And it begs the question as to what the reality of "full autonomy" actually is. On paper, sure, they get to maintain "academic freedom". In practice? Don't ask the wrong questions or support the wrong students and the government won't cut your grants (again). Not really the definition of autonomous.
This agreement maintains that Cornell has full autonomy. Cornell also maintains that it has not done anything wrong.
So, essentially, Trump used the power of his office (e.g. by not paying ongoing grants) to force a $30 million payout.
I understand why Cornell did this, but it doesn't feel good.
So, essentially, Trump used the power of his office (e.g. by not paying ongoing grants) to force a $30 million payout.
I understand why Cornell did this, but it doesn't feel good.
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
November 7, 2025 at 9:56 PM
And it begs the question as to what the reality of "full autonomy" actually is. On paper, sure, they get to maintain "academic freedom". In practice? Don't ask the wrong questions or support the wrong students and the government won't cut your grants (again). Not really the definition of autonomous.
Reposted
This was a fantastic article, and fits well to be read in concert with the one in the reply inthesetimes.com/article/the-...
The Dawn of a Better Day
Working-class New Yorkers topple a political dynasty and elect Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani.
inthesetimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:48 PM
This was a fantastic article, and fits well to be read in concert with the one in the reply inthesetimes.com/article/the-...
Reposted
November 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted
"Criminals posing as US immigration officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states" according to an FBI bulletin.
Which, of course, gives ICE cover to commit the same crimes.
"It wasn't us, it was different thugs, dressing up as us."
Which, of course, gives ICE cover to commit the same crimes.
"It wasn't us, it was different thugs, dressing up as us."
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
www.wired.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:33 AM
"Criminals posing as US immigration officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states" according to an FBI bulletin.
Which, of course, gives ICE cover to commit the same crimes.
"It wasn't us, it was different thugs, dressing up as us."
Which, of course, gives ICE cover to commit the same crimes.
"It wasn't us, it was different thugs, dressing up as us."
Reposted
Last week, my Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction class covered an older paper about “social translucence” where they explain how the design of online systems shapes the norms & behaviors w/in those systems. But the framework they create can be applied more broadly, eg to our political moment.
November 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Last week, my Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction class covered an older paper about “social translucence” where they explain how the design of online systems shapes the norms & behaviors w/in those systems. But the framework they create can be applied more broadly, eg to our political moment.
Stick your head in the sand long enough and you may find that when you try to speak only sand comes out.
November 2, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Stick your head in the sand long enough and you may find that when you try to speak only sand comes out.
Reposted
If you aren't paying attention to what is happening in Illinois/Chicago, you're missing out on Bovino and federal agents using tear gas, pepper balls, and force against the people.
Check out our investigation alongside @evidentmedia.org
Check out our investigation alongside @evidentmedia.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:43 PM
If you aren't paying attention to what is happening in Illinois/Chicago, you're missing out on Bovino and federal agents using tear gas, pepper balls, and force against the people.
Check out our investigation alongside @evidentmedia.org
Check out our investigation alongside @evidentmedia.org
Reposted
Happy, honored, humbled by this:
www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-...
Thanks 2 all friends, family, colleagues, who have supported me along the way, esp #ErikMConway &
@bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @harvard.edu @harvardhistsci.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social
www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-...
Thanks 2 all friends, family, colleagues, who have supported me along the way, esp #ErikMConway &
@bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @harvard.edu @harvardhistsci.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social
Harvard Professor Naomi Oreskes Receives the 2025 Volvo Environment Prize
Press Release from the Volvo Environment Prize Foundation Naomi Oreskes, a world-renowned earth scientist and historian from Harvard University, is the recipient of the 2025 Volvo Environment Prize. S...
www.volvogroup.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Happy, honored, humbled by this:
www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-...
Thanks 2 all friends, family, colleagues, who have supported me along the way, esp #ErikMConway &
@bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @harvard.edu @harvardhistsci.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social
www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-...
Thanks 2 all friends, family, colleagues, who have supported me along the way, esp #ErikMConway &
@bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @harvard.edu @harvardhistsci.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social
This article provokes a broader question: as our institutions are systematically dismantled, how can we reimagine and rebuild them in a way that is resilient to this type of manipulation, ensuring they advance the interests of the people they purport to serve?
My latest: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Cleaning the scientific house: Rebuilding trust in science requires confronting the harms of ghostwriting
American science is under attack. Recent cuts to funding and staffing of federal agencies, layoffs of scientists, and rescission of billions of dollars in grants are unprecedented in US history and th...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 7:05 PM
This article provokes a broader question: as our institutions are systematically dismantled, how can we reimagine and rebuild them in a way that is resilient to this type of manipulation, ensuring they advance the interests of the people they purport to serve?
What could possibly go wrong
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how autonomy is reshaping combat. Now, startup company Anduril is developing a larger autonomous fighter for the US Air Force, designed to fly alongside crewed jets—controlled by, of all things, AI.
Rise of the Killer Chatbots
On an airstrip somewhere in Texas, a swarm of killer jets approaches—controlled by, of all things, a large language model.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:30 PM
What could possibly go wrong
I know we a so far beyond this point, but the blatant hypocrisy continues to be one of the most frustrating parts of these narratives. I'm reminded of a quote about hypocrisy being a flex for authoritarians, a way to assert power. Something like that
Here we gooo...another hearing on the Biden Censorship Regime of 2018, from Ted Cruz.
Ted begins by alleging that under the guise of "quote misinformation" govt was the arbiter of truth.
He claims A Berenson could prove govt censored him; court dismissed B's case.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bshN...
Ted begins by alleging that under the guise of "quote misinformation" govt was the arbiter of truth.
He claims A Berenson could prove govt censored him; court dismissed B's case.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bshN...
Part II of Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans
YouTube video by CommerceRepublicans
www.youtube.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I know we a so far beyond this point, but the blatant hypocrisy continues to be one of the most frustrating parts of these narratives. I'm reminded of a quote about hypocrisy being a flex for authoritarians, a way to assert power. Something like that
Reposted
Bullshit as U.S. government policy. This is the punchline from my Feb 2025 lecture. If you’re interested in understanding more about how we got here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjiG...
It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.
It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.
October 29, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Bullshit as U.S. government policy. This is the punchline from my Feb 2025 lecture. If you’re interested in understanding more about how we got here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjiG...
It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.
It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.
Shocking
Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.
'Washington Post' editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties
Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.
n.pr
October 28, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Shocking
This is certainly not surprising to those of us in the election space. We wrote about hybrid infrastructures supporting undermining elections via "evidence" generation and DDoS style iniatives purging voter rolls as part of our rumoring research last election cycle. www.cip.uw.edu/2024/10/29/e...
October 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
This is certainly not surprising to those of us in the election space. We wrote about hybrid infrastructures supporting undermining elections via "evidence" generation and DDoS style iniatives purging voter rolls as part of our rumoring research last election cycle. www.cip.uw.edu/2024/10/29/e...
Reposted
Really excited to share this new paper on "Data Visualizations as Propaganda", co-led by PhD students Priya Dhawka and Nina Lutz, which just won a Best Paper award at the CSCW conference: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
[Short thread]
[Short thread]
Data Visualizations as Propaganda: Tracing Lineages, Provenance, and Political Framings in Online Anti-Immigrant Discourse | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Along with other visual content, data visualizations are increasingly used within
online discourse, including political communication. Though often considered to be
''objective'', data visualizations ...
dl.acm.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Really excited to share this new paper on "Data Visualizations as Propaganda", co-led by PhD students Priya Dhawka and Nina Lutz, which just won a Best Paper award at the CSCW conference: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
[Short thread]
[Short thread]
Reposted
A major front of the current information war: getting your facts, frames, propaganda, disinformation, etc. into the AI systems that create so much of the content we see and are rapidly becoming the de facto “ground truth” of the internet.
"ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok are serving users propaganda from Russian-backed media when asked about the invasion of Ukraine, new research finds." www.wired.com/story/chatbo...
Chatbots Are Pushing Sanctioned Russian Propaganda
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok are serving users propaganda from Russian-backed media when asked about the invasion of Ukraine, new research finds.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:26 PM
A major front of the current information war: getting your facts, frames, propaganda, disinformation, etc. into the AI systems that create so much of the content we see and are rapidly becoming the de facto “ground truth” of the internet.
Reposted
"Vanderbilt is failing in its moral responsibility to push back against rising authoritarianism and political coercion."
My effort to convince Vanderbilt (and all universities) to take a stand for the rule of law, the Constitution, and our democracy.
www.tennessean.com/story/opinio...
My effort to convince Vanderbilt (and all universities) to take a stand for the rule of law, the Constitution, and our democracy.
www.tennessean.com/story/opinio...
Here's why Vanderbilt's response to the Trump higher ed 'compact' is not enough | Opinion
With the deadline looming for colleges to sign Trump's "compact," Vanderbilt must resist, says one university professor.
www.tennessean.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:32 PM
"Vanderbilt is failing in its moral responsibility to push back against rising authoritarianism and political coercion."
My effort to convince Vanderbilt (and all universities) to take a stand for the rule of law, the Constitution, and our democracy.
www.tennessean.com/story/opinio...
My effort to convince Vanderbilt (and all universities) to take a stand for the rule of law, the Constitution, and our democracy.
www.tennessean.com/story/opinio...
Reposted
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
October 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
Reposted
This is how many conspiracy theories work, by exploiting real anger from legitimate grievances (often downstream from complex,
unjust systems) and redirecting it onto scapegoats through simplified “conspiracy” narratives.
unjust systems) and redirecting it onto scapegoats through simplified “conspiracy” narratives.
Been thinking about how MAHA in its current articulation is a movement that allows them to harness people's real and justified anger at things like the betrayals of healthcare and insurance and turn it on scientists as scapegoats, by using conspiracy theories
October 22, 2025 at 7:46 PM
This is how many conspiracy theories work, by exploiting real anger from legitimate grievances (often downstream from complex,
unjust systems) and redirecting it onto scapegoats through simplified “conspiracy” narratives.
unjust systems) and redirecting it onto scapegoats through simplified “conspiracy” narratives.
Reposted
Our team presented five papers at the CSCW (computer supported cooperative work and social computing) conference this week in Bergen, Norway. (CSCW is an ACM conference and a “home conference” for my team.) I’m going to share a few highlights in a thread here.
October 22, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Our team presented five papers at the CSCW (computer supported cooperative work and social computing) conference this week in Bergen, Norway. (CSCW is an ACM conference and a “home conference” for my team.) I’m going to share a few highlights in a thread here.
Reposted
This research used interviews and trace data analysis to understand how TikTok users experienced a sudden burst of attention and whether/how/why they changed their content creation and engagement practices afterwards. UW PhD student @schafer.bsky.social will present the paper at CSCW this afternoon.
Excited to be in Bergen for CSCW 2025! This (Monday) afternoon I’ll be presenting a study I led with a fantastic team of undergraduate and Masters students, supervised by @katestarbird.bsky.social, on sudden attention, influencers, and TikTok - more details in 🧵 1/
'I Blow Up': Understanding TikTok Users' Reactions to Sudden Social Media Attention | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Social media platforms are known to facilitate sudden bursts of attention on individual
pieces of content and their creators — dynamics often referred to as ''going viral''.
However, questions remain ...
dl.acm.org
October 20, 2025 at 9:35 AM
This research used interviews and trace data analysis to understand how TikTok users experienced a sudden burst of attention and whether/how/why they changed their content creation and engagement practices afterwards. UW PhD student @schafer.bsky.social will present the paper at CSCW this afternoon.
Reposted
We turned our pain into a research paper… documenting how our collaborative research team (which included researchers at a public university) navigated a slew of public records requests (by some of the same folks who have since turned their attention towards attacking academia more broadly).
I'll be at #CSCW2025 presenting a paper on the impact of public records (FOIA) requests on multi-stakeholder collaborations — co-authored with Rachel Moran, @emmaspiro.bsky.social, and @katestarbird.bsky.social: dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Privacy versus Transparency: Navigating Public Records Requests and Adversarial Dynamics in a Distributed Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Public records laws are standard for state and federal governments across the U.S.
Such laws rest on the core notion that transparency, enacted through access to governmental
documentation, will ensur...
dl.acm.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
We turned our pain into a research paper… documenting how our collaborative research team (which included researchers at a public university) navigated a slew of public records requests (by some of the same folks who have since turned their attention towards attacking academia more broadly).
Reposted
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
October 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
Reposted
Russian asylum-seekers are being deported en masse to their country of origin, where many are imprisoned upon arrival due to their involvement in opposition and anti-war campaigning foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...
Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression
Instead of sheltering pro-democracy dissidents, America is now returning them for arrest.
foreignpolicy.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Russian asylum-seekers are being deported en masse to their country of origin, where many are imprisoned upon arrival due to their involvement in opposition and anti-war campaigning foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...
Reposted
Henry Farrell on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities, arguing that the rollout signals weakness, and that academics need to band together to reject this authoritarian attack on university independence and academic freedom.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...
October 8, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Henry Farrell on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities, arguing that the rollout signals weakness, and that academics need to band together to reject this authoritarian attack on university independence and academic freedom.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...