Ronald E. Robertson
@rer.bsky.social
Research Scientist @ Stanford Cyber Policy Center. Studying online information seeking, influence, and ways to more accurately model how people interact with online systems.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Cornell agreed to pay $30m, hand over admissions data with demographic breakdowns, produce annual "campus climate" surveys to check on antisemitism and changes "since October of 2023," and—here's the dumbest part they agreed to—that the govt can open new investigations whenever it wants.
Appeasers.
Appeasers.
Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to restore our funding:
statements.cornell.edu/2025/2025110...
statements.cornell.edu/2025/2025110...
An agreement to restore Cornell’s federal research funding | University Statements | Cornell University
statements.cornell.edu
November 7, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Cornell agreed to pay $30m, hand over admissions data with demographic breakdowns, produce annual "campus climate" surveys to check on antisemitism and changes "since October of 2023," and—here's the dumbest part they agreed to—that the govt can open new investigations whenever it wants.
Appeasers.
Appeasers.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
10% of Meta's 2024 ad revenue came from outright frauds and scams; the platform shows consumers 15 billion ads for fraud and scams every single day. This doesn't even include agitprop and AI slop.
the existential collapse of this monumental pile of shit company simply can't come quickly enough
the existential collapse of this monumental pile of shit company simply can't come quickly enough
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:04 PM
10% of Meta's 2024 ad revenue came from outright frauds and scams; the platform shows consumers 15 billion ads for fraud and scams every single day. This doesn't even include agitprop and AI slop.
the existential collapse of this monumental pile of shit company simply can't come quickly enough
the existential collapse of this monumental pile of shit company simply can't come quickly enough
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
I'm recruiting multiple PhD students for Fall 2026 in Computer Science at @hopkinsengineer.bsky.social 🍂
Apply to work on AI for social sciences/human behavior, social NLP, and LLMs for real-world applied domains you're passionate about!
Learn more at kristinagligoric.com & help spread the word!
Apply to work on AI for social sciences/human behavior, social NLP, and LLMs for real-world applied domains you're passionate about!
Learn more at kristinagligoric.com & help spread the word!
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I'm recruiting multiple PhD students for Fall 2026 in Computer Science at @hopkinsengineer.bsky.social 🍂
Apply to work on AI for social sciences/human behavior, social NLP, and LLMs for real-world applied domains you're passionate about!
Learn more at kristinagligoric.com & help spread the word!
Apply to work on AI for social sciences/human behavior, social NLP, and LLMs for real-world applied domains you're passionate about!
Learn more at kristinagligoric.com & help spread the word!
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
How prevalent is misinformation really? Many detection methods rely on URL/Source-level, but they miss a big part of posts that don't include links.
In a new preprint from the group, led by @saminenno.bsky.social, we analyze 10x more posts from German politicians on four platforms.
thread below👇
In a new preprint from the group, led by @saminenno.bsky.social, we analyze 10x more posts from German politicians on four platforms.
thread below👇
November 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM
How prevalent is misinformation really? Many detection methods rely on URL/Source-level, but they miss a big part of posts that don't include links.
In a new preprint from the group, led by @saminenno.bsky.social, we analyze 10x more posts from German politicians on four platforms.
thread below👇
In a new preprint from the group, led by @saminenno.bsky.social, we analyze 10x more posts from German politicians on four platforms.
thread below👇
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Attention Authors: Updated Practice for Review Articles and Position Papers in arXiv CS Category – arXiv blog
blog.arxiv.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.
Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Nothing to worry about, totally normal
November 2, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Nothing to worry about, totally normal
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
A thread on how people's use of generative AI has changed in the last year - based on survey data from 6 countries (🇬🇧🇺🇸🇫🇷🇩🇰🇯🇵🇦🇷 ).
First, gen AI use has grown rapidly.
Most people have tried out gen AI at least once (61%), and 34% now use it on a weekly basis - roughly doubling from 18% a year ago.
First, gen AI use has grown rapidly.
Most people have tried out gen AI at least once (61%), and 34% now use it on a weekly basis - roughly doubling from 18% a year ago.
October 8, 2025 at 7:23 AM
A thread on how people's use of generative AI has changed in the last year - based on survey data from 6 countries (🇬🇧🇺🇸🇫🇷🇩🇰🇯🇵🇦🇷 ).
First, gen AI use has grown rapidly.
Most people have tried out gen AI at least once (61%), and 34% now use it on a weekly basis - roughly doubling from 18% a year ago.
First, gen AI use has grown rapidly.
Most people have tried out gen AI at least once (61%), and 34% now use it on a weekly basis - roughly doubling from 18% a year ago.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
October 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
October 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?
Is it...requesting content moderation?
Is it...requesting content moderation?
October 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?
Is it...requesting content moderation?
Is it...requesting content moderation?
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Agree 100% @stanfordaaup.bsky.social!
“When it inevitably comes time for Stanford to choose, we must remember that we owe our loyalty not to any executive branch official but to our own foundational principles. We must be ready, when it’s our turn, to walk away.”
stanforddaily.com/2025/10/12/f...
“When it inevitably comes time for Stanford to choose, we must remember that we owe our loyalty not to any executive branch official but to our own foundational principles. We must be ready, when it’s our turn, to walk away.”
stanforddaily.com/2025/10/12/f...
From the Community | We must refuse the 'Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education'
Associate professor Greg Martin writes on behalf of the Stanford's AAUP chapter to condemn the White House's compact on higher education.
stanforddaily.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Agree 100% @stanfordaaup.bsky.social!
“When it inevitably comes time for Stanford to choose, we must remember that we owe our loyalty not to any executive branch official but to our own foundational principles. We must be ready, when it’s our turn, to walk away.”
stanforddaily.com/2025/10/12/f...
“When it inevitably comes time for Stanford to choose, we must remember that we owe our loyalty not to any executive branch official but to our own foundational principles. We must be ready, when it’s our turn, to walk away.”
stanforddaily.com/2025/10/12/f...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Using LLMs as data annotators, you can produce any scientific result you want. We call this **LLM Hacking**.
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
September 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Using LLMs as data annotators, you can produce any scientific result you want. We call this **LLM Hacking**.
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
New job ad: Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College apply.interfolio.com/172357
Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!
Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!
August 21, 2025 at 6:50 PM
New job ad: Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College apply.interfolio.com/172357
Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!
Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
The agenda for the Trust and Safety Research Conference is out now. Two days of lightning talks, presentations, networking and more, with @dwillner.bsky.social as keynote. Join us!
For the full line-up and times, plus link to register, visit:
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/content/trus...
For the full line-up and times, plus link to register, visit:
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/content/trus...
August 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The agenda for the Trust and Safety Research Conference is out now. Two days of lightning talks, presentations, networking and more, with @dwillner.bsky.social as keynote. Join us!
For the full line-up and times, plus link to register, visit:
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/content/trus...
For the full line-up and times, plus link to register, visit:
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/content/trus...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
If you work in message testing or persuasive communication, this may be the most importantly paper you will read this month, perhaps all year. From @carnes.bsky.social and Henderson in @bjpols.bsky.social
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
August 15, 2025 at 12:26 PM
If you work in message testing or persuasive communication, this may be the most importantly paper you will read this month, perhaps all year. From @carnes.bsky.social and Henderson in @bjpols.bsky.social
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Interested in doing a postdoc with me & @dgrand.bsky.social? Consider applying to Cornell's Klarman Fellowship: as.cornell.edu/research/kla...
It involves a competitive internal application process, but it's 3 years of funding @$80k/year
Please email me/Dave if you're interested! Oct 15th deadline
It involves a competitive internal application process, but it's 3 years of funding @$80k/year
Please email me/Dave if you're interested! Oct 15th deadline
Klarman Fellowships
The Klarman Fellowships in the College of Arts & Sciences provide postdoctoral opportunities to early-career scholars of outstanding talent, initiative and promise. Among the most selective of its kin...
as.cornell.edu
August 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Interested in doing a postdoc with me & @dgrand.bsky.social? Consider applying to Cornell's Klarman Fellowship: as.cornell.edu/research/kla...
It involves a competitive internal application process, but it's 3 years of funding @$80k/year
Please email me/Dave if you're interested! Oct 15th deadline
It involves a competitive internal application process, but it's 3 years of funding @$80k/year
Please email me/Dave if you're interested! Oct 15th deadline
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
lol the “Foundation” for Freedom Online is a blog, almost entirely written by one guy, that pushes the “censorship complex” hoax. Has anyone seen a registration for an entity? A 990?
You, too, can be the “executive director” of your blog.
Embarrassing for NYT.
You, too, can be the “executive director” of your blog.
Embarrassing for NYT.
You can be whatever you want to be in the New York Times 💫
July 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
lol the “Foundation” for Freedom Online is a blog, almost entirely written by one guy, that pushes the “censorship complex” hoax. Has anyone seen a registration for an entity? A 990?
You, too, can be the “executive director” of your blog.
Embarrassing for NYT.
You, too, can be the “executive director” of your blog.
Embarrassing for NYT.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
a thin white woman in head to toe lululemon screaming at these thugs makes me think ICE has jumped the shark
July 26, 2025 at 4:56 PM
a thin white woman in head to toe lululemon screaming at these thugs makes me think ICE has jumped the shark
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
"Google users who encountered an AI summary also rarely clicked on a link in the summary itself. This occurred in just 1% of all visits..."
Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results
In a March 2025 analysis, Google users who encountered an AI summary were less likely to click on links to other websites than users who did not see one.
www.pewresearch.org
July 23, 2025 at 12:59 PM
"Google users who encountered an AI summary also rarely clicked on a link in the summary itself. This occurred in just 1% of all visits..."
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
ICYMI, our DomainDemo dataset, which describes how different demographic groups share domains on Twitter, is now available to download!
📄 Data descriptor: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
📈 Interactive app to explore the data: domaindemo.info
💽 Dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
📄 Data descriptor: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
📈 Interactive app to explore the data: domaindemo.info
💽 Dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
DomainDemo: a dataset of domain-sharing activities among different demographic groups on Twitter - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - DomainDemo: a dataset of domain-sharing activities among different demographic groups on Twitter
doi.org
July 21, 2025 at 1:58 PM
ICYMI, our DomainDemo dataset, which describes how different demographic groups share domains on Twitter, is now available to download!
📄 Data descriptor: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
📈 Interactive app to explore the data: domaindemo.info
💽 Dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
📄 Data descriptor: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
📈 Interactive app to explore the data: domaindemo.info
💽 Dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Here's the total attention to 2025 publications on both X/Twitter and Bluesky. Bluesky has two thirds of Twitter's attention with >10 times fewer users.
June 26, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Here's the total attention to 2025 publications on both X/Twitter and Bluesky. Bluesky has two thirds of Twitter's attention with >10 times fewer users.
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
My new paper with @criedl.bsky.social and @davidlazer.bsky.social!
How does social network structure amplify or stifle behavior diffusion? Turns out, complex contagions are more complicated than we thought … (1/7)
July 10, 2025 at 8:14 PM
My new paper with @criedl.bsky.social and @davidlazer.bsky.social!
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
If you ask the new Grok (via grok.com without any custom instructions) for opinions on controversial topics it runs a search on X to see what Elon thinks
I know this sounds like a joke but it's not. This genuinely happens: x.com/jeremyphowar...
I know this sounds like a joke but it's not. This genuinely happens: x.com/jeremyphowar...
July 10, 2025 at 10:53 PM
If you ask the new Grok (via grok.com without any custom instructions) for opinions on controversial topics it runs a search on X to see what Elon thinks
I know this sounds like a joke but it's not. This genuinely happens: x.com/jeremyphowar...
I know this sounds like a joke but it's not. This genuinely happens: x.com/jeremyphowar...
Reposted by Ronald E. Robertson
Rolling Stone continues to teach a masterclass in headline writing www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
July 10, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Rolling Stone continues to teach a masterclass in headline writing www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...