Aleksandra Urman
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aurman21.bsky.social
Aleksandra Urman
@aurman21.bsky.social
1.3K followers 500 following 810 posts

Senior Research Associate, Social Computing Group, U of Zurich. Computational social/communication scientist

Videos
Political science 24%
Communication & Media Studies 24%
Posts Replies Media Videos

aurman21.bsky.social
Aleksandra Urman @aurman21.bsky.social · 18h
I spent around 30 mins yesterday evening trying to figure this out and couldn't. So far I don't see a solution that doesn't require a Russian/Belarus/Turkmenistan phone number (which seem to have become tricky to acquire from abroad, though haven't checked the prepaid SIM situation in detail yet)

Reposted by Brian A. Nosek, Brendan Nyhan, James P. Collins , and 24 more

ryancbriggs.net
Ryan Briggs @ryancbriggs.net · 22h
I have a new paper. We look at ~all stats articles in political science post-2010 & show that 94% have abstracts that claim to reject a null. Only 2% present only null results. This is hard to explain unless the research process has a filter that only lets rejections through.
It must be very hard to publish null results Publication practices in the social sciences act as a filter that favors statistically significant results over null findings. While the problem of selection on significance (SoS) is well-known in theory, it has been difficult to measure its scope empirically, and it has been challenging to determine how selection varies across contexts. In this article, we use large language models to extract granular and validated data on about 100,000 articles published in over 150 political science journals from 2010 to 2024. We show that fewer than 2% of articles that rely on statistical methods report null-only findings in their abstracts, while over 90% of papers highlight significant results. To put these findings in perspective, we develop and calibrate a simple model of publication bias. Across a range of plausible assumptions, we find that statistically significant results are estimated to be one to two orders of magnitude more likely to enter the published record than null results. Leveraging metadata extracted from individual articles, we show that the pattern of strong SoS holds across subfields, journals, methods, and time periods. However, a few factors such as pre-registration and randomized experiments correlate with greater acceptance of null results. We conclude by discussing implications for the field and the potential of our new dataset for investigating other questions about political science.

Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Richard M. Carpiano, Aleksandra Urman

404media.co
404 Media @404media.co · 1d
Please... do not do any of this...

@evystadium.bsky.social has more. full story by @jasonkoebler.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/rfk-jrs-nutr...

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

hackingcommsci.bsky.social
hackingcommsci @hackingcommsci.bsky.social · 2d
Good news! 🎉
The registration issue has been resolved — everything should now work smoothly.
🔗 Direct link: www.icahdq.org/event/Hackat...

🗓 Registration is open until April 5, 2026
Looking forward to seeing you at the ICA Hackathon 2026 @SU School for Data Science and Computational Thinking! 🚀💡
International Communication Association
www.icahdq.org

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social
Manoel Horta Ribeiro @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social · 7d
Deepfake pornography isn’t going away just because we are passing laws and taking down a couple of big websites.

Our new pre-print, led by @aedcv.bsky.social suggests that the sharing of this material continued to prosper even after platform and policy shocks.

arxiv.org/abs/2602.02754

Reposted by Nicholas A. Christakis, Joshua A. Tucker, Dave O’Brien , and 9 more

karstendonnay.bsky.social
Karsten Donnay @karstendonnay.bsky.social · 11d
🚨Job alert 🚨

I have an opening for a postdoc in my team at @ipz.bsky.social in the area of digital democracy starting Sep 1, 2026.

If you are working on the impact of the digital transformation on politics, please apply by 🗓️ Mar 1, 2026.

📤 Please share widely!

www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns...
Offene Stellen / Open Positions
www.ipz.uzh.ch

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Lisa W. Fazio, Jonathan A. Eisen , and 44 more

katjathieme.bsky.social
Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they) @katjathieme.bsky.social · 11d
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

Reposted by Caroline T. Schroeder, Aleksandra Urman, Stephen A. Meserve , and 1 more

josephcox.bsky.social
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 13d
New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Robert C. Richards, Melanie C. Green , and 2 more

404media.co
404 Media @404media.co · 13d
SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.

The full user guide here:
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co

Reposted by David Lazer, Étienne Ollion, Aleksandra Urman

dgarcia.eu
David Garcia @dgarcia.eu · 13d
We are looking for a doctoral researcher to work with us on a supercool project in collaboration with linguists. The deadline is Feb 15th, contact me if you have any questions!

stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/9...
Doctoral Position in Social Data Science
Deadline: 15.02.2026
stellen.uni-konstanz.de

Reposted by Muki Haklay, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers , and 4 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 15d
1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded.

Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
carlbergstrom.com Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 15d
“The idea is to put ChatGPT front and center inside software that scientists use to write up their work in much the same way that chatbots are now embedded into popular programming editors.

It’s vibe coding, but for science.”
OpenAI’s latest product lets you vibe code science
Prism is a ChatGPT-powered text editor that automates much of the work involved in writing scientific papers.
www.technologyreview.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

bildoperationen.bsky.social
Roland Meyer @bildoperationen.bsky.social · 18d
Generative AI is a machine built to destroy knowledge: «The latest model of ChatGPT has begun to cite Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers, raising concerns about misinformation on the platform.»
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Aleksandra Urman

manuelpuppis.ch
Manuel Puppis @manuelpuppis.ch · 20d
This could not be more timely, given the upcoming referendum on PSM funding in Switzerland.

I'm very happy that our article on the (non-)crowding-out of private media by SRG's online news offer was just published in the International Journal on Media Management (open access).
www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

404media.co
404 Media @404media.co · 22d
"My local community is being systematically liquidated in what I can only describe as a targeted intellectual genocide."
HAM Radio Operators in Belarus Arrested, Face the Death Penalty
"My local community is being systematically liquidated in what I can only describe as a targeted intellectual genocide."
www.404media.co

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman, Salla-Maaria Laaksonen

mantzarlis.com
Alexios Mantzarlis @mantzarlis.com · 22d
New on @indicator.media: I found 4,431 new ads for AI nudifiers on Meta ran since my last audit in December.

I'm losing my mind here.
Meta is *still* running thousands of ads for AI nudifiers
But hey, at least some of them appear to be scams that can’t be used to undress
indicator.media

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

techcrunch.com
TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 22d
The feature is designed to stop problematic content from being delivered to users under the age of 18.
In an effort to protect young users, ChatGPT will now predict how old you are | TechCrunch
The feature is designed to stop problematic content from being delivered to users under the age of 18.
techcrunch.com

Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Nandita Sharma, Mel Bartley , and 5 more

chadbourn.bsky.social
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 22d
Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum.
No Kings is projected on to a mountainside above the town’s lights

aurman21.bsky.social
Aleksandra Urman @aurman21.bsky.social · 24d
By far not the worst thing happening in the world these days. And yet highlights the levels of impunity.
esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 24d
Nick Fuentes, Andrew Tate, Sneako, and Clavicular were all in a night club in Miami singing and dancing to the Kanye song "Heil Hitler" which they requested be played.

Reposted by Mark Rice, Aleksandra Urman

esqueer.net
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 24d
Nick Fuentes, Andrew Tate, Sneako, and Clavicular were all in a night club in Miami singing and dancing to the Kanye song "Heil Hitler" which they requested be played.

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · 26d
Kids are being identified as adults—and vice versa—on Roblox, while age-verified accounts are already being sold online.
Roblox’s AI-Powered Age Verification Is a Complete Mess
Kids are being identified as adults—and vice versa—on Roblox, while age-verified accounts are already being sold online.
wrd.cm

Reposted by Sebastian Stier, Gesis Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Aleksandra Urman

johannesbreuer.com
Johannes Breuer @johannesbreuer.com · 28d
New @gesis.org data set publication: "Social Media Accounts of German Candidates from the German Federal Election 2025"
doi.org/10.4232/1.14...
GESIS-Suche
doi.org

Reposted by Brian A. Nosek, Will Jennings, Alexander Wuttke , and 5 more

tsrauf.bsky.social
Tamkinat Rauf @tsrauf.bsky.social · 28d
This is a belated post about our paper in @poqjournal.bsky.social.

We analyzed 100 survey experiments fielded by TESS (tessexperiments.org), using only information from the proposals to identify intended hypotheses.

Here are some of the things we learned:
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
doi.org

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

icahdq.bsky.social
International Communication Association @icahdq.bsky.social · 28d
🎉 Today's the day! Notifications for #ICA26 are now being sent out via email! Please be patient & be sure to check your spam folder too. You can also check your results by logging into the ScholarOne website and clicking the Messages tab. buff.ly/Lm6odET

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

jasonkoebler.bsky.social
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 29d
New: Police have released info about millions of surveillance targets nationwide from thousands of different police departments because of a public records redaction error in Flock data. Reveals active police investigations, border patrol & ICE targets, lots more:

www.404media.co/police-unmas...
Police Unmask Millions of Surveillance Targets Because of Flock Redaction Error
Flock is going after a website called HaveIBeenFlocked.com that has collated public records files released by police.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

alessandronai.bsky.social
Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · Jan 8
🖋️ Algorithmic biases

Aleksandra Urman (@aurman21.bsky.social) & Mykola Makhortykh

“Algorithmic biases are particularly concerning [...] due to their implications for unequal access to politically relevant information and unfair outcomes for different providers of political information”
www.elgaronline.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

gildasahebi.bsky.social
Gilda Sahebi @gildasahebi.bsky.social · Jan 3
Na da kann sich Donald Trump mit Wladimir Putin zusammen tun. Der will nämlich die Ukraine selbst regieren.
Eilmeldung Tagesschau: Trump: USA wollen Venezuela vorerst selbst regieren.

Reposted by Aleksandra Urman

Reposted by Axel Bruns, Peter Holmes, Tom van der Meer , and 8 more

adamjschwarz.bsky.social
Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · Jan 3
Maduro is a brutal and oppressive dictator of Venezuela.

Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law.

Both of those facts are simultaneously true.

Reposted by Joshua S. Weitz, Steve Peers, Andreas Ortmann , and 3 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jan 3
1. Headlines everywhere today read "Grok apologizes."

This is bullshit. A chatbot is not something that can apologize.

Pretending otherwise is simple laundering these companies' bullshit about what AI is, while diffusing blame away from the human beings that developed and released this system.
LA Times: Elon Musk company bot apologizes Newsweek: Elon Musk's Grok Apologizes International Business Times: Grok Issues Apologies The Hill: Musk's AI chatbot Grok apologizes