Mastodawn

Brendan Nyhan Jul 27, 2023

Full tweet thread summarizing our findings here https://twitter.com/BrendanNyhan/status/1684631397443489793?s=20

Brendan Nyhan (@Brendan.J.Nyhan on 🧵🧵🧵) on Twitter

“New @nature: Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing https://t.co/SRLyGB50Fa (open access!) Our key findings: -Median FB user gets 50.4% of content from like-minded sources -But reducing exposure by ~1/3 for 3 months had no measurable effect on attitudes”

Twitter

Brendan Nyhan Jul 27, 2023

New at Nature: Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06297-w
Our key findings:
-Median Facebook user gets 50.4% of content from like-minded sources
-But reducing exposure by 1/3 for 3 months had no measurable effect on attitudes

Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing - Nature

A large-scale field intervention experiment on 23,377 US Facebook users during the 2020 presidential election shows that reducing exposure to content from like-minded social media sources has no measurable effect on political polarization or other political attitudes and beliefs.

Nature

Brendan Nyhan Jul 26, 2023

NEW: Bright Line Watch report featuring detailed public/expert survey data on Trump cases http://brightlinewatch.org/uncharted-territory-the-aftermath-of-presidential-indictments/

-Few Republicans think Trump broke law (unlike experts) but beliefs up since docs charges
-Rs split on punishment for specific docs charges
-Majorities of independents and Rs view charges as political
-About 2/3 of Rs say next GOP president should prosecute Biden & other Democrats in response
-Experts still rate Trump indictments as a benefit to democracy

Uncharted Territory: The Aftermath of Presidential Indictments | Bright Line Watch

Brendan Nyhan Jul 25, 2023

Carl T. Bergstrom Jul 25, 2023

An opioid expert from Texas A&M gave a guest lecture and mentioned that Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick’s policies were costing lives. Within hours, Patrick’s office got her suspended, formally censured, and nearly fired.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/25/texas-a-m-professor-opioids-dan-patrick/

Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture

The professor, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.

The Texas Tribune

Brendan Nyhan Jul 25, 2023

Koenfucius Jul 25, 2023

Prior exposure effects (~illusory truth effect, by which belief in statements increases through repetition) increase with age—the most for those in the oldest cohort (60+)—especially for false news, research by Ben Lyons suggests:
https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/older-americans-are-more-vulnerable-to-prior-exposure-effects-in-news-evaluation/

Older Americans are more vulnerable to prior exposure effects in news evaluation | HKS Misinformation Review

Older news users may be especially vulnerable to prior exposure effects, whereby news comes to be seen as more accurate over multiple viewings. I test this in re-analyses of three two-wave, nationally representative surveys in the United States (N = 8,730) in which respondents rated a series of mainstream, hyperpartisan, and false political headlines (139,082 observations).

Misinformation Review

Brendan Nyhan Jul 9, 2023

Beyond parody: "GOP states quit the program that fights voter fraud. Now they’re scrambling."
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/09/gop-states-program-voter-fraud-fight-00105252

GOP states quit the program that fights voter fraud. Now they’re scrambling.

The program, known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, was arguably the best nationwide tool states had to catch people trying to vote twice.

POLITICO

Brendan Nyhan Jul 8, 2023

Just a member of Congress casually saying that the left is trying to destroy our country and our family - another day in America https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/opinion/maga-america-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Opinion | The Rage and Joy of Donald Trump’s MAGA America

Come for the community. Stay for the vituperation.

The New York Times

Brendan Nyhan Jul 6, 2023

Good analyses of the social media injunction from @mmasnick.bsky.social https://www.techdirt.com/2023/07/06/the-good-the-bad-and-the-incredibly-ugly-in-the-court-ruling-regarding-government-contacts-with-social-media/ and @davidgreene.bsky.social https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/preliminary-injunction-limiting-government-communications-platforms-tackles

The Good, The Bad, And The Incredibly Ugly In The Court Ruling Regarding Government Contacts With Social Media

One has to think that Donald Trump judicial appointee Judge Terry Doughty deliberately waited until July 4th (when the courts are closed) to release his ruling on the requested preliminary injuncti…

Techdirt

Brendan Nyhan Jul 6, 2023

Alex Stamos Jul 6, 2023

The amount of misinformation on Mastodon around Threads and the EU is a great demonstration of how motivated reasoning is not a problem only for commercial social media platforms.

Brendan Nyhan Jul 6, 2023

The comment I gave on the social media case to a news organization yesterday (not quoted) - much more complex issue than the way I am seeing it treated in news coverage and online commentary. (For more, see this excellent WP editorial https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/05/injunction-biden-administration-social-media/.)

How far can government go to suppress speech on social media?

A judge's injunction shows how difficult the issue is to slice.

The Washington Post

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