Meredith L. Pruden
@meredithpruden.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in metro ATL. Researching harmful online content, far-right media & politics. Affiliate @UNC CITAP. Fellow @TheIRMS. Member @Coalition for Independent Tech Research & @Media, Data & Democracy Co-op. Words are mine. Duh. she/her
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
Deep dive by @davey.bsky.social + Bloomberg colleagues into the growing number of small businesses marketing products around conservative political identity and their relationship with the right-wing influencer universe on YouTube
bit.ly/4oR7fcF
bit.ly/4oR7fcF
YouTube’s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads
YouTube’s MAGA stars aren’t just talking politics—they’re selling it
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Deep dive by @davey.bsky.social + Bloomberg colleagues into the growing number of small businesses marketing products around conservative political identity and their relationship with the right-wing influencer universe on YouTube
bit.ly/4oR7fcF
bit.ly/4oR7fcF
Who wants to explain to him this isn’t how science works?
………………
RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."
October 9, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Who wants to explain to him this isn’t how science works?
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
1/ The FCC has no authority to police content for bias or balance.
We—and more than seventy other organizations and scholars—warned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...
We—and more than seventy other organizations and scholars—warned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...
September 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
1/ The FCC has no authority to police content for bias or balance.
We—and more than seventy other organizations and scholars—warned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...
We—and more than seventy other organizations and scholars—warned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...
Finally got a chance to watch this excellent, short documentary by @willcarless.bsky.social on manosphere influencers with an interview by the always on point @milleridriss.bsky.social. Definitely recommend checking it out.
'It's like dopamine.' Why lonely young men are turning to influencers like Andrew Tate
USA TODAY extremism reporter Will Carless explores why young men spend hours online following Andrew Tate and other influencers in the so-called “Manosphere.” These influencers mix fitness, lifestyle and self-improvement advice with toxic misogyny and anti-feminist rhetoric. Fans say the videos motivate them and offer guidance on relationships and discipline, while experts warn the content can expose vulnerable youth to extremist ideas. Carless visits an MMA gym in Fontana, California, and talks with peers and experts to examine how Tate’s videos resonate with young men and the broader appeal of the Manosphere. Carless also talks to author and coach Jason Wilson, who leads an academy in Detroit, Michigan that teaches young men positive masculinity. “There’s no freedom in the facade,” he says. Through workshops and one-on-one coaching, Wilson aims to show that true strength comes from respect, empathy, accountability and self-control – not aggression or fear. Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/09/02/manosphere-influencers-misogyny-mainstream-young-men-andrew-tate/85677996007 Sign up for our newsletter for the day's top stories, from sports to movies to politics to world events: https://profile.usatoday.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/ #ExtremelyNormal #Extremism #Men #Influencer #Investigation #Manosphere #AndrewTate
nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
September 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Finally got a chance to watch this excellent, short documentary by @willcarless.bsky.social on manosphere influencers with an interview by the always on point @milleridriss.bsky.social. Definitely recommend checking it out.
Just heard a woman walking down the street carrying a large Target bag waxing poetic about how mom and pops can’t possibly survive (in a part of the city where there are plenty of indie options). Ma’am. Put your big box bag down and step aside.
June 12, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Just heard a woman walking down the street carrying a large Target bag waxing poetic about how mom and pops can’t possibly survive (in a part of the city where there are plenty of indie options). Ma’am. Put your big box bag down and step aside.
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
This is especially important: “We call upon our fellow institutions of higher education in the United States to declare their willingness to facilitate the immediate co-enrollment of Harvard’s international students, including formal acceptance of transfer for immigration purposes.”
“Nakedly authoritarian and retaliatory” — statement from Harvard’s @aaup.bsky.social chapter on the termination of Harvard’s SEVP certification.
May 23, 2025 at 11:34 AM
This is especially important: “We call upon our fellow institutions of higher education in the United States to declare their willingness to facilitate the immediate co-enrollment of Harvard’s international students, including formal acceptance of transfer for immigration purposes.”
If I was Harvard, I think I’d double down on the filing of lawsuits www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Homeland Security blocking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.
www.reuters.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:47 PM
If I was Harvard, I think I’d double down on the filing of lawsuits www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
The National Science Foundation is awarding new grants at the slowest pace in at least 35 years. The funding decreases touch virtually every area of science — extending far beyond the diversity programs that the Trump administration says it wants to cut.
Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades
The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.
www.nytimes.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
The National Science Foundation is awarding new grants at the slowest pace in at least 35 years. The funding decreases touch virtually every area of science — extending far beyond the diversity programs that the Trump administration says it wants to cut.
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
Student: Teacher, why do we learn?
Socrates: For life!
Freire: For liberation!
Dewey: For democracy!
Neoliberal EduWonks: To mitigate overhead costs for employers and increase future projections of GDP!
Socrates: For life!
Freire: For liberation!
Dewey: For democracy!
Neoliberal EduWonks: To mitigate overhead costs for employers and increase future projections of GDP!
It’s really absurd that we’ve reached a point where the “common sense” view of education is that its primary purpose is to lower the future onboarding/training costs for companies hiring new employees.
April 29, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Student: Teacher, why do we learn?
Socrates: For life!
Freire: For liberation!
Dewey: For democracy!
Neoliberal EduWonks: To mitigate overhead costs for employers and increase future projections of GDP!
Socrates: For life!
Freire: For liberation!
Dewey: For democracy!
Neoliberal EduWonks: To mitigate overhead costs for employers and increase future projections of GDP!
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
The countdown is winding down for the #IRMS2025 conference, so make sure to plan your schedule! You can STILL register to catch the pre-conference roundtables! www.theirms.org/conference
April 21, 2025 at 11:57 PM
The countdown is winding down for the #IRMS2025 conference, so make sure to plan your schedule! You can STILL register to catch the pre-conference roundtables! www.theirms.org/conference
I’m finally out of my boot post surgery and can drive again. I thought it would feel better, but I looked around at, well everything, and the state of affairs in the “land of the free” still sucks, so…
April 15, 2025 at 1:21 AM
I’m finally out of my boot post surgery and can drive again. I thought it would feel better, but I looked around at, well everything, and the state of affairs in the “land of the free” still sucks, so…
Saying the quiet part out loud for the “win.”
For those who don't know, the assertion that race is a "biological reality" is the article of faith that drives one of the most toxic (yet vital) far right ideologies: "race realism" (a warmed over version of older "race science"). The core premise: race reflects brute, biological differences... 🧵
The most serious Nazi shit in this extremely Nazi shit executive order may be the idea, just slipped in there, that one of the "divisive narratives that distort our shared history" is that "race is not a biological reality but a social construct." www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
March 28, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Saying the quiet part out loud for the “win.”
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
🧵 on how the attacks on higher ed follow the authoritarian playbook. We need not speculate about what comes next: we know. We must take action
American higher education now faces a perfect storm of demoralization, defunding, and delegitimization. These attacks are not random or isolated; they follow a classic authoritarian playbook, and go beyond ordinary policy disagreements and have become an existential threat to the academic sector.
March 24, 2025 at 10:06 PM
🧵 on how the attacks on higher ed follow the authoritarian playbook. We need not speculate about what comes next: we know. We must take action
The “beginning” of the end for higher ed. Who could possibly have seen this coming when they corporatized a public good.
One of the many issues with Columbia’s submission to Trump’s demands is that there appears to be no guarantee that he won’t do this again in a few months, with an even more aggressive agenda
Gift link www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Gift link www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Columbia Yields to Trump in Battle Over Federal Funding
Columbia’s agreement is a significant moment in the intensifying battle between Trump and elite universities.
www.wsj.com
March 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
The “beginning” of the end for higher ed. Who could possibly have seen this coming when they corporatized a public good.
“First of many” = “consider this a warning and shut your face.” Let the slide into authoritarianism continue.
Trump and Rubio's detention and attempted deportation of Mahmoud Khalil are among the worst assaults on free speech and the First Amendment since the McCarthy era. Whatever you think of Khalil's views, his speech is protected. Stripping that protection will have terrible, far reaching consequences.
BREAKING: Judge orders the Trump administration not to deport a Palestinian activist pending legal fight over his detention.
March 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
“First of many” = “consider this a warning and shut your face.” Let the slide into authoritarianism continue.
Oh good. A male supremacist “influencer” and alleged rapist/trafficker of women and his equally problematic but less prominent bro are coming home. What could possibly go wrong as he “coincidentally” heads to Florida.
theyre gonna wind up running the Department of Women
Andrew Tate: Influencer and brother Tristan leave Romania for US
February 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Oh good. A male supremacist “influencer” and alleged rapist/trafficker of women and his equally problematic but less prominent bro are coming home. What could possibly go wrong as he “coincidentally” heads to Florida.
I am shocked… said no one.
Oh, so the Washington Post is becoming the Washington Times?
Bezos, the owner of WaPo who said he would not meddle in its editorial operations, decides the Opinion page will be "writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets," without offering opposing viewpoints.
February 26, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I am shocked… said no one.
What. Is actually happening right now. So many checks and balances. 🫠 apple.news/AJZZqcMOsRYC...
Judge won't block Musk and DOGE from accessing data, making cuts at 7 agencies — CBS News
A judge on Tuesday declined to stop Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing data systems at seven federal agencies.
apple.news
February 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
What. Is actually happening right now. So many checks and balances. 🫠 apple.news/AJZZqcMOsRYC...
Pardon me if I’m not feeling super pumped for President’s Day. I think I’ll celebrate by working on unspecified research.
February 17, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Pardon me if I’m not feeling super pumped for President’s Day. I think I’ll celebrate by working on unspecified research.
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
Goal is to interrogate definitions and diversify perspectives of radicalization online. Keynote speaker will be Samuel Woolley (samwoolley.org), plus a fantastic featured panel with @beccalew.bsky.social @kvg.bsky.social @meredithpruden.bsky.social @kurtbraddock.bsky.social. Gonna be awesome!
February 3, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Goal is to interrogate definitions and diversify perspectives of radicalization online. Keynote speaker will be Samuel Woolley (samwoolley.org), plus a fantastic featured panel with @beccalew.bsky.social @kvg.bsky.social @meredithpruden.bsky.social @kurtbraddock.bsky.social. Gonna be awesome!
I’ll be there. Hope to see all my friends and colleagues there too. Seriously, join us won’t you. There are a few more days to apply.
Relevant day to share that we are accepting proposals for a 2025 ICA preconference on “Social Media Radicalization: Definitions, Theories, Methods.” Our goal is to interrogate definitions and diversify perspectives of radicalization online.
For more info, visit: cp3.org.uiowa.edu/ica-2025-pre...
For more info, visit: cp3.org.uiowa.edu/ica-2025-pre...
January 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I’ll be there. Hope to see all my friends and colleagues there too. Seriously, join us won’t you. There are a few more days to apply.
It was an honor to work on this project with my brilliant & KIND co-authors. Truly amazing researchers; even better humans. Thrilled to see it in “print” & echo @jolukito.bsky.social in desire for solidarity, thanks to @knightfdn.bsky.social & shout out to ECRs studying harmful content online.
🚨New Publication in New Media & Society🚨
Co-First-Authored w/ @m-dot-brown.bsky.social @meredithpruden.bsky.social & @markriedl.bsky.social
Making academia suck less: Supporting early career researchers studying harmful content online through a
feminist ethics of care.
jlukito.com/s/brown-et-a...
Co-First-Authored w/ @m-dot-brown.bsky.social @meredithpruden.bsky.social & @markriedl.bsky.social
Making academia suck less: Supporting early career researchers studying harmful content online through a
feminist ethics of care.
jlukito.com/s/brown-et-a...
January 14, 2025 at 3:18 AM
It was an honor to work on this project with my brilliant & KIND co-authors. Truly amazing researchers; even better humans. Thrilled to see it in “print” & echo @jolukito.bsky.social in desire for solidarity, thanks to @knightfdn.bsky.social & shout out to ECRs studying harmful content online.
I wish I could say this surprised me in the slightest.
So many journalists, researchers and fact-check organizations spent years lending time and legitimacy to Facebook. And this is how it ends.
It’s remarkable that Zuck said “the fact-checkers have just been too politically biased, and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S." He not only ended the partnership, he threw US fact checkers under the bus.
January 7, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I wish I could say this surprised me in the slightest.
😳
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry commissioned a Jon McNaughton painting!?
January 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
😳
Reposted by Meredith L. Pruden
