David Lazer
LightNews LightNews
David Lazer
@davidlazer.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 280 posts

computational social scientist

Videos

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

David Lazer @davidlazer.bsky.social · 10h
I would add that there is _a lot_ of heterogeneity in which women are less likely to use Twitter. Thus, for example, we see a 75% decline among 50+ year old Democratic women; & no decline among 50+ Republican women...
www.chip50.org/social-media...

Reposted by David G. Rand, David Lazer, Brady T. West , and 6 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 11h
Needed - larger samples, more realism about (the lack of) heterogeneous treatment effects:
-"less than a third of proposed hypotheses were supported... the largest predictor of positive exp. results was sample size"
-"moderation hypotheses were rarely significant"
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
An Audit of Social Science Survey Experiments
Abstract. Survey experiments have become a popular methodology for causal inference across the social sciences. We study the efficacy of survey experiment
academic.oup.com

Reposted by David Lazer, Brendan Nyhan, Juan Cole , and 3 more

markjacob.bsky.social
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 1d
When a news outlet puts a reckless, undocumented claim by the Trump regime in the main headline and puts medical experts’ pushback in the smaller type, it’s making a choice. And not a good one.
NBC: “FDA claims COVID shots killed 10 children and vows new vaccine rules”

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Anna O. Law, Lisa W. Fazio , and 13 more

martylederman.bsky.social
Marty Lederman @martylederman.bsky.social · 2d
How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?

"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Northwestern University Nears Deal to Resolve Its Conflict With the White House
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Stephan Lewandowsky, David Lazer , and 3 more

frapierri.bsky.social
Francesco Pierri @frapierri.bsky.social · 3d
Happy to announce the 2nd edition of our Summer School in Computational Social Science that will take place in the beautiful Villa del Grumello on Lake Como between June 22-26, 2026!

*** DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: February 15, 2026 (firm deadline) ***

More details here:
css2.lakecomoschool.org

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Kim L. Scheppele, Lisa W. Fazio , and 25 more

killgrove.bsky.social
Kristina Killgrove @killgrove.bsky.social · 4d
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.

Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com

Reposted by David Lazer

iasliu.bsky.social
The Institute for Analytical Sociology @iasliu.bsky.social · 4d
The 8th European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2026) will take place on 11-15 August 2026 in Norrköping, Sweden, hosted by @iasliu.bsky.social

⌛ Deadline for workshop and session proposals: 1 December 2025

More information: liu.se/en/event/eus...
The 8th European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2026)
The 8th European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN 2026) will take place on 11–15 August 2026 in Norrköping, Sweden, hosted by the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS), Linköping University. The conference brings together scholars and ...
liu.se

Reposted by David Lazer, Larry W. Hunter

brendan o’connor @brenocon.bsky.social · 4d
Here at UMass Amherst CICS, we’re searching for TT faculty in NLP – see the link from
www.cics.umass.edu/about/employ...

I’m happy to answer questions of course, too!
Faculty Positions
Open tenure-track and teaching faculty positions in computer science and informatics at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences
www.cics.umass.edu

Reposted by David Lazer, Johannes Breuer

manlius.bsky.social
Manlio De Domenico @manlius.bsky.social · 5d
Working in theory/data-driven social science/methods for computational social science?

The second Italian Conference on Computational Social Science is coming: follow @cs2italy.bsky.social for updates and visit our website cs2italy.org for details.

🚨 Abstract submission deadline: January 15, 2026

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

katestarbird.bsky.social
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 6d
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 · 7d
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 · 7d
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 · 7d
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 · 7d
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 · 7d
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 · 8d
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 · 8d
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 · 8d
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 · 9d
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 · 9d
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 · 12d
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 · 12d
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 · 12d
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 · 13d
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 · 13d
The rule of law is a precious gift. And it is slipping away.
earlymodjustice.bsky.social Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 13d
“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 · 13d
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 · 13d
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 · 13d
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 · 13d
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 · 13d
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