Claire Wardle
@cward1e.bsky.social
Associate Professor, Dept of Communication, Cornell University. Bit partial to information ecosystems.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
I had a great chat last week with @cward1e.bsky.social, looking back at the growth of open source investigation from when it was just a small bunch of people trying to figure stuff out, how the counter-disinformation community formed out of that, and why it's causing us all so many headaches now.
Bellingcat founder @eliothiggins.bsky.social and Cornell University’s @cward1e.bsky.social unpack how disinformation evolved, why trust in institutions is collapsing, and what tools we all need to stay sharp in a world of misinformation. Listen back to last week's Stage Talk: rss.com/podcasts/bel...
"How We Got Here: The Rise, Backlash and Future Of Counter-Disinformation" with Eliot Higgins and Dr Claire Wardle | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
In our first Stage Talk of 2026, we were joined by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins and Cornell University's Dr. Claire Wardle sharing their expertise on the formation of fact checking and verificatio...
rss.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:49 PM
I had a great chat last week with @cward1e.bsky.social, looking back at the growth of open source investigation from when it was just a small bunch of people trying to figure stuff out, how the counter-disinformation community formed out of that, and why it's causing us all so many headaches now.
Really looking forward to chatting with @eliothiggins.bsky.social tomorrow to discuss the insane journey we've been on since we first 'met' in 2011/2012, when we both started working on social media verification efforts. Little did we know how bananas everything would get.
On January 29th (Thu) @eliothiggins.bsky.social & @cward1e.bsky.social will discuss where the 15 years of evolution of the counter-disinformation efforts from 2011 to its subsequent expansion across governments, platforms, and civil society, and the backlash that followed, leaves us all today.
Don’t know what to trust on your feed? How did we get here? Next Thursday, @eliothiggins.bsky.social and @cward1e.bsky.social unpack the rise, backlash and future of counter-disinformation. Join us for a live Q&A on Discord. 11am EST / 5pm CET discord.gg/ApEnkSK6?eve...
January 28, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Really looking forward to chatting with @eliothiggins.bsky.social tomorrow to discuss the insane journey we've been on since we first 'met' in 2011/2012, when we both started working on social media verification efforts. Little did we know how bananas everything would get.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Don’t know what to trust on your feed? How did we get here? Next Thursday, @eliothiggins.bsky.social and @cward1e.bsky.social unpack the rise, backlash and future of counter-disinformation. Join us for a live Q&A on Discord. 11am EST / 5pm CET discord.gg/ApEnkSK6?eve...
January 23, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Don’t know what to trust on your feed? How did we get here? Next Thursday, @eliothiggins.bsky.social and @cward1e.bsky.social unpack the rise, backlash and future of counter-disinformation. Join us for a live Q&A on Discord. 11am EST / 5pm CET discord.gg/ApEnkSK6?eve...
Reposted by Claire Wardle
I've been doing a soft launch of my new Substack, Sensemaking Distortion, a blog about how our ability to make sense of the world around us is being profoundly distorted by digital and social media. I just published the Welcome post this morning. open.substack.com/pub/katestar...
Welcome to Sensemaking Distortion
A blog about how our ability make sense of everything is profoundly distorted by digital and social media.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:15 PM
I've been doing a soft launch of my new Substack, Sensemaking Distortion, a blog about how our ability to make sense of the world around us is being profoundly distorted by digital and social media. I just published the Welcome post this morning. open.substack.com/pub/katestar...
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Seeking nominations: The CIP Award for Impact & Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities, and institutions navigate complex information challenges.
We're currently seeking nomination materials for the @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. The submission deadline is January 15, 2026.
Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...
Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...
December 9, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Seeking nominations: The CIP Award for Impact & Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities, and institutions navigate complex information challenges.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Claire Wardle
A major perk for @indicator.media members is our monthly workshop. This Friday, @craigsilverman.bsky.social will walk folks through how to look for valuable documents hiding in open air, the topic of our latest guide. Upgrade to paid now to attend the workshop!
The Indicator Guide to hunting for documents and files in open buckets, servers, and directories
How to find interesting and potentially confidential documents sitting on a publicly-accessible server or website
indicator.media
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
A major perk for @indicator.media members is our monthly workshop. This Friday, @craigsilverman.bsky.social will walk folks through how to look for valuable documents hiding in open air, the topic of our latest guide. Upgrade to paid now to attend the workshop!
Reposted by Claire Wardle
We have to (have to!) break this "chat shit for money" version of the internet.
NEW on @indicator.media:
I found 101 accounts impersonating Telemundo, Televisa, CNN and other media outlets spreading clickbaity falsehoods to millions on TikTok.
The company took them all down after I reached out.
I found 101 accounts impersonating Telemundo, Televisa, CNN and other media outlets spreading clickbaity falsehoods to millions on TikTok.
The company took them all down after I reached out.
101 TikTok accounts masquerading as real news spread misinformation to millions
Shallow impersonations of Telemundo, CNN, Fox News and other media got more than 200 million views posting fake ICE arrests and bombastic AI slop about geopolitics
indicator.media
October 15, 2025 at 12:50 PM
We have to (have to!) break this "chat shit for money" version of the internet.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Not surprising, but still very important to document.
Extreme views are heavily over-represented on social media
Social platforms’ tendency to reward hostile content creates incentives that systematically reward simplistic messages and extreme positions and this fuels populism www.ft.com/content/9251... via @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
Social platforms’ tendency to reward hostile content creates incentives that systematically reward simplistic messages and extreme positions and this fuels populism www.ft.com/content/9251... via @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Not surprising, but still very important to document.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
As someone on a county library board: we track checkouts, we track event attendance, hell we track door counts. Just visit your local library and show them some love
Hey, as a librarian I need to tell you:
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
Our funding depends on usage.
So go ahead and check out that book even if you don't think you'll finish it. No one will know. Check out that DVD even though you might not like it. Get ambitious in your quest for knowledge.
August 13, 2025 at 3:21 AM
As someone on a county library board: we track checkouts, we track event attendance, hell we track door counts. Just visit your local library and show them some love
Reposted by Claire Wardle
X is considering exporting its Community Notes bridging algorithm to the main feed. This...might not be a bad idea?
techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/x...
techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/x...
X to test using Community Notes to find the posts everyone likes | TechCrunch
X is piloting a new feature that will help to identify the platform's best posts. The system is similar to how Community Notes fact-checking works.
techcrunch.com
July 31, 2025 at 7:24 PM
X is considering exporting its Community Notes bridging algorithm to the main feed. This...might not be a bad idea?
techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/x...
techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/x...
I wrote somethingfor @fullfact.org about the ways in which the disappearing archive makes their work even harder but more important. I'm a trustee & continue to be amazed at their resiliency in an age of AI slop and attacks against those who investigate accuracy.
fullfact.org/technology/m...
fullfact.org/technology/m...
Mis(sing) information: The impact of disappearing archives and data sources – Full Fact
Discover how digital decay and disappearing archives weaken public scrutiny and fuel misinformation.
fullfact.org
July 25, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I wrote somethingfor @fullfact.org about the ways in which the disappearing archive makes their work even harder but more important. I'm a trustee & continue to be amazed at their resiliency in an age of AI slop and attacks against those who investigate accuracy.
fullfact.org/technology/m...
fullfact.org/technology/m...
Reposted by Claire Wardle
🚨 Now out in Nature Human Behaviour 🚨
We show that following the news on WhatsApp or Instagram (N = 3,395 🇫🇷🇩🇪) increases current affairs knowledge, participants’ ability to discern true from false news stories, awareness of true news stories, as well as trust in the news.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
We show that following the news on WhatsApp or Instagram (N = 3,395 🇫🇷🇩🇪) increases current affairs knowledge, participants’ ability to discern true from false news stories, awareness of true news stories, as well as trust in the news.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
June 27, 2025 at 9:58 AM
🚨 Now out in Nature Human Behaviour 🚨
We show that following the news on WhatsApp or Instagram (N = 3,395 🇫🇷🇩🇪) increases current affairs knowledge, participants’ ability to discern true from false news stories, awareness of true news stories, as well as trust in the news.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
We show that following the news on WhatsApp or Instagram (N = 3,395 🇫🇷🇩🇪) increases current affairs knowledge, participants’ ability to discern true from false news stories, awareness of true news stories, as well as trust in the news.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Community expertise is essential for monitoring potential information harms, but current “social listening” efforts often bring community input late in the process. It’s time to update our tracking approaches to foreground that shift. @cward1e.bsky.social and I offer one approach in a new paper.
Contemporary information systems face growing public distrust across a range of issues. This Perspective introduces a Community-Centered Exploration, Engagement, and Evaluation system to help detect and mitigate potential information harms.
Advocating for a community-centred model for responding to potential information harms - Nature Human Behaviour
Contemporary information systems face growing public distrust across a range of issues including public health, election integrity and climate. This Perspective introduces the Community-Centered Exploration, Engagement, and Evaluation system to help detect and mitigate potential information harms, integrating community participation and response at its core.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Community expertise is essential for monitoring potential information harms, but current “social listening” efforts often bring community input late in the process. It’s time to update our tracking approaches to foreground that shift. @cward1e.bsky.social and I offer one approach in a new paper.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Portugal is taking online disinformation and fake news seriously. As part of a broader attempt to encourage media literacy, it’s offering 15-18 year olds a free digital subscription to a range of respected newspapers and magazines as well as online upstarts that don’t spread lies. (Monocle)
May 14, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Portugal is taking online disinformation and fake news seriously. As part of a broader attempt to encourage media literacy, it’s offering 15-18 year olds a free digital subscription to a range of respected newspapers and magazines as well as online upstarts that don’t spread lies. (Monocle)
Reposted by Claire Wardle
“It was the first time in Arizona judicial history — and possibly nationwide — that AI has been used to create a deceased victim’s own impact statement.”
Family uses AI to create video for deadly Chandler road rage victim's own impact statement
Christopher Pelkey was killed in a road rage incident in Chandler in 2021, but last month, artificial intelligence brought him back to life during his killer’s sentencing hearing.
www.abc15.com
May 6, 2025 at 1:14 AM
“It was the first time in Arizona judicial history — and possibly nationwide — that AI has been used to create a deceased victim’s own impact statement.”
I’m about to give a talk at the Information Architecture conference in Philly in the beautiful Quaker meeting house. I love the bingo card (I know what Wawa is and I have a humanities BA)
May 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I’m about to give a talk at the Information Architecture conference in Philly in the beautiful Quaker meeting house. I love the bingo card (I know what Wawa is and I have a humanities BA)
Reposted by Claire Wardle
OK I wrote about the database
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
The little-known database at the heart of Kennedy’s vaccine conspiracy theory
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long claimed a secret database holds the truth about vaccines and autism. Now that he's in charge, his anti-vaccine supporters wonder — can he deliver?
www.nbcnews.com
April 30, 2025 at 7:18 PM
OK I wrote about the database
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
The very smart, very lovely @whitneyphillips.bsky.social has a new book out. As ever she's thinking about things in very different, but very important ways.
Today my new @mitpress.bsky.social book with Mark Brockway publishes! It explores the historical forces that gave rise to a shapeshifting, amalgamated figure of the liberal devil mapped onto a very broad conceptualization of “the left” and the Democratic Party mitpress.mit.edu/978026255227...
The Shadow Gospel
When people talk about the chaotic, increasingly precarious political landscape in the United States, they often blame polarization and the culture wars. In ...
mitpress.mit.edu
April 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The very smart, very lovely @whitneyphillips.bsky.social has a new book out. As ever she's thinking about things in very different, but very important ways.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
On today’s #DogShirtTV, @benjaminwittes.bsky.social & @hollybfletcher.bsky.social welcome Alicia Wanless @lageneralista.ca to discuss her new book, The Information Animal, a historical & contemporary survey of human information consumption. #InformationEcosystem
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29o...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29o...
The Information Animal with Alicia Wanless
YouTube video by #DogShirtTV
www.youtube.com
April 3, 2025 at 6:44 PM
On today’s #DogShirtTV, @benjaminwittes.bsky.social & @hollybfletcher.bsky.social welcome Alicia Wanless @lageneralista.ca to discuss her new book, The Information Animal, a historical & contemporary survey of human information consumption. #InformationEcosystem
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29o...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29o...
Reposted by Claire Wardle
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention. But if enough of us act, he says, we will create the demand signal that builders of technologies that privilege human agency need to validate their work.
To Build a Better Democracy, Start by Rethinking Your Relationship to the Internet | TechPolicy.Press
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention.
buff.ly
March 27, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention. But if enough of us act, he says, we will create the demand signal that builders of technologies that privilege human agency need to validate their work.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
More of this is needed. In health communication, a story narrative is so important to engage an audience... It's why big-on- emotion, empty-on-fact antivax efforts are so effective. This sobering story told by a physician highlights using the power of narrative for good and in a respectful way. 🛟
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and deadly complication of… | American Academy of Pediatrics
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and deadly complication of the measles virus in which the viral infection will reemerge years after the initial…
www.linkedin.com
March 21, 2025 at 5:01 AM
More of this is needed. In health communication, a story narrative is so important to engage an audience... It's why big-on- emotion, empty-on-fact antivax efforts are so effective. This sobering story told by a physician highlights using the power of narrative for good and in a respectful way. 🛟
Reposted by Claire Wardle
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Reposted by Claire Wardle
For Slate, I dived into what a viral real estate influencer in NYC may reveal our increasingly polluting news environment of, and how a profitable business model of amplifying polarizing political and cultural content is making it even worse.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
He Used to Make Videos About NYC Real Estate. Then He Became Radicalized by the Right.
Cash Jordan made a name for himself showing off New York apartments. Now his YouTube channel is all crime and conspiracy. What happened?
slate.com
March 14, 2025 at 5:17 PM
For Slate, I dived into what a viral real estate influencer in NYC may reveal our increasingly polluting news environment of, and how a profitable business model of amplifying polarizing political and cultural content is making it even worse.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...