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Climate Social Science Network

@cssn.org
9.4K followers 352 following 283 posts

A global network of social scientists focused on political conflicts around climate change, headquartered at Brown University. cssn.org

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Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 5h
It’s simple: You shall not knowingly pollute your neighbors’ land, water, or air—nor shall you lie & deceive about doing so—but if you do, you must pay for the damages you have caused. @coveringclimatenow.org @thehill.com @mason4c.bsky.social @billmckibben.bsky.social
thehill.com
Big Oil can’t hide behind the Clean Air Act
The Clean Air Act was designed to shield Americans from harmful pollution. It was not designed to shield fossil fuel companies from legal accountability or to eviscerate states’ authority to protec…
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 4h
“[C]orporate interests… have sought to influence universities for at least half a century, using big donations to shape research agendas. That weakened schools’ defenses against outside influences… paving the way for Trump’s attack.” Reporting by Kate Yoder @grist.org grist.org/accountabili...
grist.org
How elite universities got tangled up in politics and petroleum
Half a century of corporate influence set the stage for Trump's attacks on higher education, a new study argues.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 25/09/2026
Corporate capture of universities is happening and has been happening. How do we use collective organizing to protect academic integrity? See CSSN scholar’s publication out today: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
How decades of corporate capture enabled today's assault on universities in the United States
Universities in the US have never been free of corporate, military, or political influence. But over the past fifty years, corporate libertarian donor…
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 24/09/2026
US Senate Democrats publish report on Trump’s deals with fossil fuel billionaires: “appointed positions, deregulation, and favorable policies in exchange for campaign cash.” See report here: www.epw.senate.gov/public/index...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 24/09/2026
UN General Assembly dialogue featuring @aronczyk.bsky.social, and attended by Director @timmonsroberts.bsky.social. Remarkable work moving information integrity into the mainstream.
Melissa Aronczyk speaks to the UNGA.
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Joshua Basseches @joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I just finished @leahstokes.bsky.social's new book, The Carbon Wave. I'd planned to read it slowly over weeks, one short chapter each day as a break from other tasks-- to unwind. Ended up reading the entire thing in 24 hours, simply because I couldn't put it down. (1/2)
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 23/09/2026
Happening now! Rutger's Climate Week's "The Science and Politics of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Current Challenges in Informing Policy," featuring CSSN scholars @daniellefalzon.bsky.social @kdepryck.bsky.social and @pammcelwee.bsky.social.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Worth another look, and updating please! www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1...
npr.org
An activist group is spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America
An NPR/Floodlight investigation found that a longtime Republican insider is stoking solar opposition by spreading bad information about health and environmental risks. Her influence is growing.
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Fergus Green @fergusgreen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
My new open access article with @michelezadra.bsky.social in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social critically reflects on the potential for citizens' climate assemblies to provide an escape route from the apparent “democracy–decarbonization dilemma". doi.org/10.1017/S153...
doi.org
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 16/09/2026
For Rutgers Climate Week, see @daniellefalzon.bsky.social @kdepryck.bsky.social and other experts speak on "The Science and Politics of the IPCC: Current Challenges in Informing Policy." Event is online and open to the public. Register here: rutgers.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
rutgers.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Science and Politics of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Current Challenges in Informing Policy. After registering, you will receive a con...
Online Panel for Rutgers Climate Week The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is in its Seventh Assessment Cycle and is under more strain than at almost any point in its history. Stalled...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 16/09/2026
New book from CSSN scholars "highlight[s] communication governance as a foundational ... dimension of environmental politics, one that strongly influences democratic participation, public engagement, and the prospects for equitable and effective sustainability transitions." #climateobstruction
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 15/09/2026
INDRA: A New AI Tool for Exploring Tobacco, Fossil Fuel, and Chemical Industry Archives Freely available in beta, where you can now explore the UCSF Industry Documents Library, Columbia and CUNY's ToxicDocs, and other archives of Big Carbon’s previously secret documents—all through a single portal
indra.stanford.edu
INDRA Research
Search, analyze, and download documents from the UCSF Industry Documents Library and Stanford SRITA. Supports full boolean search syntax and AI-powered analysis.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The finance sector has gotten a free pass on responsibility for climate change. That is ending... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
World’s top 20 private equity firms produce more greenhouse gases a year than most countries, report finds
Firms manage $7.3tn in assets and could afford to transition away from fossil fuels yet invest in natural gas and coal-fired plants to power datacenters
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Joshua Basseches @joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
If environmental groups wield an “outsized influence ... over the federal government, law and natural resources policy," as Chairman Westerman claims, you certainly wouldn't know it by looking at congressional policy outputs ... subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
subscriber.politicopro.com
POLITICO Pro: House committee launches investigation into 19 climate groups
Republican lawmakers are accusing the groups of acting as “taxpayer-funded law firms.”
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Joshua Basseches @joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Nice toolkit and bill tracker on state-level data center regulation, from Climate XChange: climate-xchange.org/resources-fo...
climate-xchange.org
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ǀ State Policy Toolkits for Data Center Regulation - Climate XChange
Resources for enacting state regulations that effectively mitigate the impacts of data centers on climate and local communities.
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Joseph Henderson @josephenderson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Goodman, S. (2024). Threat multiplier: Climate, military leadership, and the fight for global security. Island Press.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Wow. "25 of the 38 organizations (66%) supporting Exxon and Suncor have documented financial ties to fossil fuel defendants, the broader fossil fuel industry, or climate denial foundations and dark-money networks" consumerwatchdog.org/energy/new-r...
consumerwatchdog.org
New Report Exposes Fossil Fuel-Backed Network Flooding Supreme Court with Briefs Seeking to Shield Oil & Gas Companies in Climate Deception Case
Investigation identifies coordinated fossil fuel funding behind most industry-supporting briefs and raises new questions about Justice Samuel Alito's…
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Our sizzlin' new report (out this morning) covered in here- Supporters of state-level legislation to recover costs for climate disasters from oil companies outnumber opponents 3:1 in public hearings, but behind closed doors, opposition lobbyists ply their wares. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
US fossil fuel lobbyists also represent hundreds of cities fighting for climate damages
Analysis of federal lobbying disclosures shows local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 28/07/2026
Findings from the @climateintegrity.org show that gas companies have known their impact for decades. Natural gas being touted as the 'climate solution' is a large part of the industry's success. See the full report below. climateintegrity.org/projects/nat...
climateintegrity.org
The Fraud of “Clean” Natural Gas | Center for Climate Integrity
How Big Oil and Gas Created the Myth that Natural Gas is a Climate Solution
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 24/07/2026
Sign up to our newsletter below and get the latest digest of climate obstruction related work! If you are interested in mis-/disinformation, greenwashing, corporate capture, litigation and more, then join over 1500 people in receiving our monthly newsletter. cssn.org/about-us/sub...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 24/07/2026
Important work, and a valuable collaboration with @tcij.org!
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Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
When lies are proffered as truth, and the purpose of governing is self-enrichment and aggrandizement of the Dear Leader & Co at the expense of the governed, it makes perfect sense to select a climate denier to lead the government agency responsible for overseeing the National Climate Assessment.
open.substack.com
New Leader of Major US Climate Program Doesn’t Believe the Science
Trump just put a climate denier in charge of overseeing a key report.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This is a big deal. www.desmog.com/2026/07/20/h...
desmog.com
How Big Oil Spent Decades Selling the Myth of ‘Clean’ Natural Gas
A new report reveals oil and gas companies knew as early as the mid-1970s that methane fueled climate change while launching massive PR campaigns to promote natural gas as clean energy.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 14/07/2026
Land use and agriculture rule much of Brazil's environmental policy. Scholars and CSSN members Daniela Campello et. al. observe how the government operates within Brazil’s Agribusiness Caucus (FPA). They find shocking anti-environment results. See their findings: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
tandfonline.com
Green rhetoric, anti-environmental voting: legislative behavior in Brazil’s agribusiness caucus
Do international market pressures reshape domestic climate politics, or do they merely induce rhetorical adaptation? While climate politics in advanced economies centers on fossil fuels, Brazil pre...
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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
much agreement with this 🧵 but pol science has clearly shown that ideologically opposition to clean energy is a direct function of political efforts in fossil fuels sectors and constituencies to generate such ideology. So no, fossil lobbying for their interests and culture wars are not separate.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 10/07/2026
See their piece in the @ucs.org blog: blog.ucs.org/delta-merner...
blog.ucs.org
Scope 3 on Trial: What it Means For Corporate Climate Accountability
This piece was co-authored with Joana Setzer, Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and co-published on July 6, 2026. In May 2026, the Supr...
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Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
So many important details in here of how SPN think tanks connect and influence policy energyandpolicy.org/man-who-kill...
energyandpolicy.org
‘Man who killed offshore wind’ now pushing fossil fuels and nuclear for Koch-funded Mackinac Center in Michigan
David Stevenson, who led a national campaign against offshore wind power for the Delaware-based Caesar Rodney Institute, is now fighting land-based solar and wind farms and promoting fossil fuels and ...
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Emily Sanders @emdashsanders.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
In case you missed it: Exxon's executive counsel is leaving the company to join the U.S. DOJ's newly renamed Energy & Natural Resources division, which lists blocking climate lawsuits against oil and gas majors as a priority. 🫠🫠
subscriber.politicopro.com
E&E News: Exxon lawyer to join DOJ energy division
Robert Levy, executive counsel at the oil company, will retire from his role and join the federal government later this month.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I was presenting work on the greenwashing assessment framework, authored by me and colleagues at the Spinning Climate Change Working Group at @cssn.org
An image of a paintbrush painting green and the text "session 2 transdisciplinary interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches"
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 06/07/2026
Important work from Delta Merner and Joana Setzer - see some of the key questions facing courts, and where the conversations of corporate climate accountability are going. www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...
lse.ac.uk
Scope 3 on trial: what it means for corporate climate accountability - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
Joana Setzer and Delta Merner discuss their new research examining how courts around the world are approaching corporate climate accountability.
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Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
They (Big Oil) drill (their nefarious messages & view of the world) into our brains in countless ways. That academics & university’s have unintentionally aided & abetted them is not surprising but it is disappointing and it shows who outsmarted whom. @gchalliance.bsky.social
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Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Congratulations to @timmonsroberts.bsky.social and colleagues for this wonderful book and for ensuring everyone can read it for free. Everyone has the right to know how fuel fuel CEOs, lobbyists, and spin doctors have deceived us and gambled with our lives and all life on earth out of sheer greed.
academic.oup.com
Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment
Abstract. Climate obstruction involves intentional actions and efforts to slow or block policies on climate change that are commensurate with the current s
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 23/06/2026
Out today! @joshuabasseches.bsky.social investigates how energy and utility companies have worked to move local politics towards corporate profitability, as well as the growth of their influence over and access to widespread "renewable portfolio standard" laws. mitpress.mit.edu/978026205358...
mitpress.mit.edu
Owning the Green Grid
Historically (and for the foreseeable future), most public policy action in the United States to combat the global climate crisis has taken place at the stat...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 22/06/2026
@academic.oup.com's 500th #openaccess book! “Open access allowed us to publicize our two assessment volumes on obstruction of climate action broadly and quickly, and to make it available all over the world at once," @timmonsroberts.bsky.social, editor. corp.oup.com/news/publish...
corp.oup.com
Publishing our 500th open access book - Oxford University Press
Our 500th open access book underscores the dedication of our authors and editors in advancing open scholarship to support a more inclusive, collaborative community.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 18/06/2026
The capture of early-career academics, the co-option of "sustainability," and more: what does beef's influence over academia look like? See Dr. Vasile Stănescu's article published today in @oxfordunipress.bsky.social academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
academic.oup.com
Becoming Part of the Family: Greenwashing, Animal Agriculture, and the Strategic Capture of Climate Research
Abstract. A large and growing body of research affirms the severe climate impacts of animal agriculture. Yet rather than undertake structural change, the i
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Institute at Brown for Environment & Society (IBES) @brown-ibes.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Postdoc opportunity 📢 IBES seeks candidates for distinguished Voss Postdoctoral Fellows in any field relevant to environmental research. Appointments start July 2027 with an expected term of two years. Submit step-one proposals by Sept 1! ibes.brown.edu/opportunitie...
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Parke Wilde @parkewilde.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
"As much as inaction on climate gets framed as lack of science or perhaps the wrong messaging framework, it's important to remember that we're here because of acts of sabotage." Now enjoying last fall's podcast series by @amywestervelt.bsky.social about the @cssn.org book on climate obstruction.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 01/06/2026
Last day to submit your proposal to CSSN's RFP!
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 29/05/2026
Nationalism as a tool of climate obstruction: This review identifies four forms—resource nationalism, energy nationalism, techno-nationalism, and fossil fascism—and shows how they can delay, divert, or undermine effective climate action. See the full paper here: www.frontiersin.org/journals/pol...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 19/05/2026
Join us at 11am EST today, as Dr. Dale Jamieson will speak on climate ethics, creating meaningful work in new academic subfields, and more. Register here: brown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
brown.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: CSSN Conference - Keynote with Dale Jamieson. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
We are pleased to host Dale Jamieson, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies and Philosophy at New York University, to speak on climate ethics. For more information on the work that Dr. Jamieson ...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 18/05/2026
Tomorrow! Join us for a presentation and a discussion to follow.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 13/05/2026
Looking back at a foundational article from our working group focused on Nationalism and Climate Obstruction: academic.oup.com/oocc/article... This piece explores “green nationalism,” and asks what its role can be in shaping policies, despite pushback: is it a path forward, or a hinderance?
academic.oup.com
Green promises, gray realities: nationalism between climate action and obstruction
Abstract. This article examines the intersection of climate obstruction and “green nationalism,” exploring whether the latter can act as a tool against the
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 12/05/2026
One week away! Mark your calendars for a talk and discussion on climate ethics, and what climate scholarship means in this current moment. bit.ly/4tcdBFe
bit.ly
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: CSSN Conference - Keynote with Dale Jamieson. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
We are pleased to host Dale Jamieson, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies and Philosophy at New York University, to speak on climate ethics. For more information on the work that Dr. Jamieson ...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 30/04/2026
University policies are failing to protect against fossil fuel influence on academic research, harkening back to the days of Big Tobacco’s disinformation on campus. CSSN scholars and colleagues, C. Ceccon, @truzaar.bsky.social, and @jenniecstephens.bsky.social's study is in Climatic Change today!
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 28/04/2026
How do we make our academic work make a difference? What does knowledge production look like when it is being threatened from outside forces? Thrilled to share that NYU's Dr. Dale Jamieson will be this year's keynote speaker for our upcoming online annual conference. Register here: bit.ly/4tcdBFe
Title card for keynote speech with Dale Jamieson: "Climate Ethics: The Development of a Field and the Long History of Denialism." EVent is May 19, 2026, at 11am EST.
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 27/04/2026
"We argue that inertia is not merely passive but actively maintained by those with institutional power." See this sweeping look at climate obstruction and inaction in Australia by CSSN members Vanessa Bowden, Daniel Nyberg, and @chriswrightau.bsky.social. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Obstructing change: political inertia and the maintenance of climate inaction in Australia
Despite widespread public concern and mounting climate impacts, Australia’s climate policy remains stalled. This paper investigates how political, industrial, and environmental actors narrate clima...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 22/04/2026
Researchers find that 98% of recent environmental claims by major meat and dairy companies can be characterized as greenwashing. See M. Bach, L. Loy, @katharinemach.bsky.social, S. Shukla McDermid, and J. Jacquet's full study below. journals.plos.org/climate/arti...
journals.plos.org
Environmental claims, climate promises, and ‘greenwashing’ by meat and dairy companies
Animal agriculture has disproportionate environmental impacts relative to other forms of food production and accounts for at least 16.5% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many of the large...
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 22/04/2026
An exciting event to look out for this weekend at the energy transition conference in Colombia. The event will feature experts on climate obstruction, and will offer strategies for a just energy transition. See the link for more information and how to attend!
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Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 15/04/2026
ACCEPTING PROPOSALS📣 Excited to announce that we have seed grant funding available for this coming year. We will be prioritizing proposals on climate obstruction in the agricultural sector, and will award a limited amount for other topics of climate obstruction research. cssn.org/grants/reque...
cssn.org
Request for Proposals - Brown Climate Social Science Network
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Stephan Lewandowsky @lewan.uk · 09/04/2026
🧵 New report just dropped 🚨 "Fractured Reality: How Democracy Can Win the Global Struggle Over the Information Space" — from the EU Joint Research Centre, led by Mario Scharfbillig and I. A landmark read for anyone working on disinformation, platforms & democracy. 👇 1/10
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