people of the "Corded Ware" culture (c. 3000-2350 BCE) applied the signature indentations to their ceramic pottery
*the implements by which the people of the "Corded Ware" culture (c. 3000-2350 BCE) applied the signature indentations to their ceramic pottery
“why do you hate technology” as though “technology” were some discrete entity divorced entirely from the context of what it does and what it creates, rather than a category so broad as to constitute reality itself
February 18, 2026 at 1:52 PM
yeah man i LOVE technology*
*the implements by which the people of the "Corded Ware" culture (c. 3000-2350 BCE) applied the signature indentations to their ceramic pottery
*the implements by which the people of the "Corded Ware" culture (c. 3000-2350 BCE) applied the signature indentations to their ceramic pottery
Reposted by C. Henry
Frame: the left is hurting itself by not engaging with the god machines
Negation: but this technology doesn't do the things you claim
kirby: the people writing these stories get funding to support narratives of power and inevitability, and that's what we should be scrutinizing
Negation: but this technology doesn't do the things you claim
kirby: the people writing these stories get funding to support narratives of power and inevitability, and that's what we should be scrutinizing
Instead of "the left isn't paying enough attention to these machine gods" they're claiming to build, perhaps we should write an article about how effective altruists brand themselves "left", ask who is writing these articles, and trace their cults and sources of funding.
February 18, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Frame: the left is hurting itself by not engaging with the god machines
Negation: but this technology doesn't do the things you claim
kirby: the people writing these stories get funding to support narratives of power and inevitability, and that's what we should be scrutinizing
Negation: but this technology doesn't do the things you claim
kirby: the people writing these stories get funding to support narratives of power and inevitability, and that's what we should be scrutinizing
Reposted by C. Henry
Sowing fear of "ICE at the polls!" could do more to suppress votes than any actual ICE at the polls. Here's an explanation of the right's strategy on this, along with my recommendations for what to do instead of playing along.
katestarbird.substack.com/p/effective-...
katestarbird.substack.com/p/effective-...
February 17, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Sowing fear of "ICE at the polls!" could do more to suppress votes than any actual ICE at the polls. Here's an explanation of the right's strategy on this, along with my recommendations for what to do instead of playing along.
katestarbird.substack.com/p/effective-...
katestarbird.substack.com/p/effective-...
Reposted by C. Henry
I'm writing about the rapid spread of Epstein-related misinformation. If you are in social media groups where people are making unsubstantiated claims and/or confusing documented communications with uncorroborated FBI tips, please DM me or reach out on email or Signal. Contact info in my bio. TY!
February 17, 2026 at 8:19 PM
I'm writing about the rapid spread of Epstein-related misinformation. If you are in social media groups where people are making unsubstantiated claims and/or confusing documented communications with uncorroborated FBI tips, please DM me or reach out on email or Signal. Contact info in my bio. TY!
Reposted by C. Henry
So proud to be a part of this incredible team of humans who want to build a better internet ❤️
Introducing Ecosystem Action Research: a pilot program to address shared challenges in the AT Protocol ecosystem with a cooperative approach to strategic innovation.
By the community, for the community.
Sign up to participate here:
By the community, for the community.
Sign up to participate here:
Call for Participation: AT Protocol Ecosystem Action Research
A pilot program to facilitate cooperative, research-led innovation in the AT Protocol ecosystem.
ecosystemaction.leaflet.pub
February 17, 2026 at 5:15 PM
So proud to be a part of this incredible team of humans who want to build a better internet ❤️
it does kind of feel like the era of personal computing is coming to an end
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM
it does kind of feel like the era of personal computing is coming to an end
Reposted by C. Henry
Is online discourse getting worse?
To bring actual data to bear on this question, we launched the Public Discourse Indicator, a dashboard tracking online comments submitted to several major Swiss newspapers. Our aim here is twofold:
www.public-discourse.org/en/public-di...
To bring actual data to bear on this question, we launched the Public Discourse Indicator, a dashboard tracking online comments submitted to several major Swiss newspapers. Our aim here is twofold:
www.public-discourse.org/en/public-di...
February 17, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Is online discourse getting worse?
To bring actual data to bear on this question, we launched the Public Discourse Indicator, a dashboard tracking online comments submitted to several major Swiss newspapers. Our aim here is twofold:
www.public-discourse.org/en/public-di...
To bring actual data to bear on this question, we launched the Public Discourse Indicator, a dashboard tracking online comments submitted to several major Swiss newspapers. Our aim here is twofold:
www.public-discourse.org/en/public-di...
Reposted by C. Henry
New Postdoctoral Research Associate positions at @Princeton's Office of Population Research!
February 17, 2026 at 6:08 PM
New Postdoctoral Research Associate positions at @Princeton's Office of Population Research!
Important cat update
February 17, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Important cat update
there's a new class of "data bros" like Jain who believe in nothing and also have no theory of power. they're a pure content play, just dead-eyed guys with a laptop and ggplot, composed entirely of engagement metrics and consultant dollars.
Lakshya Jain and the Argument fled this website because they couldn't take the criticism and now he's advocating for Dems to abandon trans issues with polling about 'gender surgery for minors' a thing that is not real
February 17, 2026 at 5:40 PM
there's a new class of "data bros" like Jain who believe in nothing and also have no theory of power. they're a pure content play, just dead-eyed guys with a laptop and ggplot, composed entirely of engagement metrics and consultant dollars.
Reposted by C. Henry
Problem about the loneliness epidemic is, it's everywhere except in representative survey data. Let's look at where the claim comes from. 1/
Case in point, @pengzell.bsky.social just sent me 5 papers proving that there’s not actually any evidence for a loneliness epidemic. My mind is highly changed
February 17, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Problem about the loneliness epidemic is, it's everywhere except in representative survey data. Let's look at where the claim comes from. 1/
Reposted by C. Henry
I'm looking for emergency reviewers for FAccT papers about ethics and LLMs. So many reviewers have ghosted, and I have one paper that currently has zero reviews, two days after the deadline :( Please reach out if you could write a review for me!
February 16, 2026 at 4:23 AM
I'm looking for emergency reviewers for FAccT papers about ethics and LLMs. So many reviewers have ghosted, and I have one paper that currently has zero reviews, two days after the deadline :( Please reach out if you could write a review for me!
Reposted by C. Henry
Now posted ahead of print:
"Conceptualizing Academic Freedom," forthcoming, Annual Review of Political Science.
(Uncorrected proofs, so a few minor edits different from the version that will be published in June.)
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
"Conceptualizing Academic Freedom," forthcoming, Annual Review of Political Science.
(Uncorrected proofs, so a few minor edits different from the version that will be published in June.)
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
February 16, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Now posted ahead of print:
"Conceptualizing Academic Freedom," forthcoming, Annual Review of Political Science.
(Uncorrected proofs, so a few minor edits different from the version that will be published in June.)
doi.org/10.1146/annu...
"Conceptualizing Academic Freedom," forthcoming, Annual Review of Political Science.
(Uncorrected proofs, so a few minor edits different from the version that will be published in June.)
doi.org/10.1146/annu...