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Catie Bailard

@catiebailard.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.4K following 324 posts

Political scientist, associate professor of political communication in SMPA @ GW, co-director of Institute for Data, Democracy, & Politcs, SF sports fan. Research interests mostly focus on the intersection of ICT and (threats to) democracy.

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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Exactly! The added context is that this is where and when our neighborhood’s 4th of July parade takes place. Mostly families, many with small children. Local elementary schools march in the parade, dance troupes and soccer teams, the high school marching band, and local businesses. This is vile.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
We all know there was a computational propaganda campaign to make it uncool to use BlueSky, right? ~1 yr ago, it was growing in popularity, then a bunch of BlueSky-curious people abruptly started scoffing at idea of being on the site. But when pressed why, couldn’t quite articulate any good reason.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Well, this is odd. NPR almost immediately retracted this story after publishing it. (www.npr.org/2026/06/30/n...) Thoughts and theories on this encouraged!
npr.org
Editor's note: NPR retracts story
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Wow! Zuck has had another totally original, totally cutting-edge idea (checks notes)… gambling? Brilliant stuff! Definitely not one of the world’s oldest vices.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Whenever I see this sort of thing, I think how lazy these comedians are. Punching down at the marginalized & whining about liberals” is lazy. These people don’t want to make the effort or admit the world has left them behind. So they blame society. Talented comedians don’t need these gimmicks.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Absolutely spot on & great read. The author also rightly observes that “they’re acting like the 2024 election represented the end of politics, and therefore the end of any need…to modulate their behavior.” This is an essential point, but it needs more attention. 1/3 publiccomment.blog/p/hyperfascism
publiccomment.blog
Hyperfascism
Some notes toward a theory of Trumpism
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
@davekarpf.bsky.social, just putting this here for no particular reason...
News story about bedbugs infesting the government agency in charge of dealing with bedbugs — after DOGE slashed their budget and laid off 400 employees.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
One thing I am guessing that they did not consider when they decided to primary out these Republicans (Massie, too) is now they have even less incentive to toe the line. And, oh yeah, they’ve still got 7 months left.
nbcnews.com
Senate advances resolution to end Iran war as GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy flips to support it
The senator from Louisiana, who lost his primary over the weekend, voted in support of the war powers resolution for the first time. It advanced 50-47, with a final passage vote yet to come.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I thought this was satire. You'd think I've learned by now.
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Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Unearthed reports reveal that RFK Jr. fired every full-time CDC cruise ship sanitation inspector ahead of the Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak. www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-cru...
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Walking on campus yesterday, overheard a student say to her friend, "My microbiology professor... yeah, he's one of those professors who is known for ChatGPTing everything, so I had low expectations to begin with..." Not sure if I find this more encouraging or depressing.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Members of the House/Sen donate to each others' campaigns. So Pelosi/Jeffries/Schumer--there's a reason they have a stranglehold on their party, & how they've defanged most of their co-partisans. More evidence why $ in politics (or $ in politics in politics) drives officials further from the people.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Computer/Data sciences | computational social sciences | Social sciences
Tina Fey, Timothée Chalamet, and Kylie Jenner courtside at a basketball game.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I think about this passage a lot lately (Pantazi et al 2021) 🧵: "...that every citizen bears in themselves a degree of gullibility & a degree of vigilance may help depolarize the political discourse around political fake news and misinformation. This discourse often involves Manichaean views of...
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I’m confident the would-be shooter is real, but the scolding I’m seeing of people ?ing it reminds me of the problem many Dems & pol scientists share. Not everything’s a conspiracy theory—actual conspiracies do exist. The compulsion to appear so rigidly analytical can create some major blind spots.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
i know the situation in kansas right now is dangerous and terrifying. that said, i'm hoping to speak to someone who's had their license invalidated. i will do absolutely everything to protect your anonymity and maintain your safety. i can be reached securely via signal at marisakabas.04
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Popularist: The glass is both half full, and half empty… until a public opinion poll tells me otherwise.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Even more than the idea of an oligarchy-assisted state surveillance system at our front doors disturbs me, how tone deaf Bezos is to think that pushing this sort of thing in this political moment is a good idea is mind melting. Also, using lost dogs to pimp it is just bargain basement manipulation.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I keep thinking about the fact that Minneapolis consistently ranks highly in quality of life metrics, like how healthy and happy a city is. Not just because it shows how ridiculous the admin‘s rhetoric is, but more for what it says about the power of social cohesion. The same factors that enable…
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.
media.tenor.com
a man wearing a hat and a trench coat is looking at the camera
Alt: Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker in The Sting.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Name a film containing a memorable elevator scene.
Elevator scene from end of the movie Sliding Doors.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Even 2024 me seems so quaint now…
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 06/07/2024
2016: Gee, the prestige media seems ill-equipped to do its job in the current political climate. Hope they learn from this. 2023: So, the media’s perfectly aware of what it’s doing… they’ve just chosen their profits. 2024: Oooh, the media is willing and complicit in the destruction of US democracy.
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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 10/11/2025
Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
And in the end, it was the frog that saved us all.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Interesting timing for this to be popping up on people’s feeds…
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E. Rosalie @erosalie.infoepi.com · 14/09/2025
Looked at my data collections for state-backed activity. If the report were a picture:
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
This is the take. I am sad for his family and for the tragic loss of life to violence. But that does not prevent us from being clear-eyed about who he was & the effect he had, especially on the vulnerable populations who were his primary targets. You can hold both in your heart and mind.
thenation.com
Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning
The white Christian nationalist provocateur wasn’t a promoter of civil discourse. He preached hate, bigotry, and division
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gwiddp.bsky.social @gwiddp.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Curious to know about where IDDP is headed? In a Q&A with GW Today, @catiebailard.bsky.social and @ethanvporter.bsky.social spoke about their vision for the Institute. Read it at gwtoday.gwu.edu/q-new-co-directors-gws-institute-data-democracy-and-politics.
gwtoday.gwu.edu
Q & A with the New Co-Directors of GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics | GW Today | The George Washington University
As co-directors, Bailard and Porter aim to strengthen IDDP’s role in supporting informed public dialogue.
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gwiddp.bsky.social @gwiddp.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Our first post! And what better way to mark this occasion than by announcing the start of a new chapter at IDDP. Last month @catiebailard.bsky.social and @ethanvporter.bsky.social stepped in as the Institute's Co-Director's. Read their full statement at iddp.gwu.edu/about.
iddp.gwu.edu
About | Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University
IDDP’s mission is to help the public, journalists, and policymakers understand digital media’s influence on public dialogue and opinion.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Purely speculative theory: He’s the one the police were called about after an incident with a woman, he fled when the police arrived, the police gave chase, and they ended up hitting him from behind in a tactical maneuver. Only thing that makes that non-sensical statement make sense.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Two Spidermen meme pointing at each other, “People insisting they’ll NEVER vote for Newsom… in 2028,” and “People insisting you HAVE to vote for Newsom… in 2028.”
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Yes, Newsom’s a power-seeking vessel who’s willing to do or become whatever’s politically expedient. (And, someone who’d throw one marginalized community under the bus would do the same to another.) But, I don’t get too caught up in the voting for him debate. (Btw, always vote against fascists.. 1/2
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Ahem… Democratic leadership. Turns out you’re not entirely beholden to what the polls say—you can also lead public opinion. In this case, by providing the needed context and facts about a matter that people don’t know much about. Wild stuff, I know!!
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
‪Very happy to share that, as of this week, @ethanvporter.bsky.social and I have taken the reins as co-directors of GW's Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics. You can read the full statement here, ‬https://iddp.gwu.edu/about.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Slightly diminish a band: Passable Middle-aged Cannibals.
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CrazyMyra @outonthemoors.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Taps the sign
Car of "10 Lessons for Stronger Movements"
It shows a drawing of an otter holding a placard that says "Imperfect Allies Aren't Enemies"
The other 9 lessons are listed as:
"1. CRITIQUE TO BUILD, NOT TEAR DOWN
2. ORGANIZE, DON'T JUST ARGUE
3. MOVEMENTS WIN, NOT INDIVIDUALS
4. PERFECTION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS
5. EGO KILLS MOVEMENTS
6. PLAN FOR THE LONG GAME
7. MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE
8. POWER DOESN'T CARE ABOUT FEELINGS
9. DIVISION IS A WEAPON USED BY ELITES, DON'T PLAY ALONG"
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✨ A Goddess has NO KING ✨ @the-goddess-speaks.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
I never want to go back to the system we had before, though I’ll happily cherrypick the still-useful parts. 🍒 Imagining the what-next is how we stay hopeful and inspired during these dark days. But before we build the future, it’s high time we reckon with the past. For real this time. Listen…
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
@davekarpf.bsky.social, I didn’t know there was a song!?!
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Yes, Trump’s freaking out because he knows what is in the files is damning. But, he’s also freaking out because he is well aware of how deeply this issue matters to a not-insignificant portion of the MAGA base.
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Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
long term we don't want Hunter Biden filling the leadership vacuum but it is a substantial vacuum
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Now THIS has legs.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/06/2025
MERKLEY: How do you feel about being responsible for hundreds of thousands of kids dying because of your sudden interruption in these key programs? VOUGHT: I reject the assertion MERKLEY: I find your response both ignorant & callous. Few Americans have had a more devastating & disastrous impact
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
The fires may have uniquely prepared LA for this moment. Coming together to help each other, a strengthened sense of community, building connections that expand & strengthen networks. None of this bolds well for Miller/Trump in trying to make LA a test-case for their attempted fascist takeover.
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Data Bear 🏳️‍🌈 @dataandpolitics.net · 03/06/2025
(I would appreciate it if you shared this because it feels weird to write something like this and then have no one read it)
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
LA’s very sad attempt to get in on the action?
LA Times article with headline “Much Like LA, the American-born pope transcends borders.”
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Missed call from the CDC, voicemail said they were conducting a nat’l poll about childhood immunization and asked if we have any children in the house between 6mo and 17yr. Couldn’t have imagined even a few months ago that a simple message from the CDC would feel so menacing.
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Catie Bailard @catiebailard.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
I see a merch opportunity here, "I told you so" or "We saw this coming" T-shirts and mugs, with proceeds going to opposition organizers.
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