Matthew Facciani
@matthewfacciani.bsky.social
Social Scientist studying misinformation, media literacy, & AI.
Author of Misguided: https://amzn.to/48zTs59
https://matthewfacciani.substack.com
www.matthewfacciani.com
Author of Misguided: https://amzn.to/48zTs59
https://matthewfacciani.substack.com
www.matthewfacciani.com
Pinned
The First Copy of Misguided Arrived—Here’s What Comes Next
Preorders for my new book are live, events are coming, and I’m booking interviews.
matthewfacciani.substack.com
After five years of work, I finally held a copy of my book Misguided—a surreal moment and long-time dream come true. The book explores the psychology of misinformation and is now available for preorder; I’m also booking podcast interviews and talks to support the launch. #BookSky #Misguided
Sometimes I'll see people misread a post, get outraged, and then argue against a point they actually agree with. It's a reminder that many use social media to mindlessly vent their feelings instead of trying to understand others, so it's not always worth engaging.
January 3, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Sometimes I'll see people misread a post, get outraged, and then argue against a point they actually agree with. It's a reminder that many use social media to mindlessly vent their feelings instead of trying to understand others, so it's not always worth engaging.
Reposted by Matthew Facciani
My #1 resolution for 2026 is to practice what I preach:
CRITICAL IGNORING is in my opinion *the* phrase to know, understand and internalize going forward.
The more I practice it, the more ways I find to apply it.
It's low-key life-changing when adopted whole-heartedly.
CRITICAL IGNORING is in my opinion *the* phrase to know, understand and internalize going forward.
The more I practice it, the more ways I find to apply it.
It's low-key life-changing when adopted whole-heartedly.
This is smart advice from @mims.bsky.social & as a person designed to absorb everything it’s taken me a lot of effort to accomplish but worth it. Not just a meaningful contribution to media literacy but good for your mental health too apple.news/A-nXddUpSQzm...
Analysis | Your Key Survival Skill for 2026: Critical Ignoring — The Wall Street Journal
In an age of endless low-quality information, it’s time to fight our instinct to seek out and absorb all we can. It takes practice.
apple.news
January 2, 2026 at 3:23 PM
My #1 resolution for 2026 is to practice what I preach:
CRITICAL IGNORING is in my opinion *the* phrase to know, understand and internalize going forward.
The more I practice it, the more ways I find to apply it.
It's low-key life-changing when adopted whole-heartedly.
CRITICAL IGNORING is in my opinion *the* phrase to know, understand and internalize going forward.
The more I practice it, the more ways I find to apply it.
It's low-key life-changing when adopted whole-heartedly.
One “debate” that I’d like to see stay in 2025 is whether audiobooks count as reading. Reading is already on the decline and we should encourage any form of it instead of gatekeeping or judging how people read.
January 3, 2026 at 3:25 PM
One “debate” that I’d like to see stay in 2025 is whether audiobooks count as reading. Reading is already on the decline and we should encourage any form of it instead of gatekeeping or judging how people read.
Happy New Year!!
December 31, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Happy New Year!!
Encouraging results from a 15-minute online activity that helped teens get better at spotting fake news, but the benefits only lasted long-term for those who fully engaged and enjoyed thinking deeply.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Strategies to combat misinformation: Enduring effects of a 15-minute online intervention on critical-thinking adolescents
How is it possible to socialize adolescents to become more vigilant in spotting fake news? In the present preregistered, randomized controlled trial (…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Encouraging results from a 15-minute online activity that helped teens get better at spotting fake news, but the benefits only lasted long-term for those who fully engaged and enjoyed thinking deeply.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Study finds that messages that justify COVID-19 vaccination (like protecting others or reducing deaths) can increase people’s willingness to comply, but they can also intensify negative attitudes toward those who disagree.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Impact of vaccination justifications on compliance and social polarization: A repeated cross-sectional study in eight countries
Risk communication recommending infection prevention actions could encourage compliance but may intensify conflicts of opinion toward infection preven…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Study finds that messages that justify COVID-19 vaccination (like protecting others or reducing deaths) can increase people’s willingness to comply, but they can also intensify negative attitudes toward those who disagree.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
“By talking to the public about our work, we can help rebuild a society that acknowledges the significance of science in everyday life and ensures that everyone has access to the information we need for informed decision-making.”
www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...
www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...
Barriers to public outreach — and why scientists need to overcome them
When the author began to research why some scientists were hesitant to do this work, four main themes emerged.
www.asbmb.org
December 30, 2025 at 6:21 PM
“By talking to the public about our work, we can help rebuild a society that acknowledges the significance of science in everyday life and ensures that everyone has access to the information we need for informed decision-making.”
www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...
www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...
Meta-analysis finds that social norms messaging (telling people what others do or think they should do) has no effect on improving health behaviors once publication bias is accounted for.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of social norms messaging approaches for improving health behaviours in developed countries - Nature Human Behaviour
Social norms approaches are widely applied in health promotion. This pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs using social norms messaging in developed countries aimed to evaluate th...
www.nature.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Meta-analysis finds that social norms messaging (telling people what others do or think they should do) has no effect on improving health behaviors once publication bias is accounted for.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This is an inspiring article by @sciencewhizliz.bsky.social about people finding hope in 2025. Here's my contribution: fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/a-scientis...
December 29, 2025 at 7:36 PM
This is an inspiring article by @sciencewhizliz.bsky.social about people finding hope in 2025. Here's my contribution: fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/a-scientis...
“This was a case of an AI knowing the correct general rule and tragically misapplying it to the one drug that serves as the exception…accessibility without accuracy is just a faster way to make mistakes”
nodesian.medium.com/technically-...
nodesian.medium.com/technically-...
Technically Accurate, Medically Fatal
The AI Error We Caught in Real-Time
nodesian.medium.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM
“This was a case of an AI knowing the correct general rule and tragically misapplying it to the one drug that serves as the exception…accessibility without accuracy is just a faster way to make mistakes”
nodesian.medium.com/technically-...
nodesian.medium.com/technically-...
Science is widely trusted in general, but people can use their 'pro-science' identity as a shield. By claiming that science they disagree with isn't 'real' science, they can ignore the facts without feeling like they've abandoned their principles.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Why science is revered and rejected
Scientists and their work are often dismissed, ignored, or attacked, yet in general, science is widely trusted and esteemed. This article examines how…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Science is widely trusted in general, but people can use their 'pro-science' identity as a shield. By claiming that science they disagree with isn't 'real' science, they can ignore the facts without feeling like they've abandoned their principles.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I wish everyone who shared the result of some supposed study on social media also shared a link to their source.
December 29, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I wish everyone who shared the result of some supposed study on social media also shared a link to their source.
“Marina Vance had an E.P.A. grant to help homeowners counter the impact of wildfire smoke, until the agency deemed the research “no longer consistent” with its priorities.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/s...
She Studied the Health Effects of Wildfires
www.nytimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 3:37 PM
“Marina Vance had an E.P.A. grant to help homeowners counter the impact of wildfire smoke, until the agency deemed the research “no longer consistent” with its priorities.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/s...
Reposted by Matthew Facciani
@matthewfacciani.bsky.social in my house everyone gets a book for Xmas. This was mine this year. #booksky
December 27, 2025 at 11:40 PM
@matthewfacciani.bsky.social in my house everyone gets a book for Xmas. This was mine this year. #booksky
Universities that restrict academic freedom are going to continue to lose the best and brightest professors.
December 27, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Universities that restrict academic freedom are going to continue to lose the best and brightest professors.
A new 20-year analysis of news coverage reveals a clear link between negativity and misinformation. As the authors conclude: "as the negativity bias increases, accuracy decreases."
www.researchgate.net/publication/... #MisinfoResearch
www.researchgate.net/publication/... #MisinfoResearch
(PDF) Negativity and Misinformation (Political Communication, forthcoming)
PDF | There are large and growing bodies of research highlighting inaccuracies in news coverage. In this paper, we suggest that negativity biases in... | Find, read and cite all the research you need ...
www.researchgate.net
December 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM
A new 20-year analysis of news coverage reveals a clear link between negativity and misinformation. As the authors conclude: "as the negativity bias increases, accuracy decreases."
www.researchgate.net/publication/... #MisinfoResearch
www.researchgate.net/publication/... #MisinfoResearch
New Harvard/MIT study tested whether AI chatbots can actually do science (form hypotheses, run experiments, revise theories, etc.)...and found they can't. While AI can talk like scientists, they struggle with the thinking real discovery requires and often fail at key parts of the research process.
Evaluating Large Language Models in Scientific Discovery
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly applied to scientific research, yet prevailing science benchmarks probe decontextualized knowledge and overlook the iterative reasoning, hypothesis genera...
arxiv.org
December 22, 2025 at 10:54 PM
New Harvard/MIT study tested whether AI chatbots can actually do science (form hypotheses, run experiments, revise theories, etc.)...and found they can't. While AI can talk like scientists, they struggle with the thinking real discovery requires and often fail at key parts of the research process.
Over the past year, I've been writing about misinformation and media literacy on Substack, trying to translate research without the hype, clickbait, or false certainty. I wrote a reflection on what that year taught me about sharing science, building an audience, and navigating life beyond academia.
Reflections on a Year of Writing About Misinformation on Substack
What I learned from sharing science, building an audience, and finding a path outside academia
matthewfacciani.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Over the past year, I've been writing about misinformation and media literacy on Substack, trying to translate research without the hype, clickbait, or false certainty. I wrote a reflection on what that year taught me about sharing science, building an audience, and navigating life beyond academia.
Even with an available fact-check, Twitter/X failed to display it on 80% of the posts misidentifying the Bondi Beach hero.
indicator.media/p/how-the-cr...
indicator.media/p/how-the-cr...
How the Crabtree conspiracy played out on X’s Community Notes
A case study on crowdsourced fact-checking during breaking news events
indicator.media
December 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Even with an available fact-check, Twitter/X failed to display it on 80% of the posts misidentifying the Bondi Beach hero.
indicator.media/p/how-the-cr...
indicator.media/p/how-the-cr...
What a wild ending in the Steelers/Lions game! Critical for both team’s playoffs hopes. So many unbelievable endings this season.
December 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
What a wild ending in the Steelers/Lions game! Critical for both team’s playoffs hopes. So many unbelievable endings this season.
“women who had an abortion, and those who did not become pregnant, earned significantly more over a 30-year period than those who became mothers by an estimated $398,000 ($495,000 in 2025 dollars) and $448,000 ($556,000 in 2025 dollars), respectively”
psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org
December 20, 2025 at 10:26 PM
“women who had an abortion, and those who did not become pregnant, earned significantly more over a 30-year period than those who became mothers by an estimated $398,000 ($495,000 in 2025 dollars) and $448,000 ($556,000 in 2025 dollars), respectively”
psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
“At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation”
apnews.com/article/rele...
apnews.com/article/rele...
At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein
The Justice Department’s webpage for documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is missing at least 16 of its files a day after they were released.
apnews.com
December 20, 2025 at 10:14 PM
“At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation”
apnews.com/article/rele...
apnews.com/article/rele...
Joe Rogan recently said that almost everyone he knows has told him they know someone who was harmed by the COVID-19 vaccine. When we surround ourselves with people who constantly reinforce a particular worldview, it can genuinely feel true, regardless of whether it actually is.
December 20, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Joe Rogan recently said that almost everyone he knows has told him they know someone who was harmed by the COVID-19 vaccine. When we surround ourselves with people who constantly reinforce a particular worldview, it can genuinely feel true, regardless of whether it actually is.
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social describes the importance of having a multi-layered defense against misinformation, and why such education should be found in all schools.
December 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM
@profsanderlinden.bsky.social describes the importance of having a multi-layered defense against misinformation, and why such education should be found in all schools.
Reposted by Matthew Facciani
The trap Trump now faces - the Epstein redactions will only fuel conspiracy theories even when they are innocuous. Our 2016 JEPS article: "Classified or Coverup? The Effect of Redactions on Conspiracy Theory Beliefs" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
December 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM
The trap Trump now faces - the Epstein redactions will only fuel conspiracy theories even when they are innocuous. Our 2016 JEPS article: "Classified or Coverup? The Effect of Redactions on Conspiracy Theory Beliefs" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...