Nathalie Van Raemdonck
@nathalievanraemdonck.com
Social media networks and social norms, PhD student at Brussels University (VUB). Belgian living in Barcelona, internet night crawler, STS
Pinned
Our paper on social norm affordances is out in Social Media + Society! @ikepicone.bsky.social @imuses.bsky.social & I analysed how the technological affordances of Instagram and Twitter shape the social norm dynamics of climate change publics. Proud of this one! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
How can we know if a law or policy has chilled people’s free expression? Can we use science to find out?
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:49 PM
How can we know if a law or policy has chilled people’s free expression? Can we use science to find out?
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
"if you CAN tinker, it's empowering, if you MUST tinker, it's discouraging" @robin.berjon.com at #decidimfest on the difficulties of decentralized social media systems
November 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM
"if you CAN tinker, it's empowering, if you MUST tinker, it's discouraging" @robin.berjon.com at #decidimfest on the difficulties of decentralized social media systems
Great panel on digital sovereignty at #decidimfest with @francescabria.bsky.social : "we cannot build apps empowering popular sovereignty on top of critical infrastructure that is weaponized against democracy"
November 5, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Great panel on digital sovereignty at #decidimfest with @francescabria.bsky.social : "we cannot build apps empowering popular sovereignty on top of critical infrastructure that is weaponized against democracy"
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Ugh. The right wing bullshit machine is pumping out and amplifying fake videos (Sora, AI) of Black people talking about SNAP benefits, videos oozing with racist stereotypes, to justify / distract from the real human suffering that the SNAP suspension is going to cause. www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMqbgpgj/
Fox News Can’t Tell What’s Real Anymore part 2 #foxnews #viral
TikTok video by The Bulwark dh
www.tiktok.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Ugh. The right wing bullshit machine is pumping out and amplifying fake videos (Sora, AI) of Black people talking about SNAP benefits, videos oozing with racist stereotypes, to justify / distract from the real human suffering that the SNAP suspension is going to cause. www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMqbgpgj/
This interesting pre-print misses sth about the Twitter-like platform they've set up. Twitter affords a lot of abilities for users to make the content of others visible which isn't the case for all platforms, I wrote how this significantly shapes group dynamics journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We built the simplest possible social media platform. No algorithms. No ads. Just LLM agents posting and following.
It still became a polarization machine.
Then we tried six interventions to fix social media.
The results were… not what we expected.
arxiv.org/abs/2508.03385
It still became a polarization machine.
Then we tried six interventions to fix social media.
The results were… not what we expected.
arxiv.org/abs/2508.03385
Can We Fix Social Media? Testing Prosocial Interventions using Generative Social Simulation
Social media platforms have been widely linked to societal harms, including rising polarization and the erosion of constructive debate. Can these problems be mitigated through prosocial interventions?...
arxiv.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
This interesting pre-print misses sth about the Twitter-like platform they've set up. Twitter affords a lot of abilities for users to make the content of others visible which isn't the case for all platforms, I wrote how this significantly shapes group dynamics journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Very much enjoyed this presentation on the role of social norms & demarcation in platform regulation by @nathalievanraemdonck.com - long story short “democracy is hard” @ckatzenbach.bsky.social #ZeMKI20
October 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Very much enjoyed this presentation on the role of social norms & demarcation in platform regulation by @nathalievanraemdonck.com - long story short “democracy is hard” @ckatzenbach.bsky.social #ZeMKI20
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
I wrote about the Reiser brothers and their hilarious, disgusting Listers documentary for Slate:
slate.com/culture/2025...
slate.com/culture/2025...
One of the Funniest Documentaries of the Year Is Streaming for Free on YouTube
Listers is a journey into the dark and cringy heart of one of the world’s most peculiar hobbies.
slate.com
September 15, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I wrote about the Reiser brothers and their hilarious, disgusting Listers documentary for Slate:
slate.com/culture/2025...
slate.com/culture/2025...
Successfully defended my thesis to the jury this week 🥳 Public defense on 13/11! grateful to @snurb.info @tomdeleyn.bsky.social @pieterballon.bsky.social and Ksenia Ermoshina for their insightful feedback and @ikepicone.bsky.social @imuses.bsky.social and Trisha Meyer for their amazing supervision!
September 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Successfully defended my thesis to the jury this week 🥳 Public defense on 13/11! grateful to @snurb.info @tomdeleyn.bsky.social @pieterballon.bsky.social and Ksenia Ermoshina for their insightful feedback and @ikepicone.bsky.social @imuses.bsky.social and Trisha Meyer for their amazing supervision!
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Andreessen Horowitz, which will be one of three firms to lead the acquisition of TikTok, is headed by Marc Andreessen, a Silicon Valley tech titan who considered himself to be "an unpaid intern" of Elon Musk's DOGE. But he's not the only major Trump ally involved with this deal
TikTok’s U.S. business would be controlled by an investor consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz under a framework the U.S. and China are finalizing.
Details Emerge on U.S.-China TikTok Deal
Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz are part of an investor consortium that would control an 80% stake.
on.wsj.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Andreessen Horowitz, which will be one of three firms to lead the acquisition of TikTok, is headed by Marc Andreessen, a Silicon Valley tech titan who considered himself to be "an unpaid intern" of Elon Musk's DOGE. But he's not the only major Trump ally involved with this deal
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Too bad the GOP effectively criminalized studying how information moves online and news orgs laid off and demonized all the reporters who covered the burgeoning online accelerationist performative death cults. All of that work was somehow "censorship" that needed to be stopped. Now we're here.
September 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Too bad the GOP effectively criminalized studying how information moves online and news orgs laid off and demonized all the reporters who covered the burgeoning online accelerationist performative death cults. All of that work was somehow "censorship" that needed to be stopped. Now we're here.
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
did a little media criticism www.theverge.com/politics/777...
The WSJ carelessly spread anti-trans misinformation
The Wall Street Journal’s fuckup while covering Charlie Kirk’s killing needs more than an editor’s note.
www.theverge.com
September 12, 2025 at 10:04 PM
did a little media criticism www.theverge.com/politics/777...
MAGA and libs are tumbling over themselves to pinhole the Charlie Kirk shooter as left or right but @garbageday.email piece is probably the most accurate take.
Shooting a big name for internet clout and accelerationism, with no clear political motive other than being an agent of chaos.
Shooting a big name for internet clout and accelerationism, with no clear political motive other than being an agent of chaos.
September 12, 2025 at 10:42 PM
MAGA and libs are tumbling over themselves to pinhole the Charlie Kirk shooter as left or right but @garbageday.email piece is probably the most accurate take.
Shooting a big name for internet clout and accelerationism, with no clear political motive other than being an agent of chaos.
Shooting a big name for internet clout and accelerationism, with no clear political motive other than being an agent of chaos.
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
IF this is true-- and it's a big if, remember who is running the FBI right now-- please be aware that back when I was monitoring 8chan and later Terrorgram, this is EXACTLY what Nazis urged their followers to do.
They encouraged each other to do mass murder and then frame the left for it.
They encouraged each other to do mass murder and then frame the left for it.
Ammunition engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology was found inside the rifle authorities believe was used in Kirk’s shooting, sources say.
Ammunition in Kirk Shooting Engraved with Transgender, Antifascist Ideology: Sources
Investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, according to an internal law enforcement bulletin and a person familiar with the investigation.
The older-model
on.wsj.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:52 PM
IF this is true-- and it's a big if, remember who is running the FBI right now-- please be aware that back when I was monitoring 8chan and later Terrorgram, this is EXACTLY what Nazis urged their followers to do.
They encouraged each other to do mass murder and then frame the left for it.
They encouraged each other to do mass murder and then frame the left for it.
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Conversations around decentralisation and the open social web have gotten fairly unproductive, resulting in a letter calling for mutual respect
Im signing it, and with that, I have thoughts regarding discourse, decentralisation and why this space matters.
connectedplaces.online/on-discourse...
Im signing it, and with that, I have thoughts regarding discourse, decentralisation and why this space matters.
connectedplaces.online/on-discourse...
On discourse and decentralisation
Over the last year, as Bluesky got more popular, conversations about whether Bluesky and ATProto are really ‘decentralised’ have gotten more “popular” as well. These conversations ranged from high-qua...
connectedplaces.online
September 10, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Conversations around decentralisation and the open social web have gotten fairly unproductive, resulting in a letter calling for mutual respect
Im signing it, and with that, I have thoughts regarding discourse, decentralisation and why this space matters.
connectedplaces.online/on-discourse...
Im signing it, and with that, I have thoughts regarding discourse, decentralisation and why this space matters.
connectedplaces.online/on-discourse...
science is constructed through social processes, which does not mean it is arbitrary but it means it is dynamic. great piece (and thread) by @carlbergstrom.com
8. This has been a short and honestly rather peevish thread, so if you want read more that has been written in a more equanimous tone, here's a short piece that I coauthored a few years ago, precisely about how we deal with this kind of duplicity.
To Fight Misinformation, We Need to Teach That Science Is Dynamic
Science is a social process, and teaching students how researchers work in tandem to develop facts will make them less likely to be duped by falsehoods
www.scientificamerican.com
August 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM
science is constructed through social processes, which does not mean it is arbitrary but it means it is dynamic. great piece (and thread) by @carlbergstrom.com
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
8. This has been a short and honestly rather peevish thread, so if you want read more that has been written in a more equanimous tone, here's a short piece that I coauthored a few years ago, precisely about how we deal with this kind of duplicity.
To Fight Misinformation, We Need to Teach That Science Is Dynamic
Science is a social process, and teaching students how researchers work in tandem to develop facts will make them less likely to be duped by falsehoods
www.scientificamerican.com
August 12, 2025 at 5:18 AM
8. This has been a short and honestly rather peevish thread, so if you want read more that has been written in a more equanimous tone, here's a short piece that I coauthored a few years ago, precisely about how we deal with this kind of duplicity.
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
4. "No! You're not gullible. You understand the social process of science."
"You understand that
(1) there is a consensus among experts that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and
(2) this consensus provides very strong evidence of the claim, because of *how science works.*"
"You understand that
(1) there is a consensus among experts that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and
(2) this consensus provides very strong evidence of the claim, because of *how science works.*"
August 12, 2025 at 4:53 AM
4. "No! You're not gullible. You understand the social process of science."
"You understand that
(1) there is a consensus among experts that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and
(2) this consensus provides very strong evidence of the claim, because of *how science works.*"
"You understand that
(1) there is a consensus among experts that anthropogenic climate change is occurring and
(2) this consensus provides very strong evidence of the claim, because of *how science works.*"
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.scrippsnews.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:48 AM
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
The response to openAIs replacing GPT4o is so disturbing. I keep reading these stories on r/myboyfriendisAI and r/AIsoulmates of people who have become emotionally dependent on a sycophantic ChatGPT model to replace human connection... Now recommending each other to pay to get the model back 😬
August 12, 2025 at 9:11 AM
The response to openAIs replacing GPT4o is so disturbing. I keep reading these stories on r/myboyfriendisAI and r/AIsoulmates of people who have become emotionally dependent on a sycophantic ChatGPT model to replace human connection... Now recommending each other to pay to get the model back 😬
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Something has come undone with the launch of gpt5. Even AI boosters are beginning to have doubts. It's like a dog recognising its reflection
August 10, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Something has come undone with the launch of gpt5. Even AI boosters are beginning to have doubts. It's like a dog recognising its reflection
Bluesky's implementatie van de UK's 'online safety act' is een pijnlijk voorbeeld waarom een social media ban voor jongeren zo problematisch is door de noodzakelijke leeftijdsverificatie.
Lezen jullie mee? @kidsunplugged-be.bsky.social @cieltjevachter.bsky.social www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/o...
Lezen jullie mee? @kidsunplugged-be.bsky.social @cieltjevachter.bsky.social www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/o...
Selling your digital soul to use Bluesky's DMs is the law
Opinion: Getting carded is one thing. A full strip search? Welcome to Britain
www.theregister.com
July 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Bluesky's implementatie van de UK's 'online safety act' is een pijnlijk voorbeeld waarom een social media ban voor jongeren zo problematisch is door de noodzakelijke leeftijdsverificatie.
Lezen jullie mee? @kidsunplugged-be.bsky.social @cieltjevachter.bsky.social www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/o...
Lezen jullie mee? @kidsunplugged-be.bsky.social @cieltjevachter.bsky.social www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/o...
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
New Gist: Age Verification is an Epic fail
On Bluesky's introduction of age verification, selling us to the Fortnite guys, and how the arrogance of Ireland's regulator has seen it deliver the very outcomes it once called "bonkers".
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-age...
On Bluesky's introduction of age verification, selling us to the Fortnite guys, and how the arrogance of Ireland's regulator has seen it deliver the very outcomes it once called "bonkers".
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-age...
The Gist: Age Verification is an Epic fail
From the 21st July 2025, Ireland’s regulator will be enforcing age checks at the door for social media sites in the EU. This is the Gist.
www.thegist.ie
July 13, 2025 at 1:19 PM
New Gist: Age Verification is an Epic fail
On Bluesky's introduction of age verification, selling us to the Fortnite guys, and how the arrogance of Ireland's regulator has seen it deliver the very outcomes it once called "bonkers".
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-age...
On Bluesky's introduction of age verification, selling us to the Fortnite guys, and how the arrogance of Ireland's regulator has seen it deliver the very outcomes it once called "bonkers".
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-age...
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
Love that how Bluesky is handling 85% of the people from Gaza entering stage five of a famine is by mass deleting their accounts again
July 22, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Love that how Bluesky is handling 85% of the people from Gaza entering stage five of a famine is by mass deleting their accounts again
Reposted by Nathalie Van Raemdonck
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
July 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social: