Stephan Lewandowsky
@lewan.bsky.social
Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Bristol. Homepage: https://www.lewan.uk
This is coming up soon... Thursday this week 2pm UK / 3PM CET.
We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratization. Scholars and researchers are among those in the firing line. How should they respond? We will provide hints & guidance in a webinar on 13 November for the European Geophysical Union:
You can register here:
You can register here:
How scientists can respond to autocratisation
<p>We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratisation, in which science is increasingly under politically-motivated attack. This webinar will provide an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work. The webinar will last for 1.5 hours with time for audience Q&A. This webinar is based on The Anti-Autocracy Handbook: developed by an international group of researchers, led by psychologist and disinformation expert Stephan Lewandowsky, the handbook serves as a call to action, a toolbox, and a survival guide for scholars in politically hostile environments.</p><p>Please register for this online event using the link at the bottom of the webpage.</p>
www.egu.eu
November 10, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This is coming up soon... Thursday this week 2pm UK / 3PM CET.
Ah. This will be the SA (with ICE being the SS). Or is it the other way round? All so very confusing. How could anyone detect signs of fascism in this mess? Maybe there is nothing to see here.
November 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Ah. This will be the SA (with ICE being the SS). Or is it the other way round? All so very confusing. How could anyone detect signs of fascism in this mess? Maybe there is nothing to see here.
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
"It’s all hallucination, but we only call it that when we notice it’s wrong. The problem is, large language models are so good at what they do that what they make up looks right most of the time."
#AI #hallucination #information #ecologies
#AI #hallucination #information #ecologies
Why does AI hallucinate?
The tendency to make things up is holding chatbots back. But that’s just what they do.
www.technologyreview.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"It’s all hallucination, but we only call it that when we notice it’s wrong. The problem is, large language models are so good at what they do that what they make up looks right most of the time."
#AI #hallucination #information #ecologies
#AI #hallucination #information #ecologies
*this*. there is no end to the tabloids' and fascists' demands because they have nothing other than those demands -- there is no "program" and no "opinion" other than rage. The only end is the one put to it by reasonable people while there is still a chance.
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
*this*. there is no end to the tabloids' and fascists' demands because they have nothing other than those demands -- there is no "program" and no "opinion" other than rage. The only end is the one put to it by reasonable people while there is still a chance.
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Absolutely this.
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Absolutely this.
I added my voice to this petition which is simply to demand that platforms uphold the law. For some peculiar reason they don't seem to be keen.
Demand the Data: What’s Really Going Viral? | Mozilla Foundation
Social media platforms aren’t sharing what goes viral on their sites. Tell YouTube, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X to disclose their most-viewed content. Sign now.
www.mozillafoundation.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I added my voice to this petition which is simply to demand that platforms uphold the law. For some peculiar reason they don't seem to be keen.
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
New:
The current “AI race” media frenzy, whether framed as productivity revolution, Chinese competition, or AGI salvation, is either largely myth-making or missing the most crucial point.
So let me challenge that frenzy with a different story.
1/
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
The current “AI race” media frenzy, whether framed as productivity revolution, Chinese competition, or AGI salvation, is either largely myth-making or missing the most crucial point.
So let me challenge that frenzy with a different story.
1/
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
The AI Race to Reboot Feudalism
Let's be honest about why they gamble everything
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:47 PM
New:
The current “AI race” media frenzy, whether framed as productivity revolution, Chinese competition, or AGI salvation, is either largely myth-making or missing the most crucial point.
So let me challenge that frenzy with a different story.
1/
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
The current “AI race” media frenzy, whether framed as productivity revolution, Chinese competition, or AGI salvation, is either largely myth-making or missing the most crucial point.
So let me challenge that frenzy with a different story.
1/
open.substack.com/pub/protagon...
Great snappy documentary (12 minutes) about misinformation by the Expedition team www.joinexpeditions.... 1/2
1/2
1/2
Explore the library of knowledge
Meet the world's best researchers. Enjoy conversations with leading academics, scientists and thinkers. From climate change to genetics, from AI to feminism, from economic growth to the exoplanets, discover the issues that matter to them, to us and to the world.
www.joinexpeditions.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Great snappy documentary (12 minutes) about misinformation by the Expedition team www.joinexpeditions.... 1/2
1/2
1/2
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
This is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever read about elite news-media bothsiderism, as well the relationship between knowledge-production and journalism.
It’s also filled w gossip and so human!
10/10
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
It’s also filled w gossip and so human!
10/10
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
November 8, 2025 at 6:08 PM
This is absolutely the best thing I’ve ever read about elite news-media bothsiderism, as well the relationship between knowledge-production and journalism.
It’s also filled w gossip and so human!
10/10
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
It’s also filled w gossip and so human!
10/10
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Laurence Fox is never again going to be able to threaten to sue anybody for calling him, an increasingly overt racist, racist
November 8, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Laurence Fox is never again going to be able to threaten to sue anybody for calling him, an increasingly overt racist, racist
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
The man who has caused this will now be a trillionaire. 600.000 deaths, two thirds of them children.
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:21 PM
The man who has caused this will now be a trillionaire. 600.000 deaths, two thirds of them children.
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose.
Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵
Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵
November 7, 2025 at 6:35 AM
1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose.
Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵
Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
A magnificent piece of work. Comprehesive, revelatory & shocking. Journalism this good is always rare & precious but never moreso than at times like this. Latter day Lord Haw Haws being plumped, preened & delivered to your doorstep in plain sight by a Nazi-saluting goon
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 AM
A magnificent piece of work. Comprehesive, revelatory & shocking. Journalism this good is always rare & precious but never moreso than at times like this. Latter day Lord Haw Haws being plumped, preened & delivered to your doorstep in plain sight by a Nazi-saluting goon
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Great thread. Don’t wake the dead
1. The approach of mainstream Democrats is summed up in this astonishing February advice from the Democratic strategist James Carville:
“Roll over and play dead. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/o...
🧵
“Roll over and play dead. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/o...
🧵
Opinion | James Carville: It’s Time for a Daring Political Maneuver, Democrats
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Great thread. Don’t wake the dead
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
For each additional moral–emotional word in a social media post, the number of shares increases 13%
Our new meta-analysis finds robust evidence of moral contagion (N=4,821,006)
The moral contagion effect is even stronger in larger, pre-registered studies (17%).
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Our new meta-analysis finds robust evidence of moral contagion (N=4,821,006)
The moral contagion effect is even stronger in larger, pre-registered studies (17%).
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
November 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM
For each additional moral–emotional word in a social media post, the number of shares increases 13%
Our new meta-analysis finds robust evidence of moral contagion (N=4,821,006)
The moral contagion effect is even stronger in larger, pre-registered studies (17%).
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Our new meta-analysis finds robust evidence of moral contagion (N=4,821,006)
The moral contagion effect is even stronger in larger, pre-registered studies (17%).
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Trump Dreams of Bringing Orwellian Nightmare to Life: Similar vanity projects sprouted up in Nazi Germany, in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, in Orban’s Hungary, and in many other countries that have fallen into the clutches of totalitarian leaders. sfreporter.com/columns/lett...
Trump Dreams of Bringing Orwellian Nightmare to Life
White House Ballroom demolition, Triumphal Arch are a tribute to Big Orange
sfreporter.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Trump Dreams of Bringing Orwellian Nightmare to Life: Similar vanity projects sprouted up in Nazi Germany, in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, in Orban’s Hungary, and in many other countries that have fallen into the clutches of totalitarian leaders. sfreporter.com/columns/lett...
We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratization. Scholars and researchers are among those in the firing line. How should they respond? We will provide hints & guidance in a webinar on 13 November for the European Geophysical Union:
You can register here:
You can register here:
How scientists can respond to autocratisation
<p>We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratisation, in which science is increasingly under politically-motivated attack. This webinar will provide an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work. The webinar will last for 1.5 hours with time for audience Q&A. This webinar is based on The Anti-Autocracy Handbook: developed by an international group of researchers, led by psychologist and disinformation expert Stephan Lewandowsky, the handbook serves as a call to action, a toolbox, and a survival guide for scholars in politically hostile environments.</p><p>Please register for this online event using the link at the bottom of the webpage.</p>
www.egu.eu
November 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM
We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratization. Scholars and researchers are among those in the firing line. How should they respond? We will provide hints & guidance in a webinar on 13 November for the European Geophysical Union:
You can register here:
You can register here:
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
It’s clear to anyone paying attention that Farage gets an easy ride from the media. They give him as much airtime as he wants but never hold him to account for the damage he’s done.
So much of what’s broken in Britain is thanks to Nigel Farage.
So much of what’s broken in Britain is thanks to Nigel Farage.
November 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
It’s clear to anyone paying attention that Farage gets an easy ride from the media. They give him as much airtime as he wants but never hold him to account for the damage he’s done.
So much of what’s broken in Britain is thanks to Nigel Farage.
So much of what’s broken in Britain is thanks to Nigel Farage.
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”
November 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
As pressures on democracy and our infosphere continue to grow, the role of scientists is increasingly politicised and at risk.
@egu.eu's webinar on 13 November, featuring @lewan.bsky.social, offers an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work.
www.egu.eu/webinars/646...
@egu.eu's webinar on 13 November, featuring @lewan.bsky.social, offers an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work.
www.egu.eu/webinars/646...
How scientists can respond to autocratisation
<p>We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratisation, in which science is increasingly under politically-motivated attack. This webinar will provide an overview of how scientists can res...
www.egu.eu
November 3, 2025 at 10:32 AM
As pressures on democracy and our infosphere continue to grow, the role of scientists is increasingly politicised and at risk.
@egu.eu's webinar on 13 November, featuring @lewan.bsky.social, offers an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work.
www.egu.eu/webinars/646...
@egu.eu's webinar on 13 November, featuring @lewan.bsky.social, offers an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work.
www.egu.eu/webinars/646...
We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratization. Scholars and researchers are among those in the firing line. How should they respond? We will provide some hints and guidance int his webinar on 13 November for the European Geophysical Union:
How scientists can respond to autocratisation
<p>We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratisation, in which science is increasingly under politically-motivated attack. This webinar will provide an overview of how scientists can respond and safeguard their work. The webinar will last for 1.5 hours with time for audience Q&A. </p><p>Please register for this online event using the link at the bottom of the webpage.</p>
www.egu.eu
November 3, 2025 at 8:22 AM
We live in an era of democratic backsliding and autocratization. Scholars and researchers are among those in the firing line. How should they respond? We will provide some hints and guidance int his webinar on 13 November for the European Geophysical Union:
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
Let me excerpt the concluding paragraph:
October 31, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Let me excerpt the concluding paragraph:
Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky
"When authoritarian leaders destroy the symbols of democracy, they are preparing to destroy its substance. Their goal is to raise doubts about who this country belongs to, and make us believe that it doesn’t belong to us."
Authoritarians don’t get the last word
That's why we are fighting back on every front.
contrarian.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:20 PM
"When authoritarian leaders destroy the symbols of democracy, they are preparing to destroy its substance. Their goal is to raise doubts about who this country belongs to, and make us believe that it doesn’t belong to us."