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Communications

How researchers scrub Twitter for health data from real humans—not bots
drawing of a large computer “bot” placing a text bubble on a giant smartphone and a human seated beneath the phone placing a text bubble below it on the smartphone.

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.

Steve Graff

The talk radio network that airs Dan Bongino and Mark Levin warned staff to stop ‘dog-whistle talk’

The talk radio network that airs Dan Bongino and Mark Levin warned staff to stop ‘dog-whistle talk’

Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about Cumulus Media, a talk radio company that has instructed employees not to spread misinformation about the presidential election. “Cumulus has a big, broad set of interests—they have advertisers, sports contracts, nonconservative podcasts, dealings with the F.C.C. over station licensing,” Rosenwald said. “They understand that if you get involved in something that risks instigating violence, there’s a serious danger to the bottom line.”

How conspiracy theories fueled assault on U.S. Capitol

How conspiracy theories fueled assault on U.S. Capitol

Dan Romer of the Annenberg School for Communications weighed in on how conspiracy theories led to the breach of the U.S. Capitol building. “In a way what happened yesterday is just a further demonstration of how [President Trump’s] supporters have accepted some of his assertions about conspiracies and are willing to act on them,” Romer said.

The 80-million-vote man has a very fragile coalition

The 80-million-vote man has a very fragile coalition

Yphtach Lelkes of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about the appeal of centrism to suburban voters. “With Trump out of the White House, and with it, his bombastic rhetoric, I expect Republicans will have an easier time with suburban voters than they had over the past four years,” he said.

Google News prioritizes national media over local
Closeup of person holding a smartphone with a news article on the screen.

Google News prioritizes national media over local

A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication found that Google News prioritizes national media outlets over local media outlets in search results, even when users are searching for local topics.

From Annenberg School for Communication

How did echo chambers influence the 2020 election?
A close-up image of a hand holding a mobile phone, with the words "News," "Business," Politics" and "Sports" visible on the screen. Next to the phone is a cup of coffee. In the background are blurred open books.

How did echo chambers influence the 2020 election?

Research from the Annenberg School for Communication shows that people are consuming news from more diverse sources, but many don’t consume any news at all. It’s too soon to tell what role that played in the recent race for president.

Michele W. Berger , Julie Sloane

Enough with ‘both sides’! Faux-neutral journalism is no way to fight the truth-deniers

Enough with ‘both sides’! Faux-neutral journalism is no way to fight the truth-deniers

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about corporate media’s reluctance to confront how their newsrooms covered the Trump era. “We must look seriously at the role they have played in normalizing fascistic politics—as well as the structural factors that cause these institutions to predictably fail in advancing democratic aims,” he said.

Making sense of the election
A mail worker sorts through a large pile of mail-in ballots.

A panel of Penn political scientists helped a virtual audience make sense of the presidential election and what comes next.

Making sense of the election

Penn political scientists helped a virtual audience process polling, voter turnout, litigation, and a chaotic presidential election.

Kristen de Groot