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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
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Facebook calls links to depression inconclusive. These researchers disagree
Melissa Hunt of the School of Arts & Sciences questioned Facebook’s argument that the poor mental health outcomes tied to use of their platform can be mitigated with self-discipline. “All of the things that would contribute to these platforms being healthier for people to use, which is basically spend less time, don't follow strangers, don't spend time passively scrolling through this random feed that's being suggested to you," Hunt says. "That completely undermines their whole business model."
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Wired
Don’t buy into Facebook’s ad-tracking pressure on iOS 14.5
Ron Berman of the Wharton School spoke about how a new Apple feature that allows users to block apps from tracking their online activities might affect Facebook’s revenues. “There are some types of ads, mostly retargeting, that will be harder to display, since now Facebook wouldn’t know who visited an app, put an item in the shopping cart, etc.,” he said.
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NBC News
She called out health care misinfo on TikTok. Then, the trolls found her
Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about the history of callout culture on social media. “Cancel culture, callout culture, that really comes from practices on Black Twitter of bringing attention to an issue and saying, hey, this is a thing where we need to align. Whether it’s #MeToo in its early days, that originated on Black Twitter, or whether that’s tied to Black Lives Matter or police brutality. Callout culture originated on Black Twitter,” she said.
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The New York Times
Dark under-eye circles? The kids say it’s cool
Kathy Peiss of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on a viral social media makeup trend that emphasizes dark under-eye circles. “This seems ephemeral, an aesthetic centered on pandemic tiredness, but not much more than that,” she said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Does Twitter’s ban violate Trump’s free-speech rights? Likely not, but it raises questions about social media platforms, Philly experts say
Diana Mutz of the Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts & Sciences said social media hasn’t enriched the quality of elected leaders’ communication with the public. “What gains traction on social media is outrageousness,” she said. “It incentivizes precisely what we don’t want in political discourse.”
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NPR
Facebook keeps data secret, letting conservative bias claims persist
PIK Professor Duncan Watts is working with Facebook to analyze its content for bias. "Mostly it's mainstream content," he said. "If anything, there is a bias in favor of conservative content."
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