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Alberto Acerbi

@acerbialberto.com

2.8K followers 1.1K following 720 posts

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento (Italy): cognitive anthropology / cultural evolution / digital media / cultural analytics More info in the pinned post.

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Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · Mar 23

Tecnopanico: www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815...

Cultural evolution in the digital age: bit.ly/2McstmR

Individual-based models of cultural evolution. A step-by-step guide using R: bit.ly/3MQBjT4 (free: acerbialberto.com/IBM-cultevo)

Substack (italiano): bit.ly/3lDERMq

web: acerbialberto.com

A. ACERBI, Technopanic. New Media, Reasonable Caution, Unfounded Fear

The spread of fake news, the power of conspiracy theories, the influence of algorithms on our choices and behaviour, the impact of social media on youth’s mental health, and other similar phenomena al...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 1d

“It is precisely because social media has democratised the public sphere that it has contributed to trends liberals (including myself) are so worried about.” 👏
www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/is-social-...

Is Social Media Destroying Democracy—Or Giving It To Us Good And Hard?

It’s easier to blame the algorithm than the bewildered herd.

www.conspicuouscognition.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 4d

I link della settimana (#111)
open.substack.com/pub/albertoa...

I link della settimana (#111)

(i) Francis Fukuyama, che non è l’ultimo arrivato, dice che il colpevole per l’ondata populista degli ultimi anni è…tadà…Internet! Non sorprendentemente non sono convinto. Del resto c’aveva preso male...

open.substack.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

Society adapts to technology.

Link to Financial Times article: www.ft.com/content/a072...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

Bottom line: Incel stories stick not because they reflect reality, but because they resonate with evolved cognitive biases.
Understanding this is crucial for journalists, policymakers & educators to avoid counterproductive responses.

Link again: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

But exaggerated and sensationalist portrayals of incels could backfire by:
- Reinforcing incels’ persecution narratives and their own tribal psychology
- Fueling moral panic
- Distracting from other important issues (e.g., mental health, loneliness, suicidality)

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

Why it matters: cultural virality ≠ empirical accuracy.
The Netflix drama Adolescence was so powerful that UK policymakers discussed showing it in every school, despite it being misleading fiction.
That’s cultural attraction in action.

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

Incel narratives press many of these “buttons” at once:
We attend to sex & status
We feel disgust about moral violations
We're alert to coalitional threats
We have a negativity bias
We’re morbidly curious about dangerous men
We’re protective of women
...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

Our paper argues the answer lies in cultural attraction theory.

Certain stories “stick” because they align with our evolved cognitive biases.

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

The gap between incels’ relatively small community/limited violence and their huge cultural visibility raises two questions:
1. Why are incels so interesting to us?
2. What might be the consequences of elevating such a marginal group to such cultural prominence?

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

New preprint!

You may have seen Netflix’s Adolescence. It quickly became their most-watched mini-series ever, even prompting roundtable discussions between writers & the Prime Minister.

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Why Incels Capture Attention: A Cultural Attraction Theory Perspective
AUTHORS
William Costello and Alberto Acerbi

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 6d

Here the bsky of the new project I’ve just started working on with @chiara-bonacchi.bsky.social, @zachhorne.bsky.social, and @johnmartindale.bsky.social at the University of Edinburgh! We will investigate, from a cultural evolution perspective, the spread of heritage-based hostility on social media.

Weaponised Pasts @weaponisedpasts.bsky.social · 6d

Welcome to Weaponised Pasts! The website for our investigation into heritage-based hostility is now live at weaponisedpasts.org. Find out more about the project there.

Weaponised Pasts

weaponisedpasts.org

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 7d

Alle 18:30 sarò live qui per un dialogo con il gruppo di lettura di "Tecnopanico" promosso dall'AIB (Associazione Italiana Biblioteche). Tutti benvenuti!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4a2...

BIBLIOLETTURA Alberto Acerbi Tecnopanico.

YouTube video by AIB Associazione Italiana Biblioteche

www.youtube.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

...and results in a narrow policy script of platform crackdowns + literacy “vaccines.” What’s sidelined are deeper issues, such as trust, accountability, and democratic dialogue.

Here the link again!
osf.io/preprints/so...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

We believe this narrative is both self-absolving (blame shifted to platforms, hostile states, gullible citizens) and fatalistic (disinfo is everywhere, dangerous, and inevitable)...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

Epidemic (virus and poison) and battle (weapon) metaphors, as well as misconceptions (it is a social media problem, "spreads faster than truth", etc.) abound.

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

We analysed 238 European Commission speeches with topic modelling, text community detection and qualitative thematic analysis to understand how disinformation has been framed in the official EU discourse.

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

New preprint!

"Weapon and Poison: Framing Disinformation in European Commission Speeches, 2016–2024"

osf.io/preprints/so...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 8d

Updated website with the new Hugo Blox, deploying directly in GitHub, without all the "old" R + blogdown infrastructure. Still need to migrate most of the content, but I did everything in a couple of hours!
acerbialberto.com

The highly-customizable Hugo Academic theme powered by Hugo Blox Builder. Easily create your personal academic website.

acerbialberto.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 11d

I link della settimana (#110)
open.substack.com/pub/albertoa...

I link della settimana (#110)

(i) Gli LLM ci sembrano intelligenti anche perché siamo noi ad esserlo.

open.substack.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 16d

Self-promotion (and cultural evolution specific...): acerbialberto.com/IBM-cultevo/

Individual-based models of cultural evolution

Individual-based models of cultural evolution

acerbialberto.com

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 18d

I link della settimana (#109)
open.substack.com/pub/albertoa...

I link della settimana (#109)

(i) Siamo d’accordo che l’idea di “combattere la disinformazione” era sbagliata?

open.substack.com

Reposted by Alberto Acerbi

Chiara Bonacchi @chiara-bonacchi.bsky.social · 19d

This week, it was exciting to host @acerbialberto.com at @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social to launch our @leverhulme.ac.uk-funded *Weaponised Pasts* research project, through three days of teamwork, followed by a kick-off event at @edfuturesinstitute.bsky.social

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 25d

I link della settimana (#108)
open.substack.com/pub/albertoa...

I link della settimana (#108)

(i) Politici & co.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Alberto Acerbi

Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · 26d

The count down starts for #CESRabat! Follow @ces2026.bsky.social and join us May 11-13 next year for an exciting meeting in Rabat, Morocco.

Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 26d

Not really, probably about past work, maybe with some more on this recent preprint with @akfischer.bsky.social osf.io/preprints/ps...