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Social Media
Study finds surprising source of social influence
Study finds surprising source of social influence
A new study co-authored by ASC’s Damon Centola finds that as prominent and revered as social influencers seem to be, they are unlikely to change a person’s behavior by example, and might actually be detrimental to the cause.
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
With the second edition of his classic 1993 book “The Panoptic Sort” recently published, Gandy discusses the past, present, and future of surveillance.
Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter
Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter
A study of vaccine-related Twitter posts reveals significant differences in concerns people have when broken down by age, race, population density, and religious beliefs.
Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis
Partisan politics and the opioid epidemic: A social media analysis
Researchers at Penn Medicine explored how partisanship might affect legislative progress on the opioid epidemic by analyzing the content of state legislators’ opioid-related social media posts over time.
From facts to fake news: How information gets distorted
From facts to fake news: How information gets distorted
Wharton’s Shiri Melumad on how news becomes increasingly biased when it’s repeatedly retold.
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
Belief in conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic increased through the early months of the U.S. outbreak among people who reported being heavy users of conservative and social media.
Twitter bots may not be as influential as you think
Twitter bots may not be as influential as you think
A new study from Annenberg School for Communication finds that verified media accounts are more central in the spread of information on Twitter than bots.
A conversation on the media, truth telling, and social equity
For the Office of Social Equity & Community’s inaugural event, a group of panelists—including several renowned experts in the media industry—gathered virtually to discuss the past, present, and future of journalism in the U.S.
How researchers scrub Twitter for health data from real humans—not bots
How researchers scrub Twitter for health data from real humans—not bots
For more than 10 years, Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez has been studying natural language across social media to inform clinical care, carefully sifting through language to determine which voices qualify as patient experiences.
A new way to connect with like-minded students
A new way to connect with like-minded students
Penn students reimagine relationships with a virtual platform called Magic Connects.
In the News
The Washington Post
AI fake nudes are booming. It’s ruining real teens’ lives
Doctoral candidate Sophie Maddocks in the Annenberg School for Communication says that AI fake nudes are targeting girls and women who aren’t in the public eye.
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MSNBC
Why I’m not expecting my friends to make social media posts about Israel
A study from the Annenberg School for Communication found that people primarily share information on social media that they feel is meaningful to themselves or to the people they know.
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The New York Times
What social media does to the teen brain
Frances Jensen of the Perelman School of Medicine examines the impact that social media is having on the brains of teenagers, the first “truly digital generation.”
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The New York Times
Trump attacked me. Then Musk did. It wasn’t an accident
In an Op-Ed, Yoel Roth of the Annenberg School for Communication says that his experience of public attacks and harassment while working at Twitter was part of a larger, targeted political campaign to erode online safety and strengthen misinformation.
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CNBC
Trump uses Facebook to fund presidential run, two years after Meta banned him
Andrew Arenge of the School of Arts & Sciences says that higher social media impressions can be a key factor for bringing in waves of cash for political campaigns.
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Today
Elon Musk blames school for rift with daughter: ‘She doesn’t want to spend time with me’
A 2022 study by Sandra González-Bailón of the Annenberg School for Communication found that Twitter, now X, gives more visibility to those with conservative ideologies than those who tend to express more progressive views.
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