David Lazer
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David Lazer
@davidlazer.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 270 posts

computational social scientist

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David Lazer is a distinguished professor of political science and computer and information science at Northeastern University, as well as the co-director of the NULab of Texts, Maps, and Networks. .. more

Political science 23%
Communication & Media Studies 18%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer, Brendan Nyhan , and 7 more

katestarbird.bsky.social
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 1d
The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Jan W. Mueller, David Lazer , and 14 more

lorak.bsky.social
Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 2d
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer, Amy Bruckman , and 2 more

katestarbird.bsky.social
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 2d
Social media could work differently. We teach digital literacy, but ppl often can’t apply those lessons w/in systems that obscure where info comes from & how it gets to them. What might social media look like if users had better signals of information provenance? www.rawstory.com/maga-foreign...
Internet erupts as MAGA influencers exposed for being based in other countries
A large number of MAGA social media influencers were exposed over the weekend as being being based in other countries.Podcaster Matt Binder posted screenshots showing that Charlie’s Voice Rising, a po...
www.rawstory.com

Reposted by David Lazer

rebekahtromble.bsky.social
Rebekah Tromble @rebekahtromble.bsky.social · 2d
It’s definitely worth watching these two videos together

m.youtube.com/watch?v=wiwk...

Reposted by David Lazer

daviddarmofal.bsky.social
David Darmofal @daviddarmofal.bsky.social · 2d
An article of interest to political scientists: In Ostbelgien, Belgium, 1500 citizens are randomly invited by lottery, with about 30 of those expressing interest chosen "to convene as a group to make recommendations to lawmakers on issues such as health, education and social services."
Democracy Is in Trouble. This Region Is Turning to Its People.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by David Lazer

jugander.bsky.social
Johan Ugander @jugander.bsky.social · 3d
Powerful read. If you're a US resident age 18-35, consider registering for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP, formerly BeTheMatch): www.nmdp.org
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com

Reposted by David Lazer

jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
Jeff Horwitz @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social · 3d
Nick Clegg was skeptical that the bad news could all be explained away by declaring that users were conditioned to be negative toward Meta, and an unnamed employee confirmed that this wasn’t plausible. An employee compared the decision to bury the findings Big Tobacco-reminiscent.

Reposted by David Lazer, Lesley A. Hall

reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 3d
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege reut.rs/48eKxnO
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege
Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a class action by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.
reut.rs

Reposted by Will Jennings, David Darmofal

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 3d
But: who is using X has changed dramatically. E.g. it has shifted systematically away from Democrats & women, and towards Republicans & men. (From www.chip50.org/social-media...)

Reposted by David Lazer, Nathan P. Kalmoe

poqjournal.bsky.social
Public Opinion Quarterly - POQ @poqjournal.bsky.social · 4d
Why do some union members vote Republican?

In POQ, Macdonald analyzes how workplace political discussion affects voting behavior among union members. More frequent workplace political discussion is associated with union members voting Democrat.

Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...

Reposted by David Lazer

sociologicalsci.bsky.social
Sociological Science @sociologicalsci.bsky.social · 4d
NEW: Mariano Sana, "Public Support for the Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants during the 2016 Presidential Campaign." sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...
sociologicalscience.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Simon Hix, Ben H. Ansell , and 45 more

joshmccrain.bsky.social
Josh McCrain @joshmccrain.bsky.social · 7d
new paper by Sean Westwood:

With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research

Reposted by David Lazer

leannecpowner.bsky.social
Leanne C. Powner @leannecpowner.bsky.social · 7d
Users of my Empirical Research and Writing: the 2nd edition is available for WINTER 2026 adoption! NEW running example of ways to make multiple research designs from the same question! Expanded coverage of conceptualizing! TWO NEW APPENDICES on quant methods! Student-facing website w quizzes & vocab

Reposted by David Lazer, Nathan P. Kalmoe

neillewisjr.bsky.social
Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 8d
The Change from 2020 tab is particularly interesting, given the narratives about what happened.
New York Times Change from 2020 electoral map.

Reposted by David Lazer

smotus.bsky.social
🦃 Seth Masket 🦃 @smotus.bsky.social · 8d
Well I’m glad he apologized for… continuing to e-mail Epstein. Because that’s what people had a problem with.

Reposted by David Lazer, David R. Miller

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 8d
The rule of law is a precious gift. And it is slipping away.
earlymodjustice.bsky.social Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 8d
“One thing that stuck out to me was [Bondi’s] insistence that we served at the pleasure of the president and that we were enforcing the president’s priorities. We swore an oath to uphold the Constitution.”
#nokings
60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department (Gift Article)
Sixty former staffers describe an environment of suspicion and intimidation within the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
www.nytimes.com

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 8d
This is so cool! Must be a pain to get all of those tiny consent forms tho...
nachristakis.bsky.social Nicholas A. Christakis @nachristakis.bsky.social · 8d
Researchers have tagged more than 400 monarch butterflies and are following their journeys on a cellphone app (and you can too). They are using a tiny solar-powered radio tag that weighs just 60 milligrams and sells for $200 (monarchs weigh 500 to 600 milligrams).
We Can Now Track Individual Monarch Butterflies. It’s a Revelation.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by David Lazer, Zen Faulkes

nachristakis.bsky.social
Nicholas A. Christakis @nachristakis.bsky.social · 8d
Researchers have tagged more than 400 monarch butterflies and are following their journeys on a cellphone app (and you can too). They are using a tiny solar-powered radio tag that weighs just 60 milligrams and sells for $200 (monarchs weigh 500 to 600 milligrams).
We Can Now Track Individual Monarch Butterflies. It’s a Revelation.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Nicholas A. Christakis, David Lazer , and 1 more

jeremymberg.bsky.social
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 8d
Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans.

> 74 thousand trial participants affected

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

1/4
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com

Reposted by David Lazer

albertocairo.com
Alberto Cairo @albertocairo.com · 8d
The Computation+Journalism Symposium is less than a month away cplusj2025.com See the full agenda cplusj2025.com/agenda/ and register here events.miami.edu/event/cplusj... ($150 for professionals, $30 for students) #dataJournalism #dataViz #dataVisualization
Screenshot of the website, showing a hand interacting with a data visualization on a touchscreen

Reposted by David Lazer, Jessica Vitak

natematias.bsky.social
J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 8d
Can public involvement in AI evaluation improve the science? Or does it compromise quality, speed, cost?

In @pnas.org, Megan Price & I summarize challenges of AI evaluation, review strengths/weaknesses, & suggest how participatory methods can improve the science of AI
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
How public involvement can improve the science of AI | PNAS
As AI systems from decision-making algorithms to generative AI are deployed more widely, computer scientists and social scientists alike are being ...
www.pnas.org

Reposted by David Lazer

aapor.bsky.social
American Association for Public Opinion Research @aapor.bsky.social · 8d
"Do, or do not. There is no try." - 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙨: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠, 1980

LAST CALL! 📢 We are seeking Papers, Posters, Panels, Roundtables, and Idea Groups for inclusion in next year's conference.

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟲𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

Learn more and submit here: buff.ly/Em6Objl

Reposted by David Lazer, Hugo Mercier, Paul E. Smaldino , and 2 more

bjjbarrett.bsky.social
Brendan Barrett @bjjbarrett.bsky.social · 8d
Postdoc position in individual-level incentives, social
learning, and payoff-biased imitation shape group-level accuracy in complex prediction and decision-making tasks in Konstanz

files.newsletter2go.com/l3slzozn/s_i...
files.newsletter2go.com

Reposted by David Lazer, Neil Shephard, Aaron Sojourner

justinwolfers.bsky.social
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 10d
Portable mortgages are like your cell phone plan: when you upgrade the phone, the plan comes with you. Let your mortgage follow you to the next house. That unfreezes movers—especially downsizers—and unlocks inventory.

Lemme explain why I love this idea:
"Portable" Mortgages Could Unlock the Housing Market, Says Economist Justin Wolfers
The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN, November 13 2025 What happens when homeowners can take their old low mortgage rate with them to their next house? This conversation tackles the rising buzz around…
www.youtube.com

Reposted by David Lazer

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 10d
Yes, I understand that this is journalism.

The key here is that these are not public figures, and there is no compelling public interest in releasing the specific text from e.g. the possible domestic violence victim presented in one of the screenshots.

Reposted by David Lazer, Stine Lomborg

techpolicypress.bsky.social
Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 10d
Both the fluency of large language models and the prominent placement of their outputs create an environment where false or misleading information can appear reliable, writes Hannah Bailey. She proposes solutions to escape the ‘trust trap.’
AI 'Trustwashing' Changes How Consumers Judge Credibility | TechPolicy.Press
Generative AI is changing how people decide what to believe, writes Hannah Bailey.
buff.ly

Reposted by David Lazer

justinhendrix.bsky.social
Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 10d
This week, I discussed whether the AI investment boom is an unsustainable bubble and how a potential crash could reshape policy and public sentiment with Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research's Ryan Cummings, AI Now Institute's Sarah West, and Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant.
What Are the Implications if the AI Boom Turns to Bust? | TechPolicy.Press
A conversation with Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research's Ryan Cummings, AI Now Institute's Sarah West, and Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant.
www.techpolicy.press

Reposted by David Lazer, Will Jennings, Timothy D. McBride

emptywheel.bsky.social
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 11d
Wild graphic on front page of WSJ.
A graphic from the front page of the WSJ, titled, "The Epstein Email Cache: 2,300 Messages, Many of Which Mention Trump." Using blue does it compares how many of the email threads released by Oversight are about various people. 1,670 are about Trump. 207 mention Michael Wolff. 155 Kathryn Ruemmler, 117 Larry Summers, and 512 Clinton.

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, David Lazer, Neil Shephard , and 1 more

mayasen.bsky.social
Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 11d
As always, nice reporting from the Crimson here

While Summers has broken no laws, and he’s free to correspond with whom he chooses, there’s a lot here to support the idea that he should not be taken as an authoritative spokesman on so many important issues

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Faculty Disturbed by Revelations of Summers’ ‘Cozy Friendship’ With Epstein | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard professors responded with outrage to a tranche of emails showing a close yearslong correspondence between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, reop...
www.thecrimson.com

Reposted by David Lazer

lsemethodology.bsky.social
LSE Methodology @lsemethodology.bsky.social · 11d
Day Two of our Computational
Social Science Meets
Qualitative Research workshop has begun and we’re in the iconic Shaw Library 📚⚡️

@lsedatascience.bsky.social
A pull up banner next to a plant A doorway with a poster and people stood inside a room People sat around a table in a grand room