Center for an Informed Public

Join us for ‘The Risks and Realities of AI Chatbots’ event on April 7 Join us for a special conversation on April 7, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Central Library.

Join us April 7 at the Seattle Central Library for "The Risks and Realities of AI Chatbots," a special discussion with journalists @kashhill.bsky.social (N.Y. Times) and @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social (Reuters), moderated by @mnickelsburg.bsky.social (KUOW).

Event info: www.cip.uw.edu/2026/02/16/r...

This free event is co-sponsored by @cip.uw.edu, @techpolicylab.bsky.social and the Technology & Social Change Group at @ischool.uw.edu, in partnership with @kuow.org.

Register to attend: events.uw.edu/event/abc619...

Join us for ‘The Risks and Realities of AI Chatbots’ event on April 7 Join us for a special conversation on April 7, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Central Library.

Join us April 7 at the Seattle Central Library for "The Risks and Realities of AI Chatbots," a special discussion with journalists @kashhill.bsky.social (N.Y. Times) and @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social (Reuters), moderated by @mnickelsburg.bsky.social (KUOW).

Event info: www.cip.uw.edu/2026/02/16/r...

When Posting Becomes Its Own Style of Politics Social media has long been flooded with populist rage and discontent. What happens when the posts become policy?

“But in the second Trump administration, this relationship is more direct, with policies clearly being motivated, shaped and justified by and through digital content creation,” Starbird, a @hcde.uw.edu professor, told The New York Times. [2/2]

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

When Posting Becomes Its Own Style of Politics Social media has long been flooded with populist rage and discontent. What happens when the posts become policy?

"Slopulism," a type of viral content that @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social has called "participatory propaganda," has been a dynamic that's been "building for years," Starbird recently told @nytimes.com in an interview. [1/2]

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Why MAGA-Boosting Comedy Bros Are Turning on Trump From Joe Rogan to Andrew Schulz, the bromance between right-coded comics and the president is quickly cooling off.

@sethabramovitch.bsky.social of @thr.com writes that according to Sydney DeMets, an @ischool.uw.edu PhD student, "the listener does not merely consume content. The listener builds a relationship. After enough hours, disagreement feels like betrayal."

More: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politic...

Why MAGA-Boosting Comedy Bros Are Turning on Trump From Joe Rogan to Andrew Schulz, the bromance between right-coded comics and the president is quickly cooling off.

In a @thr.com interview, @cip.uw.edu graduate research assistant @sydneydemets.bsky.social says that “[p]odcasts are incredibly persuasive” because “they induce the parasocial phenomenon” and “trigger a lot of feelings of intimacy and trust.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politic...

Sedro-Woolley English teachers bring AI literacy into the classroom Several English classes at Sedro-Woolley High School are implementing lesson plans designed by Linsey Kitchens to help students understand the limitations of artificial intelligence programs such as C...

Our team has been working with teachers and librarians in Skagit County, WA to adapt AI literacy lessons for high school classes. On Friday, students will be sharing these lessons for a group of local senior citizens in an intergenerational learning event. salish-current.org/2025/11/20/s...

As the co-authors write: "Through a case study of a K-pop controversy, we show how audiences act not just as consumers but as co-authors of alternative narratives in moments of uncertainty."

Emotional resonance and participatory misinformation: Learning from a K-pop controversy | HKS Misinformation Review In today’s digital media environment, emotionally resonant narratives often spread faster and stick more firmly than verifiable facts. This paper explores how emotionally charged communication in onli...

Newly published in HSK Misinfo Review, "Emotional resonance and participatory misinformation: Learning from a K-pop controversy," co-authored by @cip.uw.edu senior research scientist Rachel Moran-Prestridge and @ischool.uw.edu professor Jin Ha Lee. misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/emot...

A poster for The Disinformation Summer Institute, June 15-18, 2026, Bainbridge Island, WA. The application deadline is Feb. 15 and available at disinfoinstitute.org

🧵Applications are now open for the second-ever Disinformation Summer Institute, taking place June 15-18, 2026 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The deadline to apply is February 15.

Learn more: disinfoinstitute.org

Congrats to @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social!

Disinformation Summer Institute (DSI) - Disinformation Summer Institute Disinformation Disinformation is false or misleading information created and spread to advance policy, political, economic or ideological goals. It is sometimes used by industries, governments, and ot...

Learn more about the Disinformation Summer Institute: disinfoinstitute.org

DSI core faculty includes CIP co-founder @jevinwest.bsky.social. Guest faculty includes CIP co-founders @rcalo.bsky.social @emmaspiro.bsky.social @katestarbird.bsky.social and CIP faculty member @carlbergstrom.com.

The Disinformation Summer Institute is made possible through support from @cip.uw.edu, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the @cssn.org at Brown University, and the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC San Diego.

There is no fee to attend. The cost of economy travel and lodging will be covered for graduate students and at least partially defrayed for postdocs and assistant professors. Please indicate on the application form what you will need.

More senior scholars and practitioners who have recently moved into this domain are also encouraged to apply.

This 4-day, intensive summer institute is intended primarily for advanced PhD candidates, advanced law and medical students, postdoctoral scholars and early career researchers seeking to better understand and address disinformation.

A poster for The Disinformation Summer Institute, June 15-18, 2026, Bainbridge Island, WA. The application deadline is Feb. 15 and available at disinfoinstitute.org

🧵Applications are now open for the second-ever Disinformation Summer Institute, taking place June 15-18, 2026 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The deadline to apply is February 15.

Learn more: disinfoinstitute.org

Facts, frames, and (mis)interpretations: Understanding rumors as collective sensemaking The communicative solution to pervasive misinformation is not better facts, but better frames.

To learn more about frames and framing and the role they play in sensemaking about breaking news events and how they fit into the production and spread of rumors, conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation and propaganda, see this previous article: www.cip.uw.edu/2023/12/06/r...

Framing the killing of Renee Nicole Good Within minutes of her death in Minneapolis, efforts began to shape how audiences interpreted the available evidence.

No matter what your politics and/or values are at this moment, @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social writes in a blog post that "it’s vital to understand the online dynamics and political strategies that are shaping how we see the world."

www.cip.uw.edu/2026/01/15/f...

Emmett’s thread offers a very succinct summary of our team’s recent “frameworks” paper, which describes our motivation and methodological approach for supporting collective sensemaking thru rapid research in a university setting. We’re planning another full deployment for the 2026 U.S. election.

Postdoctoral positions: Our team at the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public is accepting applications for up to two postdoc positions, starting in Fall 2026. Priority deadline is Jan 15. If you know someone who might be interested, let them know!

PRESS RELEASE: EPIC Welcomes Three Distinguished Members to its Board of Directors

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) welcomed Ryan Calo to their board. Professor Calo teaches in both @uwlaw.bsky.social and the Information School, and co-founded @techpolicylab.bsky.social & @cip.uw.edu. He's testified before the Senate 4x. @rcalo.bsky.social epic.org/press-releas...

We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026.

For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901

Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond – Simple Book Publishing A framework for university-based rapid research of elections, crisis events, and beyond

Since 2020, our team has iterated on a model for “rapid research” to help surface, analyze, & resolve rumors about election administration. This work demonstrates an innovative role for researchers to support public sensemaking during rapidly unfolding events.

uw.pressbooks.pub/rapidresearc...

CIP publishes ‘Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond’ A new report details the 2024 Election Rumor Research Project and shows how our model can support a more informed public, create a stronger academy and train the next generation of scholars.

A report summary is also available on the @cip.uw.edu website:
www.cip.uw.edu/2025/12/16/b...

Rabble-Rousers in the New King's Court: Algorithmic Effects on Account Visibility in Pre-X Twitter Algorithmic effects on social media platforms have come under recent scrutiny, with several works reporting that right-leaning accounts tend to receive more exposure. In this paper, we expand upon thi...

Recently accepted at ICWSM: arxiv.org/abs/2512.06129 (w/ @kayladuskin.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social, and @emmaspiro.bsky.social)

We look at how algorithmic feeds affect Twitter account visibility. More visible accounts:

-Are agitators
-Get attention from Elon Musk
-Are not legacy verified

Social media research tool can reduce polarization — it could also lead to more user control over algorithms A web-based method was shown to mitigate political polarization on X by nudging antidemocratic and extremely negative partisan posts lower in a user’s feed. The tool, which is independent of the...

“Social media algorithms direct our attention and influence our moods and attitudes, but until now, only platforms had the power to change their algorithms’ design and study their effects,” said Saveski, a @ischool.uw.edu assistant professor.

Read more: www.washington.edu/news/2025/12... (3/3)

Reranking partisan animosity in algorithmic social media feeds alters affective polarization Today, social media platforms hold the sole power to study the effects of feed-ranking algorithms. We developed a platform-independent method that reranks participants’ feeds in real time and used thi...

In a study recently published in @science.org, Saveski and co-authors created a web tool that reorders content to move posts lower in a user’s feed when they contain antidemocratic attitudes and partisan animosity. (2/3)

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...