iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Our new website is live with our beautiful visual branding refresh!! 🎉 The redesigned site makes it easier than ever to explore what we do at Penn MEDIATED! A huge thank you to Fiona Herzog and Alexis Frisbie for bringing the redesign to life. 🙌 Take a look 👉 mediated.upenn.edu

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Do algorithms drive online polarization? A review by Duncan Watts and coauthors finds the evidence is inconclusive. What users seek out matters too, though platforms aren't off the hook. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Our MEDIATED research seminars are back! Syracuse Prof Emily Thorson shows that contrary to popular belief, Americans have a genuine interest in public-interest journalism! For more empirically backed optimism about the state of our media and politics, follow Emily’s work!

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Reposted by Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED)

Alex Engler @alexengler.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Friends, countrymen, lend me your shares! We are hiring a *𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫* to lead a *𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦* as we build Penn MEDIATED into the first† public-facing data science institute for the information ecosystem (think the Urban Institute or CSET, but for media and information technology).

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Matt Levendusky and Kathleen Hall Jamieson reveal that doubting the legitimacy of one election can harden into a stable belief that colors how people perceive subsequent elections. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Dan Roth digs into why asking an LLM the same question two different ways is a cheap, effective way to catch when it doesn't actually know the answer. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Danaé Metaxa and Ro Encarnacion find that LLMs are not reliable sources of abortion information and accuracy is weakest in states with abortion restrictions. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Chris Callison-Burch and Delip Kumar show that search-enabled LLMs still get roughly half of academic citations wrong, leaning on internal memory over the sources they actually retrieve. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Is Google AI killing the open internet? Danaé Metaxa’s new research suggests it might be: reduced publisher visits, yet readers aren’t getting a better experience. This and a lot more in our Research Compendium! (1/7) infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Reposted by Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED)

Alex Engler @alexengler.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I just finished this and definitely recommend the essay. A compelling narrative of information ecosystem developments since 2020, and a call for more serious reform proposals (which I strongly agree with, more to come soon). Here's the two paragraph conclusion, which I found thought provoking

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

For Dædalus, @sgonzalezbailon.bsky.social has a new essay arguing for intentionally designing technologies and information architectures in the public interest, a partial response and expansion on @ethanz.bsky.social's contribution. Both very much worth your time. www.amacad.org/daedalus/har...

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Reposted by Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED)

Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Lots of updates in our latest newsletter, including: -a Sept 10 event on LLMs + Content Moderation -🚨a Research Analyst job posting🚨 -3 new Knight Fellows @ Penn -our partnerships with AC DFR Lab & GNI -MOAR RESEARCH t.e2ma.net/webview/tukv...

t.e2ma.net

Deepening Digital Investigations with New Fellows, Research & Partnerships + A Job Opportunity

Logo for Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy ### Deepening Digital Investigations with New Fellows, Research & Partnerships + A Job Opportunity Hello friends and colleagues- Over the past ...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Today's lead in the @nytimes.com cites affiliated faculty Matt Levendusky's new @appc.upenn.edu polling, showing 61% of Americans oppose data center construction in their area. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...

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Reposted by Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED)

Alex Engler @alexengler.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

In my first piece in 3 years (!), Danaé Metaxa and I write for @carnegieendowment.org on why we need a new paradigm of scientific research for AI—longitudinal monitoring—to ensure the public has a meaningful say in the societal role of LLMs. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

carnegieendowment.org

We Need Ongoing Monitoring of AI and Political Information

Monitoring is essential so that policymakers and the public can understand—and have a say in—how AI systems affect politics.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Danaé is a faculty advisor to Penn MEDIATED and our close collaborator on the LLM & Civic Discourse project - lots of amazing work to be done! infodem.upenn.edu/llm-civic-di...

infodem.upenn.edu

LLM Civic Discourse - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Check out this amazing 2-year postdoc position with rockstars Danaé Metaxa and @friedler.net to work on public interest audits of AI here at UPenn! metaxa.net/postdoc

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Reposted by Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED)

Deen Freelon @dfreelon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

We got new research out today y'all--if you study TikTok, buckle up because we found something wilddddd... arxiv.org/abs/2608.09917 (accepted @ ICWSM 2027)

arxiv.org

WhichTok? Comparing Three TikTok Data Acquisition Tools

TikTok's global growth has made it a prime platform for both entertainment and political discourse, prompting increased social science research. However, this rapidly evolving research field faces a f...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

This and a lots more in our Research Compendium! Stay tuned for further updates!

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Does cross-partisan conversation actually mitigate partisan hostility? Erik Santoro’s paper finds that conversations across the political aisle can soften partisan dislike in the moment, but only when focused on common ground. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Are U.S police agencies diverse? Dean Knox’s recent research finds that officers nationwide skew far more Republican than the communities they serve. But party affiliation is not a strong predictor of stops, arrests, or use of force. Race is. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Does Fox News Fuel Racial Prejudice? (Dan Hopkins & Yphtach Lelkes): Not exactly. Rising Fox viewership wasn't linked to anti-Black prejudice, but it was tied to more restrictionist views on immigration. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

🔹What Happens When You Block Political Elites on X? (Yphtach Lelkes): Filtering political elites from social media feeds for one month improved users' factual knowledge and reduced misinformation susceptibility — with no change in polarization or political engagement.

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

AN A-EYE FOR AN A-EYE? Ask an AI model what happens when someone breaks a social norm, and it predicts retaliation. Ask humans, and the answer is usually forgiveness. According to new research from Lyle Ungar, LLMs consistently imagine a harsher social world than humans. (1/6)

infodem.upenn.edu

Research Compendium - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We're thrilled to welcome three new Knight Fellows (joining us this fall) to our community of researchers studying the information ecosystem and its impact on democracy - Postdoc Thomas Chamberlain; Postdoc Burak Ozturan; and PhD Student Jacky Liang. infodem.upenn.edu/blog/#knight...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

🎥 Communications Associate Develop social media content like short-form videos that disseminates our faculty’s research to the broader public. 💰 $18/hr 5–10 hrs/week (flexible) This position is for current undergrads at Penn. Students must submit a resume and cover letter to JR00123044 in Workday.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

🔍 Research Analyst Help expand our Research Compendium and support literature reviews, research summaries, and analytical writing. 💰 $25/hr · 20 hrs/week (flexible) · 🔗 External candidates and Penn graduate students are eligible. More information: infodem.upenn.edu/job-openings/

infodem.upenn.edu

Job Openings - Center on Media, Technology and Democracy

News, announcements, and insights from the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

📣 We're hiring for two part-time positions at Penn MEDIATED! We have two openings for people who want to help communicate essential science of the information ecosystem to the journalists, policymakers, and civil society organizations who need it most. (1/3)

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Dennis Culhane is the Dana and Andrew Stone Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy and Practice as well as Co-founder and Faculty Director of the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP). sp2.upenn.edu/person/denni...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Dan Roth is the Eduardo D. Glandt Distinguished Professor at Penn and Chief AI Scientist at Oracle. His new benchmark of AI-generated videos captures not just whether a video is fake, but the exact visual clues that reveal the fake. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Michael Morse is an Assistant Professor of Law at UPenn. He studies voting rights, election administration, and the criminal justice system; his work combines empirical methods and novel data with traditional legal scholarship. www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/morsem

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Shiri Melumad is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, where she studies the consumer psychology of technology use, new media and user-generated content. Her recent work has looked at if listening vs reading shapes how users interpret news. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

John Lapinski is the Robert A. Fox Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies. John is also the Director of the Elections Unit at NBC News, where he is responsible for projecting races for the network.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Blake Miller is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and affiliated with the Center for the Study of Contemporary China. Their research examines how authoritarian regimes control media, the internet, and civil society organizations, with an empirical focus on China. blakeapm.com

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Dean Knox is an Assistant Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School. Dean’s recent work finds short-term exposure to filter-bubble recommendation systems has a limited effect on polarization. infodem.upenn.edu/research-com...

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Leaving a narrative unanswered long enough reshaped how people perceived racial justice policies, and as the authors note, “nothing about the second Trump administration suggests these shifts will reverse in the near future.”

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

And the imbalance shaped opinion. From 2020-2024, Americans across the board came to perceive less discrimination against Black people—and more against white people. Partisan polarization on racial attitudes jumped 27% in just four years.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Congress mirrored this: Republicans tweeted 2x as much as Democrats on racial justice, nearly 4x as much after 2021—two-thirds negative. Only a quarter of Democratic tweets were positive.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The coverage was lopsided. 69% of all DEI/CRT media coverage was negative. Fox News ran 4x more CRT coverage than CNN/MSNBC, with 97% of it negative. Even on MSNBC, only 8% of CRT coverage actually defended it.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

From 2020-2024, conservative media and elites drove this reframing almost entirely unanswered, reshaping how Americans' attitude towards racial justice transformed in just four years. Here's how it happened.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

How did the narrative “DEI is discrimination against white people” gain traction? Well, new research from Matt Levendusky has the answer and our research compendium covered it and lots more! 🧵

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International Conference on Computational Social Science @ic2s2.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

We're excited to share the full program for IC2S2 2026! We're looking forward to learning and networking with a wonderful community of interdisciplinary scholars, and we're proud of the incredible line up of talks and posters. Registration is open through July 3rd: ic2s2-2026.org/program/

ic2s2-2026.org

Program — International Conference on Computational Social Science | Burlington, VT 2026

Join us for IC2S2 2026 — the 12th International Conference on Computational Social Science. Burlington, Vermont, July 28-31.

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

🚨@asc.upenn.edu is hiring a a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Media Industry Studies starting fall 2027!🚨 --focus on media policy, political economy & surveillance; --familiarity w/ the historical and shifting structural and material conditions transforming apply.interfolio.com/187239

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Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy (MEDIATED) @penn-mediated.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

We are delighted to announce that Penn MEDIATED is now a member of the @thegni.bsky.social! It's an honor to be a part of the community advancing a free and democratic technological future, and we are enthused to contribute Penn’s science of the information ecosystem to GNI’s vital discussions.

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