David Hobson
@dhobso.bsky.social
MSc Computer Science @mcgill.ca. Interested in NLP, narrative understanding, computational social science, NLP for social good, and AI for human development. He/him https://davidghobson1.github.io/
Part experiment, part interesting
Press coverage of why we're protesting on Friday
www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vi...
#vanpoli
#bcpoli
#canpoli
@charlieangus104.bsky.social
@rachelgilmore.bsky.social
www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vi...
#vanpoli
#bcpoli
#canpoli
@charlieangus104.bsky.social
@rachelgilmore.bsky.social
ICE links spark backlash against B.C. businesses
Two B.C.-based companies are under fire for business links with ICE, as outrage over the killings of two civilians in Minnesota mounts.
www.ctvnews.ca
January 29, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Part experiment, part interesting
Reposted by David Hobson
🚨 MEO is moving 🚨 Follow @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social for updates on our information ecosystem research! 🧵
January 26, 2026 at 8:07 PM
🚨 MEO is moving 🚨 Follow @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social for updates on our information ecosystem research! 🧵
Reposted by David Hobson
Let me tell you who my BEST texting buddy has been lately.
My 11-year-old niece, Morgan.
Complete sentences ✅
Always asks how I am doing! ✅
Has interesting content to share✅
Knows when the chat as naturally concluded✅
Better than most adults and for sure all men.
My 11-year-old niece, Morgan.
Complete sentences ✅
Always asks how I am doing! ✅
Has interesting content to share✅
Knows when the chat as naturally concluded✅
Better than most adults and for sure all men.
January 18, 2026 at 12:08 AM
Let me tell you who my BEST texting buddy has been lately.
My 11-year-old niece, Morgan.
Complete sentences ✅
Always asks how I am doing! ✅
Has interesting content to share✅
Knows when the chat as naturally concluded✅
Better than most adults and for sure all men.
My 11-year-old niece, Morgan.
Complete sentences ✅
Always asks how I am doing! ✅
Has interesting content to share✅
Knows when the chat as naturally concluded✅
Better than most adults and for sure all men.
Reposted by David Hobson
Very happy to announce that our paper 'Just Another Hour on TikTok: ID sampling to obtain a complete slice of TikTok' was just published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media!
Check it out here: journalqd.org/article/view...
Check it out here: journalqd.org/article/view...
Just Another Hour on TikTok: ID sampling to obtain a complete slice of TikTok
| Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media
journalqd.org
January 12, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Very happy to announce that our paper 'Just Another Hour on TikTok: ID sampling to obtain a complete slice of TikTok' was just published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media!
Check it out here: journalqd.org/article/view...
Check it out here: journalqd.org/article/view...
January 11, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by David Hobson
Protests in Iran continue.
January 8, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Protests in Iran continue.
"A risk is that, if Trump sticks to his course, he will push the world back to the way it was in the age of empires a century or more ago - a world where big powers, with spheres of influence, sought to impose their will, and where mighty authoritarian nationalists led their peoples to disaster."
Bowen: Trump risks pushing world back to age of empires
Donald Trump wants and needs quick victories. Taking Maduro is the decisive win he has craved, writes Jeremy Bowen.
www.bbc.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:50 PM
"A risk is that, if Trump sticks to his course, he will push the world back to the way it was in the age of empires a century or more ago - a world where big powers, with spheres of influence, sought to impose their will, and where mighty authoritarian nationalists led their peoples to disaster."
The precedent this sets is terrifying www.cnn.com/2026/01/03/a...
Trump’s snatching of Maduro shows a new level of unrestrained global power | CNN
Expressions of unbridled power don’t come blunter than abducting a sitting president from his capital in the dead of night.
www.cnn.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
The precedent this sets is terrifying www.cnn.com/2026/01/03/a...
Reposted by David Hobson
Two weeks ago I spent the whole day at the Museum of the Moving Image to listen to New Yorkers. This is what Liam shared with me.
December 28, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Two weeks ago I spent the whole day at the Museum of the Moving Image to listen to New Yorkers. This is what Liam shared with me.
Reposted by David Hobson
This summer, David Suzuki received attention for his iPolitics interview titled: “‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost.” This shift in tone led us to ask: Are Canadians Climate Doomers? @chrispyross.bsky.social 🧵
December 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM
This summer, David Suzuki received attention for his iPolitics interview titled: “‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost.” This shift in tone led us to ask: Are Canadians Climate Doomers? @chrispyross.bsky.social 🧵
Reposted by David Hobson
The #CharlieKirk shooting has sparked widespread debate about political violence. So, we surveyed Canadians to evaluate their perceptions of the event and political violence, comparing our results to U.S. data when available. Here's what we found 🧵
#cdnpoli #uspoli
#cdnpoli #uspoli
November 21, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The #CharlieKirk shooting has sparked widespread debate about political violence. So, we surveyed Canadians to evaluate their perceptions of the event and political violence, comparing our results to U.S. data when available. Here's what we found 🧵
#cdnpoli #uspoli
#cdnpoli #uspoli
Reposted by David Hobson
Après une année marquée par l'ascension de l'IA générative et l'impact croissant des influenceurs sur les chambres d’écho, nos chercheurs sonnent l'alerte : sans règles claires ni transparence des plateformes, la manipulation pourrait bientôt dépasser notre capacité de détection. 🧵
November 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Après une année marquée par l'ascension de l'IA générative et l'impact croissant des influenceurs sur les chambres d’écho, nos chercheurs sonnent l'alerte : sans règles claires ni transparence des plateformes, la manipulation pourrait bientôt dépasser notre capacité de détection. 🧵
Studying how public figures are portrayed in the news is hard: pre-defined taxonomies are limiting, and character summaries don’t scale well.
Our new paper introduces a taxonomy-free labeling approach using LLMs that can reveal nuanced character portrayals: aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Our new paper introduces a taxonomy-free labeling approach using LLMs that can reveal nuanced character portrayals: aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Evaluating Taxonomy Free Character Role Labeling (TF-CRL) in News Stories using Large Language Models
David G Hobson, Derek Ruths, Andrew Piper. Proceedings of the 2025 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing. 2025.
aclanthology.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Studying how public figures are portrayed in the news is hard: pre-defined taxonomies are limiting, and character summaries don’t scale well.
Our new paper introduces a taxonomy-free labeling approach using LLMs that can reveal nuanced character portrayals: aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Our new paper introduces a taxonomy-free labeling approach using LLMs that can reveal nuanced character portrayals: aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Reposted by David Hobson
🚨Our 2025 Federal Election report is here and it should serve as a warning for Canada to act now to protect future elections.
Canada’s 2025 federal election upheld its integrity, but exposed a digital ecosystem under mounting strain.
Read on to learn about our key findings 🧵
Canada’s 2025 federal election upheld its integrity, but exposed a digital ecosystem under mounting strain.
Read on to learn about our key findings 🧵
October 9, 2025 at 8:25 PM
🚨Our 2025 Federal Election report is here and it should serve as a warning for Canada to act now to protect future elections.
Canada’s 2025 federal election upheld its integrity, but exposed a digital ecosystem under mounting strain.
Read on to learn about our key findings 🧵
Canada’s 2025 federal election upheld its integrity, but exposed a digital ecosystem under mounting strain.
Read on to learn about our key findings 🧵
“Generally, fascists and extremists are trying to undermine institutions of truth, facts and education because that is what’s standing in their way – an informed citizenry” - Sander van der Linden
September 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“Generally, fascists and extremists are trying to undermine institutions of truth, facts and education because that is what’s standing in their way – an informed citizenry” - Sander van der Linden
If it doesn't fit your narrative or version of reality, get rid of it. bbc.com/news/article...
Pentagon fires intelligence chief after Iran attack assessment
The firing comes just weeks after a White House rebuke of a leaked intelligence report assessing the impact of US strikes on Iran.
bbc.com
August 23, 2025 at 4:37 PM
If it doesn't fit your narrative or version of reality, get rid of it. bbc.com/news/article...
“All human evil comes from a single cause, man's inability to sit still in a room” (Blaise Pascal: Pensées)
June 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
“All human evil comes from a single cause, man's inability to sit still in a room” (Blaise Pascal: Pensées)
“Gilgamesh, why are you roaming? Until the end comes, enjoy your life, spend it in happiness, not despair. Savor your food, make each day a delight, bathe and anoint yourself, wear bright clothes that are sparkling clean, let music and dancing fill your house… That is the best way for a man to live”
June 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
“Gilgamesh, why are you roaming? Until the end comes, enjoy your life, spend it in happiness, not despair. Savor your food, make each day a delight, bathe and anoint yourself, wear bright clothes that are sparkling clean, let music and dancing fill your house… That is the best way for a man to live”
Reposted by David Hobson
Reposted by David Hobson
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 6 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
We open this final weekly update with 6 key reflections from our research team on the 2025 Canadian federal election. These are preliminary impressions—our full post-election report will offer deeper insight. 🧵
We open this final weekly update with 6 key reflections from our research team on the 2025 Canadian federal election. These are preliminary impressions—our full post-election report will offer deeper insight. 🧵
May 2, 2025 at 3:30 PM
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 6 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
We open this final weekly update with 6 key reflections from our research team on the 2025 Canadian federal election. These are preliminary impressions—our full post-election report will offer deeper insight. 🧵
We open this final weekly update with 6 key reflections from our research team on the 2025 Canadian federal election. These are preliminary impressions—our full post-election report will offer deeper insight. 🧵
Reposted by David Hobson
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 4 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
This week’s update looks at how social media is shaping our political perceptions during the 2025 federal election. Spoiler: what you see depends a lot on where you're scrolling. 🧵
This week’s update looks at how social media is shaping our political perceptions during the 2025 federal election. Spoiler: what you see depends a lot on where you're scrolling. 🧵
April 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 4 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
This week’s update looks at how social media is shaping our political perceptions during the 2025 federal election. Spoiler: what you see depends a lot on where you're scrolling. 🧵
This week’s update looks at how social media is shaping our political perceptions during the 2025 federal election. Spoiler: what you see depends a lot on where you're scrolling. 🧵
This article raises a great point more broadly. Politics has become so much about persona and perception, as opposed to policy and ability www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
James Moore: Leaders’ debates have come to mean less and less
Do leaders’ debates matter? Will these coming debates matter? Yes, but no, writes James Moore.
www.ctvnews.ca
April 12, 2025 at 12:05 AM
This article raises a great point more broadly. Politics has become so much about persona and perception, as opposed to policy and ability www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
Reposted by David Hobson
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 3 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
As Canada approaches its federal election, we're witnessing a surge in generative AI (GenAI) content that poses serious challenges to the integrity of our information ecosystem. 🧵⬇️ #GenAI #Deepfakes #CanadaElection2025
As Canada approaches its federal election, we're witnessing a surge in generative AI (GenAI) content that poses serious challenges to the integrity of our information ecosystem. 🧵⬇️ #GenAI #Deepfakes #CanadaElection2025
April 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
WEEKLY UPDATE: WEEK 3 OF CANADA’S 45TH FEDERAL ELECTION🚨
As Canada approaches its federal election, we're witnessing a surge in generative AI (GenAI) content that poses serious challenges to the integrity of our information ecosystem. 🧵⬇️ #GenAI #Deepfakes #CanadaElection2025
As Canada approaches its federal election, we're witnessing a surge in generative AI (GenAI) content that poses serious challenges to the integrity of our information ecosystem. 🧵⬇️ #GenAI #Deepfakes #CanadaElection2025
Apparently during the Great Male Renunciation in the 1700s, when the suit became the established male dress code, a British psychologist said men "abandoned their claim to be considered beautiful" and "henceforth aimed at being only useful". Yet another thing I'd want to change about Western culture
April 6, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Apparently during the Great Male Renunciation in the 1700s, when the suit became the established male dress code, a British psychologist said men "abandoned their claim to be considered beautiful" and "henceforth aimed at being only useful". Yet another thing I'd want to change about Western culture
I’m increasingly feeling that insurance pressures and arguments are going to be the best way to push people towards climate action. For lack of any other strategy working, this may get through to people.
April 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I’m increasingly feeling that insurance pressures and arguments are going to be the best way to push people towards climate action. For lack of any other strategy working, this may get through to people.