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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 8h

Nice weather and good vibes today in Seattle. Saw a group of protesters outside KOMO (the Sinclair-owned local TV station here in Seattle) today. And another group on a 99 overpass with a sign that said “Stand Up. Speak Out.”

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 8h

No. I don’t. Not even a tiny bit.

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 9h

The pandemic? No. The policies to slow the counting… seemingly designed to create uncertainty that could be leveraged to contest results? Quite possibly.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 11h

Yup. Those policies contributed to the rumors that became the foundations of the big lie. Not surprising (given what we know now), but the paper offers empirical evidence for that argument.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 14h

Recently published work from colleagues Morgan Wack (postdoc at University of Zurich) & Joey Schafer (UW PhD candidate) showing how state election policies that delayed vote counting fueled rumoring and conspiracy theorizing around the 2020 election: blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

The 2020 US election shows how state election policies can fuel conspiracy theories about voting | USAPP

States that allowed pre-Election Day processing saw a reduction of over a third in expected misinformation compared to states with restrictive rules.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 2d

Is it true? Is it false? Does he know he’s lying? Or is he high on his own supply of bullshit? None of it matters. It’s bullshit. All that matters is that it (claims that blue cities are dangerous & lawless) is useful, and he seems to think it is. So then, useful for what? Seems like we’ll find out.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 2d

Trump and the right wing bullshit machine working in high gear to motivate and justify a (potentially violent) federal response to unrest that is largely a figment of their imagination and (where it is real) a reaction to federal agitation. A vicious, intentional, and intensifying cycle.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 2d

Trump: Portland is burning to the ground—insurrectionists all over the place. The politicians are afraid for their lives. That’s the only reason they say there’s nothing happening.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 2d

Concise summary of the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” with universities: “In other words, this is the most sweeping pile of unconstitutional conditions that any American constitutional lawyer has ever seen in the wild.”

Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 3d

I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.

Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 3d

She said “there is a ‘dictator’s playbook’”, comparing the Trump administration’s attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug boats to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal crackdown on drug-dealing in the Philippines.

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 3d

The Nobel prize winner Maria Ressa has said Americans are like “deer in the headlights” amid the collapse of US institutions and free speech under the Trump administration, particularly after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

Americans are ‘deer in the headlights’ in face of Trump assault on free speech, Maria Ressa tells Jon Stewart

Nobel prize winner says US institutions have collapsed much quicker than expected under the Trump administration

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 3d

The Nobel prize winner Maria Ressa has said Americans are like “deer in the headlights” amid the collapse of US institutions and free speech under the Trump administration, particularly after Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

Americans are ‘deer in the headlights’ in face of Trump assault on free speech, Maria Ressa tells Jon Stewart

Nobel prize winner says US institutions have collapsed much quicker than expected under the Trump administration

www.theguardian.com

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

It’s textbook bullshit. It doesn’t matter (to him) if it’s true or false, or if he believes it or not, just that it’s useful. And in this case, it’s incredibly useful for helping to justify and mobilize his planned violence against — and censorship of — his perceived political enemies.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Because institutions don't like to sticks their necks out? That's been my experience. But IMO, for this response, at worst, it's a toe in the water of resistance. I would let them know the water is warm there.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

That’s one of the persistent challenges… but I think it’s meant to run atop a federated protocol, like BlueSky does, where the user can choose its feeds and other services.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Great to see researchers building next generation tools for curating/augmenting social media feeds. There remain sticky challenges for incentivizing and sustaining use of tools like these, but design (eg around attention dynamics) has played a role in where we are right now, and can help get us out.

Manoel Horta Ribeiro @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social · 21d

Social media feeds today are optimized for engagement, often leading to misalignment between users' intentions and technology use.

In a new paper, we introduce Bonsai, a tool to create feeds based on stated preferences, rather than predicted engagement.

arxiv.org/abs/2509.10776

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Manoel Horta Ribeiro @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social · 21d

Social media feeds today are optimized for engagement, often leading to misalignment between users' intentions and technology use.

In a new paper, we introduce Bonsai, a tool to create feeds based on stated preferences, rather than predicted engagement.

arxiv.org/abs/2509.10776

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

There's value in that kind of feedback. As individuals we tend to defend things that we've already said. In this case, it's a group of admin, comms, & lawyers intensely parsing every word, so the psychology may be different... but collective sensemaking suggests some of the same dynamics are in play

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Colleagues have pointed out that the Dartmouth response is strategically ambiguous. If I were faculty or alumni, I would provide feedback that: 1) you interpret this to mean that the unviersity is refusing to sign a corrupt contract; and 2) you are proud of the university for taking that stance.

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Dartmouth’s response to the Trump admin’s corrupt contract, short and sweet: “You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.”

Daniel P. Moriarity @dpmoriarity.bsky.social · 3d

Dartmouth response to the Trump Administration Compact

president.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/10...

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 3d

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

Defend Democracy @defenddemocracy.bsky.social · 4d

President Macron: “Europeans, let's wake up!

We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”

defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Univ comms have a knack for a certain kind of ambiguity. I think there’s value in positive feedback the University will hear from those interpreting this statement as refusal to go along w/ the compact. But it could be setting the stage for signing a different compact as the “draft” language hints.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Indeed. I hope you all can make it mean what we hope it means.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 3d

Dartmouth’s response to the Trump admin’s corrupt contract, short and sweet: “You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.”

Daniel P. Moriarity @dpmoriarity.bsky.social · 3d

Dartmouth response to the Trump Administration Compact

president.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/10...

Response to the ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education’ | Office of the President

president.dartmouth.edu

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 4d

* and professional propagandists

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

AAUP @aaup.org · 4d

UC’s Academic Council calls on the Office of the President & the UC Board of Regents to unequivocally reject governmental demands that compromise institutional autonomy and #academicfreedom.

This is the way.

#DefendHigherEd

Brian Soucek @brsoucek.bsky.social · 4d

Strong statement today from UC's Academic Senate:

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Reposted by Kate Starbird

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 4d

One thing to remember: Trump may have criminal immunity for official acts but Hegseth doesn’t….

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 4d

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that intelligence shows anything “without a doubt,” but even if the intelligence was water-tight, this strike was still murder. No law permits the deliberate, premeditated killing of civilians.

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