Scholar

Emily K. Vraga

H-index: 52
Communication & Media Studies 38%
Political science 21%
ekvraga.bsky.social
Experiencing Kathy Cramer's fantastic book "Talking about Politics" firsthand in the local Caribou, with a group of older gentlemen discussing current events passionately and loudly as I answer emails.
mitchprinstein.bsky.social
Happy to report that APA wrote this letter, gathered a coalition across science, and will now pay for ads for it to be disseminated in Science and Chronicle of Higher Ed to spread the word!! unitedsciencealliance.org
hannescools.bsky.social
BBC just released damning research on AI assistants' news accuracy.

Results: 51% of AI responses had significant issues. 19% introduced errors when citing BBC. 13% misquoted or made up BBC content entirely. 🤐🤐
www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/... via @ezraeeman.bsky.social

Reposted by: Emily K. Vraga

apsrjournal.bsky.social
Just published on APSR First View: "Curation Bubbles" by Jon Green, Stefan McCabe, Sarah Shugars, Hanyu Chwe, Luke Horgan, Shuyang Cao, David Lazer. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/curation-bubbles/EBEBDE88633A86DFC821FE86B7708BB3
nielsmede.bsky.social
Now publicly available: the #TISP dataset. It contains 71,922 survey responses on public perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries. Published in @natureportfolio.bsky.social’s #ScientificData: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 📊
timnitgebru.bsky.social
Remember this? A problem we didn't have in automated speech recognition tools until OpenAI decided they were going to do away with alignment (not the kind that so-called "AI safety" people do)? And they're giving us "artificial general intelligence" any day now right?

apnews.com/article/ai-a...
Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
Whisper is a popular transcription tool powered by artificial intelligence, but it has a major flaw. It makes things up that were never said.
apnews.com

Reposted by: Emily K. Vraga

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Important question: when and which political parties lie?

This new publication is pretty clear in its findings: radical-right populism is the strongest determinant for the propensity to spread misinformation.

Based on an analysis of 32 million tweets in 26 countries.

doi.org/10.1177/1940...
When Do Parties Lie? Misinformation and Radical-Right Populism Across 26 Countries - Petter Törnberg, Juliana Chueri, 2025
The spread of misinformation has emerged as a global concern. Academic attention has recently shifted to emphasize the role of political elites as drivers of mi...
doi.org
brianstelter.bsky.social
"We're going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes, similar to X, starting in the U.S," Mark Zuckerberg announces

He asserts that "the fact-checkers have just been too politically biased, and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S."
profsanderlinden.bsky.social
In this new article in American Psychologist we respond to critics in detail and clarify two key points for the field;

(1) The prevalence of misinformation in society is substantial when properly defined.

(2) Misinformation causally impacts attitudes and behaviors.

psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
ekvraga.bsky.social
"Every health department staff member, former staff member, public health official and vaccine expert contacted by NPR repeated the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, effective, and essential for preventing illness, hospitalizations, and deaths."

www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Louisiana forbids public health workers from promoting COVID, flu and mpox shots
An NPR investigation found Louisiana health officials told staff to stop promoting vaccines for COVID, flu and mpox, holding flu shot events or otherwise encouraging the public to get those vaccines.
www.npr.org
lkfazio.bsky.social
Out now - National Academies consensus report on Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science 🧪

It was a privilege to serve as one of the 15 committee members from a wide range of scientific disciplines who put this report together. Quick 🧵1/

www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/und...
Cover of the report - it's in a blue/purple color scheme and shows an abstract illustration of a molecule and the title of the report "Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science Consensus Study Report"

Reposted by: Emily K. Vraga

us.theconversation.com
#Publichealth data shows #vaccines have saved 154 million+ lives worldwide over the past 50 yrs. A biochemist breaks down how claims by RFK Jr. about vaccine safety & effectiveness are inaccurate: https://buff.ly/3ZE7Kvn
(Mark R. O'Brian, University at Buffalo) 🩺🧪#episky #measles #mumps #polio
Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health
Many claims about the dangers of vaccines come from misrepresenting scientific research papers.
buff.ly
ekvraga.bsky.social
Awesome work! Just flagged it to add to my grad class reading list for the spring.
neillewisjr.bsky.social
Private company buys a public good. A few years go by and the company decides the public good is no longer worthwhile; the public suffers as a result.

This story arc is way too common in modern society.
deadline.com/2024/12/max-...
sgonzalezbailon.bsky.social
New publication (4+ years in the making): “The Diffusion and Reach of (Mis)Information on Facebook”. shorturl.at/VE2fU
We analyze the propagation of 1B+ posts across content moderation regimes, with @davidlazer.bsky.social @jatucker.bsky.social @taliastroud.bsky.social @annenbergpenn.bsky.social
ekvraga.bsky.social
Some good news for Minnesotans: we're already at the earliest sunsets of the year, and the sun will start setting later in the next week. As the article says, "there’s more light at the end of the wintry tunnel each day"

www.mprnews.org/story/2024/1...
Later sunsets begin this week in Minnesota
The earliest sunsets occur this week in Minnesota.
www.mprnews.org
davidkarol.bsky.social
Voters are mostly partisans who rationalize, swing voters are often ignorant and voters project their views onto their candidates. But this has always been true! The media was better once, but there was no golden age. Most of their grandparents did not read Walter Lippmann's column.
jamellebouie.net
we're cooked
ekvraga.bsky.social
I'm really enjoying how well this group is combining great work in public safety with light-hearted fun.
cpsc.gov
That's public health
chipemups.bsky.social
Checked my smoke detector a few weeks back because of this account. These people are a menace (to my fatalistic refusal to engage in routine safety checks)!

Reposted by: Emily K. Vraga

cpsc.gov
That's public health
chipemups.bsky.social
Checked my smoke detector a few weeks back because of this account. These people are a menace (to my fatalistic refusal to engage in routine safety checks)!

Reposted by: Emily K. Vraga

washingtonpost.com
Cervical cancer deaths among women younger than 25 have plummeted in recent years, the likely result of vaccinating adolescents against human papillomavirus, or HPV, high-risk strains of which cause the cancer, researchers said.
Cervical cancer deaths drop among younger women; study credits HPV vaccine
The HPV vaccine has led to a significant drop in cervical cancer deaths among younger women, with a 62 percent decline in mortality over the last decade.
wapo.st
ekvraga.bsky.social
Only if the results are ones we want to be true!

References

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