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Michael Cohen

@indecisionwins.bsky.social
490 followers 334 following 76 posts

Political junkie and social-cognitive neuroscientist studying misinformation and political extremism

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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
This is a really useful history. I’m curious — do you have the link handy to where Mike Benz called out the Disinformation Summit specifically? I often tell people about that in the context of my work, but can’t seem to find it online. (Even though I think Sadiq Khan referenced it in his speech?)
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Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Excellent reporting by @eileenguo.bsky.social & colleagues at @technologyreview.com about the roots & spread of the right's allegations of a "censorship industrialization complex". Including the little tidbit that @ninajankowicz.com highlights below.... www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1...
urldefense.com
How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy
Narratives about a “censorship-industrial complex” spread in right-wing circles for years; then they took hold of Washington. What—and who—is behind them?
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I’m also very lucky that I have some money (from an inheritance), so I don’t need a job right away. That means I don’t need to take something (at least not right now) that will keep me from finishing papers and writing grants with people in Europe. But it’s still a difficult spot to be in… (5/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I will say, also, maybe my precarious position gives me some privilege (because I have less to lose), but I’m really disappointed and angry that so many continue to try to keep their heads down. We need to fight this, and (with the exception of @cdelawalla.bsky.social), not enough are. (4/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Of course, the fascists have caught on to those of us doing that. So now there’s no hope for grant funding in the US. I have no idea if US universities would hire me, but if they did, I can’t get grants in this regime anyway. And I’m not very optimistic about it bouncing back right away. (3/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I haven’t had much luck on the academic job market, but I think I finally have built a profile that could (in normal times) be successful. But I’ve spent the last 10 years shifting from basic cog neuro to “anti-fascist science”, particularly misinformation. (2/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is a great question. My main focus is applying for grants and academic jobs in Europe. My situation: I got my PhD in 2015, and have had postdoc jobs at Northwestern, UPenn, and UChicago. My most recent postdoc job (on private donor funding) ended in June. (1/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Every accusation from the right is a confession… (See the persecution of Dr. Fauci)
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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
Trump has denied most disaster requests from Democratic-led states

A graph  showing Presidential approval rates for disaster requests from Democratic-led states and Republican-led states

Source: POLITICO's E&E News analysis of FEMA records
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SfN Journals @sfnjournals.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
#JNeurosci: Findings from van Geen et al. support an integrated view of decision-making where mnemonic and value-based systems interact even in basic learning contexts, and highlight age-related disruptions in the transfer of info across brain regions. doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1459-25.2…
Diagram showing decision-making task with images of houses and participant information including sample sizes.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
My comment on the disastrous OMB rule
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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
A moving—and, I will say, profound—reflection by JVL on our current situation: “That is what makes this moment different. We have moved decidedly backwards…What worries me most about the regression is that our lurch toward illiberalism is the result of success.” www.thebulwark.com/p/america-at...
thebulwark.com
America at 250: We Had a Good Run
It’s not a celebration. It’s a vigil.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I hadn't seen this highlighted before, and it's horrifying -- this implies that for anyone who gets a federal grant, any American can report you, have the government sue you, and get a reward for evidence that you're not following the draconian new grant terms. Truly Stasi-level intrusiveness.
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Imagine that the only labs that remain open and receive (ample) funding are those: - With only American citizens in their labs; - With no international collaborators; - Who have never participated in a protest or donated to a Democratic campaign; - Whose research aligns with Trump’s priorities.
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The American Prospect @prospect.org · 09/06/2026
I conclude that for the next president, the first, most straightforward, and arguably most important task is to destroy X. prospect.org?p=139475
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@amybisinthewoods.bsky.social 🍄🍄‍🟫 @amybdogsandfungi.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
We have to end his power in November. It is life or death.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I mean, Leni Riefenstahl at least had actual talent as a movie director, despite being a fascist. Bari Weiss is, shall we say, less well endowed in that department.
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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 03/06/2026
What's happening to CBS News is what the tech oligarchs call "parallel" strategy. Buy an existing institution, gut it, and convert it into a right-wing zombie version of itself. They are doing this to media, government, education, biotech, defense tech, etc. Some call it the "Network State."
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Look, I know I sound crazy, but WHY WOULD RUSSELL VOUGHT, mastermind behind Project 2025, WRITE THAT OMB CAN CANCEL ANY GRANT FOR ANY REASON IF THEY WEREN'T GOING TO DO EXACTLY THAT?! Mark my words: Agencies will send out blanket grant cancellation emails that will make 2025 look like child's play.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
What's really astonishing is not the far right authoritarian party doing this, but the near-total lack of <loud public collective action> by university chancellors & presidents to oppose this existential crisis. Almost impossible to overstate how total a failure of leadership this is.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 29/05/2026
"The plan is to kill off publicly funded academic science in this country." Correct. And that means killing off the whole US science and innovation industry. Because it's all built on a foundation of basic research—which. can. only. be. funded. by. public. dollars.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I think what you’re building is great, and I couldn’t do any better. BUT, as a sign of how far we have to go — Chicago, which turned out 200,000 for No Kings, only got like 100 people for a SUFS rally. The speakers were great, but the crowd was too small. How can we get ordinary people to care??
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Huh, does that mean that this guy was based on something real??
static.klipy.com
Breaking Bad: Walter White's Chemistry Experiment
ALT: Breaking Bad: Walter White's Chemistry Experiment
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Forbes @forbes.com · 06/05/2026
California Bill Would Create A $23 Billion Fund For University Research
forbes.com
California Bill Would Create A $23 Billion Fund For University Research
A California bill would give voters the chance to vote on whether the state should create a $23 billion bond that would be used to award grants to university researchers.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
600k a year, over 4 or 5 years, that’s getting up into the mass murder big leagues. Trying to unseat the big H.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
"Too many scientists are willing to collaborate with Trumpism in the mistaken assumption that obedience will save their own necks." www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
The Rise of the Vichy Scientists
Too many scientists are willing to collaborate with Trumpism in the mistaken assumption that obedience will save their own necks.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
In fairness, I think Comey was oblivious but well-meaning. His goal was to cover his own ass, and he was sure that Hillary would win anyway. Plus he has an air of moral superiority that led him to over-inflate a minor misstep. But it’s not the same as the outright retribution campaign against him.
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Dori & Wren 🐾🎗️🧷 @jfc-already.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The young man was just peacefully protesting at the DC Hilton Saturday night. Just like that group of patriots on Jan 6th. I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. 🥱
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Micah @rincewind.run · 27/04/2026
I do think this a genuinely worrying aspect of this incident we know the kind of guy who commits political violence and up until now he has not looked like this, and there are a lot more guys like the latter than the former it’s a very bad sign for a society when someone like this picks up a gun
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 27/04/2026
The United States now has the most government restrictions on academic freedom of any high-income country. www.chemistryworld.com/news/academi... Raw data from @vdeminstitute.bsky.social —> academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Heartbreaking. Such a waste of good people’s lives and expertise, who could be doing good for the world, but instead are suffering themselves. All so Trump and his buddies can pocket more money and build more bombs to lob around the world. Good job, MAGA.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I mean...she's correct on both counts, but it's still striking to see!
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
I’ll answer in the original German slogan, from Trump’s inspiration: “Deutschland ist der Führer und der Führer ist Deutschland“
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The Coalition for Independent Technology Research @thecoalition.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The Coalition for Independent Technology Research has filed a lawsuit with the @knightcolumbia.org and @protectdemocracy.org challenging a US State Department policy to revoke or deny visas of non-citizen researchers because of their work studying the societal impacts of technology. (1/4)
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Shannon Bond @byshannonbond.com · 09/03/2026
Independent tech researchers accuse the Trump administration of trying to silence them with threats of visa revocations and deportation. It's leading some to change the focus of their work, self-censor, and even leave the country.
npr.org
Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims
A new lawsuit accuses the administration of violating the First Amendment by threatening the visas of researchers for work on disinformation and content moderation of social media.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Unless/until humans are made entirely irrelevant (and who knows, Sam Altman and Bill Gates have both recently suggested that we will be — and they seem less evil than the average tech billionaire!), we still need to understand how our brains process things that other brains create...
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Yes! Such an important point to highlight. While I acknowledge that it is important to study AI, I’m already utterly sick of how it seems to be the ONLY thing anybody wants to study right now.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
This is absolutely insane: DHS claims the right to subpoena your emails and to send investigators to your house. In this case, because a retiree sent the mildest possible criticism to a prosecutor. No judges involved. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
May be of particular interest to: @johnjost.bsky.social @lewan.bsky.social @sicsspenn.bsky.social @chrisbail.bsky.social @jayvanbavel.bsky.social
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Big picture, to me, this says that people who voted for Trump were likely looking for a candidate like him before he came along. Further, this sort of method could maybe have been used in the 2016 presidential campaign to model shifts towards Trump that hadn't happened yet. (4/4)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
We then related those scores with vote share for Trump, controlling for prior Republican vote share. We found that Trump's vote share (but not Romney's 2012 vote share0 was predicted by linguistic signatures consistent with traits including low empathy, low agreeableness, and unfairness. (3/4)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
To give a bit more detail: We estimated personality, empathy, and moral foundations by county using aggregated geolocated data from Twitter (originally posted in 2009-2015) & lexica that gave each word a score on various traits. This analysis was all done in the aggregate, not in individuals. (2/4)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Excited to share a new preprint on psychological characteristics among voters that predict support for Donald Trump: specifically, low empathy, low agreeableness, and complaints about unfairness. (1/4) osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io
OSF
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Blue Wave @votebiue.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
He keeps referring to Greenland as Iceland. His dementia is on full display. Just look at him slumped over the podium . Time for people to get up and leave the clown show.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/01/2026
"There comes a point where we have to start questioning whether or not he’s actually aware of what’s happening around him & the harm he’s doing. It’s similar to historical figures like Nero or Caligula. Their madness took over & they started doing wildly destructive things. Trump is in that place."
publicnotice.co
Simon Rosenberg on Trump’s no good, very bad year
"It’s grotesque. He’s become a grotesque figure."
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 10/01/2026
I've noticed that ICE agents keep yelling "18 USC § 111" at people filming them. I'd like to see the memo they all got on that talking point, and I'd like to know who sent it. Filming ICE or alerting your neighbors to their presence doesn't violate § 111.
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
But what if Maduro’s involvement in the drug trade was an “official act”?
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
I especially appreciate Sander’s help navigating a difficult final set of revisions, after he signed off, to balance the journal’s desire for political neutrality with my desire to accurately describe the asymmetries between left and right on these issues, especially in the United States. (5/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
I also want to give a shout out to @profsanderlinden.bsky.social , who was very helpful as the reviewing editor for the special issue. (4/5)
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Michael Cohen @indecisionwins.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Thus, when social media algorithms are tuned to prioritize content based on engagement, polarizing and false content is likely to be prioritized. Further, once we are exposed to misleading narratives, it is difficult to fully correct these narratives later. (3/5)
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