Ben Lyons
@benlyons.bsky.social
Associate prof at University of Utah Dept of Comm. Associate ed @misinforeview.bsky.social
Pinned
new preprint (led by Andy King): osf.io/preprints/ps...
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Can moral reframing increase favorability towards vaccines?
DeMora et al. test the impact of moral reframing among Republicans with messaging that connected vaccines to patriotism. For the majority, it holds the potential to fail or backfire.
Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...
DeMora et al. test the impact of moral reframing among Republicans with messaging that connected vaccines to patriotism. For the majority, it holds the potential to fail or backfire.
Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...
February 13, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Can moral reframing increase favorability towards vaccines?
DeMora et al. test the impact of moral reframing among Republicans with messaging that connected vaccines to patriotism. For the majority, it holds the potential to fail or backfire.
Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...
DeMora et al. test the impact of moral reframing among Republicans with messaging that connected vaccines to patriotism. For the majority, it holds the potential to fail or backfire.
Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
When we look across journals, we see the same patterns repeated. The main exception is the Journal of Experimental Political Science, which has the highest rate of null-only reporting and lowest rate of rejection-only reporting. Kudos to them.
February 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM
When we look across journals, we see the same patterns repeated. The main exception is the Journal of Experimental Political Science, which has the highest rate of null-only reporting and lowest rate of rejection-only reporting. Kudos to them.
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Check out our new paper on the demographic foundations of trust in science in @poqjournal.bsky.social
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
February 10, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Check out our new paper on the demographic foundations of trust in science in @poqjournal.bsky.social
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
The tldr is that w/ all of the radical shifts in trust in the US over the last 50+ years, the demographic predictors of trust in science have been rock steady(!)
academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Reframing policy arguments with opponents' moral foundations did not change policy opinions across 5 issue areas:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The Poverty of Moral Foundation Messaging
Prominent scholars have argued that reframing political positions and issues in terms of moral foundations that appeal to conservatives or liberals can attract more individual-level support for tho...
www.tandfonline.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Reframing policy arguments with opponents' moral foundations did not change policy opinions across 5 issue areas:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
full text should be here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
February 4, 2026 at 6:13 PM
full text should be here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Now out in @nataging.nature.com: Exposure to low-credibility online health content is limited and is concentrated among older adults www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Linking discernment data with exposure from web and YouTube, comparing health vs politics exposure, etc. Lots of good stuff.
Linking discernment data with exposure from web and YouTube, comparing health vs politics exposure, etc. Lots of good stuff.
February 4, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Now out in @nataging.nature.com: Exposure to low-credibility online health content is limited and is concentrated among older adults www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Linking discernment data with exposure from web and YouTube, comparing health vs politics exposure, etc. Lots of good stuff.
Linking discernment data with exposure from web and YouTube, comparing health vs politics exposure, etc. Lots of good stuff.
Reposted by Ben Lyons
new preprint (led by Andy King): osf.io/preprints/ps...
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
January 23, 2026 at 5:44 PM
new preprint (led by Andy King): osf.io/preprints/ps...
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
new preprint (led by Andy King): osf.io/preprints/ps...
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
January 23, 2026 at 5:44 PM
new preprint (led by Andy King): osf.io/preprints/ps...
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Health info seeking is an extremely common measure in health comm, but we find limited overlap in self-report and trace evidence for HIS. Some evidence that measurement correspondence increases at high volume.
comments welcome!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
How does information on public opinion on environmental issues shape citizens' opinions? Out and open access with @mbarnfield.bsky.social, @florianstoeckel.bsky.social, @benlyons.bsky.social, @vittoriomerola.bsky.social, and @jasonreifler.bsky.social + others! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Information on public opinion has lasting effects on second-order climate beliefs, but minimal and ephemeral effects on first-order beliefs
Across western democracies, pro-climate beliefs are widespread. Yet, vocal minorities contest scientific consensus about global warming. Perhaps as a …
www.sciencedirect.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
How does information on public opinion on environmental issues shape citizens' opinions? Out and open access with @mbarnfield.bsky.social, @florianstoeckel.bsky.social, @benlyons.bsky.social, @vittoriomerola.bsky.social, and @jasonreifler.bsky.social + others! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
🚨 Now out in Psych Science 🚨
We report an adversarial collaboration (with @donandrewmoore.bsky.social) testing whether overconfidence is genuinely a trait
The paper was led by Jabin Binnendyk & Sophia Li (who is fantastic and on the job market!) Free copy here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/7JIYS...
We report an adversarial collaboration (with @donandrewmoore.bsky.social) testing whether overconfidence is genuinely a trait
The paper was led by Jabin Binnendyk & Sophia Li (who is fantastic and on the job market!) Free copy here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/7JIYS...
December 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM
🚨 Now out in Psych Science 🚨
We report an adversarial collaboration (with @donandrewmoore.bsky.social) testing whether overconfidence is genuinely a trait
The paper was led by Jabin Binnendyk & Sophia Li (who is fantastic and on the job market!) Free copy here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/7JIYS...
We report an adversarial collaboration (with @donandrewmoore.bsky.social) testing whether overconfidence is genuinely a trait
The paper was led by Jabin Binnendyk & Sophia Li (who is fantastic and on the job market!) Free copy here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/7JIYS...
happening this afternoon if you are so inclined: shorensteincenter.org/event/dubiou...
Dubious News and the Aging American: Understanding Discernment and Engagement Among Older Adults - The Shorenstein Center
shorensteincenter.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:48 PM
happening this afternoon if you are so inclined: shorensteincenter.org/event/dubiou...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Read the latest #APSR article, Curation Bubbles, exploring how information on social media is characterized by networked curation processes in which users select other users from whom to receive information.
Curation Bubbles -
Curation Bubbles By Jon Green, Duke University; Stefan Mccabe, George Washington University; Sarah Shugars, Rutgers University; Hanyu Chwe, Northeastern University; Luke Horgan, Northeastern…
buff.ly
December 3, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Read the latest #APSR article, Curation Bubbles, exploring how information on social media is characterized by networked curation processes in which users select other users from whom to receive information.
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Our paper on how cross-cutting group memberships predict warmer out-party affect and analyses suggesting this is why Latinos in the US have warmer feelings toward the out-party is now fully published in the most recent @polbehavior.bsky.social issue.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
December 1, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Our paper on how cross-cutting group memberships predict warmer out-party affect and analyses suggesting this is why Latinos in the US have warmer feelings toward the out-party is now fully published in the most recent @polbehavior.bsky.social issue.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
"Our certainty-weighted extension to the expectancy-value model clarifies why certain misbeliefs remain deeply influential, and how knowing more can move —but also polariz— public opinion."
How do people form beliefs about complex topics?
Happy to report our Bayesian model of the psychology of Bayesian updating is out in @ispp-pops.bsky.social! (w/ Gabriel Li & Krosnick)
If you gloss over the Greek, it's a new model for how to assess the impacts of information on summary judgments.
Happy to report our Bayesian model of the psychology of Bayesian updating is out in @ispp-pops.bsky.social! (w/ Gabriel Li & Krosnick)
If you gloss over the Greek, it's a new model for how to assess the impacts of information on summary judgments.
A certainty‐weighted, belief‐based model of political attitudes: A Bayesian analysis of American public attitudes toward the affordable care act
This study proposes a novel, certainty-weighted account of the process by which political beliefs shape political attitudes. Building upon expectancy-value frameworks, this paper introduces belief ce...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:19 AM
"Our certainty-weighted extension to the expectancy-value model clarifies why certain misbeliefs remain deeply influential, and how knowing more can move —but also polariz— public opinion."
"A Simple Future for Media Effects Research" by @tobiasdienlin.com @yesuncomm.bsky.social & @lennertcoenen.bsky.social ... will probably be assigning in media effects seminar next time I teach it osf.io/preprints/os...
November 19, 2025 at 10:45 PM
"A Simple Future for Media Effects Research" by @tobiasdienlin.com @yesuncomm.bsky.social & @lennertcoenen.bsky.social ... will probably be assigning in media effects seminar next time I teach it osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
"While high-quality content is posted more and receives more total engagement across platforms...a given author attracts higher levels of engagement when they post lower-quality content"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
Divergent patterns of engagement with partisan and low-quality news across seven social media platforms | PNAS
In recent years, social media has become increasingly fragmented, as platforms evolve
and new alternatives emerge. Yet most research studies a sing...
www.pnas.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
"While high-quality content is posted more and receives more total engagement across platforms...a given author attracts higher levels of engagement when they post lower-quality content"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
"pattern we find seems to be driven more by an underperformance of particularly popular high-quality outlets"
Reposted by Ben Lyons
cultural over economic coverage on cable news mobilizes viewers who would otherwise watch entertainment programming, so cable news emphasizes cultural politics much more than politicians trying to maximize vote share
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
November 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
cultural over economic coverage on cable news mobilizes viewers who would otherwise watch entertainment programming, so cable news emphasizes cultural politics much more than politicians trying to maximize vote share
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4x...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Why do older adults engage more with #misinformation online, even when they often identify falsehoods correctly in surveys?
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
November 4 | Dubious News and the Aging American: Understanding Discernment
stanford.io
October 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Why do older adults engage more with #misinformation online, even when they often identify falsehoods correctly in surveys?
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
In our next #FallSeminarSeries talk, @benlyons.bsky.social of the University of Utah will investigate that paradox.
RSVP to join us in person or online on Tuesday, Nov. 4!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Recruitment was tricky, but we got ~200 people in our pre-post experiment
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
October 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Recruitment was tricky, but we got ~200 people in our pre-post experiment
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
In the simple (and not causally identified) one group pre-post design, the intensive intervention seemed to reduce toxic polarization
Reposted by Ben Lyons
This preprint reports on a project with @j-rock.bsky.social.
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
October 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
This preprint reports on a project with @j-rock.bsky.social.
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
We merged a light touch intervention (typical of survey experiments) w/ an intensive intervention (more typical of practitioner efforts) for reducing toxic polarization to see if we could cheaply boost 🚀 the more intensive intervention
Reposted by Ben Lyons
@electoralstudies.bsky.social If you’re interested in academic studies of political polarisation we have loads of great papers at Electoral Studies. Check out this one by Joseph Phillips www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Affective polarization and habits of political participation
Affective polarization, or relative dislike of opposing partisans, is associated with several negative outcomes for democracy. However, a number of st…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:35 PM
@electoralstudies.bsky.social If you’re interested in academic studies of political polarisation we have loads of great papers at Electoral Studies. Check out this one by Joseph Phillips www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Ben Lyons
Really excited that our book just came out!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
NEW - 'The Power of the Crowd: How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information'
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
October 9, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Really excited that our book just came out!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
The Power of the Crowd:
How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information
Open access for the next 2 weeks!
Reposted by Ben Lyons
The 2024 @electionstudies.bsky.social has the share of "pure independents" in the US at its lowest level since 1952 (7%)
October 7, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The 2024 @electionstudies.bsky.social has the share of "pure independents" in the US at its lowest level since 1952 (7%)
our new Element on social corrections is now published and currently open access
NEW - 'The Power of the Crowd: How the Public Can Both Spoil and Improve Social Media as a Source of Information'
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
This Cambridge Element by F. Stöckel, S. Stöckli, B.A. Lyons, H. Kroker & @jasonreifler.bsky.social is free to read for 2 weeks.
cup.org/4344Tyl
#cambridgeelements #politics #Polisky
October 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
our new Element on social corrections is now published and currently open access
The Simulacra (PK Dick, 1964)
OPINION | Maybe Americans would finally vote for a female president if she were girl-next-door cute-but, you know, not an actual human woman, writes @michaelianblack.bsky.social.
My Fellow Americans, It’s Time to Elect an AI President
Why stop with casting an ‘AI actor’ in movies when we could take future tech all the way to the White House?
trib.al
October 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The Simulacra (PK Dick, 1964)