Sign in

Zarine Kharazian

@zarine.net
938 followers 774 following 45 posts

phd candidate @cip.uw.edu, @communitydata.science, & @hcde.uw.edu. I study how to govern public knowledge institutions under attack. zarine.net

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve been reporting on the CDC for years, and have written about many of its troubles over the past year. I was still shocked by the extent of the staff losses and political interference I found when reporting this one. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...
nytimes.com
‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
381373571
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This election season, our team at the UW Center for an Informed Public will again be working to help people navigate the increasingly convoluted information flows surrounding U.S. Elections. Since 2020, we’ve tracked rumors about voting & election integrity. uwcip.substack.com/p/our-electi...
uwcip.substack.com
Our election rumor research work is ramping up for the 2026 U.S. midterms
Subscribe to our Election Rumor Rundowns, get in touch, and collaborate
210037
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Center for an Informed Public @cip.uw.edu · 07/07/2026
🧵@cip.uw.edu researcher @zarine.net recently co-authored a @brennancenter.org expert brief with Brennan's Kate Lurie exploring how the threat of foreign influence on U.S. elections remains as federal defenses recede. [1/3] www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
brennancenter.org
Threat of Foreign Influence on U.S. Elections Remain as Federal Defenses Recede
As China, Iran, and Russia leverage AI tools and the Trump administration buys in to disinformation, voters and election officials must be more vigilant than ever.
1812
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 03/07/2026
Foreign actors are testing new influence tactics just as the federal infrastructure built post 2016 to counter election interference has been dismantled. Meanwhile, Trump officials have shown willingness to exploit unsubstantiated foreign interference claims to tighten control over election admin.
000
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Center for an Informed Public @cip.uw.edu · 09/06/2026
Prediction markets risk "confusing people into thinking that, 'Okay, these markets have the pulse on public sentiment about the election and who's going to win,' when that's not necessarily the case," @cip.uw.edu researcher @zarine.net told @npr.org in an interview. www.npr.org/2026/06/07/n...
npr.org
Kalshi and Polymarket crack down on paid influencers claiming election fraud
Influencers are using prediction market odds to sow doubt in vote counting, in some cases in posts paid for by the companies themselves.
012
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Trump's Justice Department is very online. And it loves conspiracy theories.
theatlantic.com
A Department of Justice for an Age of Conspiracy Theories
The DOJ is now very much an active participant in the online discourse that promotes and perpetuates ideas that are barely connected to reality.
18839
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Under Trump, climate & weather data collection has declined. This year, the WH proposed a modest budget increase for the National Weather Service, but a 40% cut to NOAA. The cuts could make the weather forecasts less reliable. Hurricane season coming soon. 🧪 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump cuts to weather data could make forecasts less reliable, warn experts
Use of AI is a valuable tool for weather prediction but only when it’s trained with ample data, experts say
17227156
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 11/05/2026
that's actually pretty surprising because i think they're still the least developed section/most likely to change ;)
100
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 11/05/2026
thanks for engaging w/ the paper! these were exactly some of the implications we were trying to draw out!
100
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 04/05/2026
the cases we explore, from Wikipedia, to public broadcasters, to government data, demonstrate that an array of institutions face a class of threats that target not only the knowledge outputs they produce, but the governance structures and legitimacy that make knowledge production possible.
030
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 04/05/2026
drawing on Elinor Ostrom and colleagues' classic work on knowledge commons governance, we conceive of these institutions as shared resource systems whose three interdependent components--knowledge, governance, and legitimacy-- can each be captured or destroyed by motivated actors.
131
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 04/05/2026
new working paper w/ @mako.cc: we argue that the focus on combating problematic information flowing through media systems has not kept pace with a more consequential threat: efforts to capture or destroy the very institutions we rely on to steward shared knowledge. osf.io/preprints/so...
Paper abstract says: Abstract: From organized disinformation campaigns on social media to politically motivated attempts to take over publishers and platforms, the last decade has seen a proliferation of attacks on the epistemic infrastructure that people rely on to understand the world. We argue that scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have struggled to respond effectively to these threats in part because they lack systematic ways to understand the shifting nature of what is under threat and how it is being attacked. Drawing on Elinor Ostrom's classic work on commons governance, we develop a conceptual framework that conceptualizes epis-temic infrastructure as a shared resource system whose three interdependent components— knowledge, governance, and legitimacy —can each be attacked independently by motivated actors through two distinct modes: capture and destruction. Applied to recent attacks on Wikipedia, public broadcasters, and government data agencies, the framework reveals how attacks frequently target governance structures and institutional legitimacy rather than the knowledge outputs and information flows that existing approaches focus on, with implications for how scholars and practitioners diagnose and respond to these threats.
763
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
National Security Archive @nsarchive.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Today, the Archive published a Disappearing Data Chronology--a timeline tracking changes in access to federal information under Trump, including major data losses and restorations, legal challenges to information takedowns, and threats to archival collections. nsarchive.gwu.edu/special-exhi...
nsarchive.gwu.edu
A Disappearing Data Chronology
About the ExhibitThe Disappearing Data Chronology documents fundamental changes to the federal information landscape under the Trump administration, including major data losses and restorations, legal...
210783
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
In the last month ICE has bought warehouses in: - Hagerstown, MD: $102 million - Surprise, AZ: $70 million - Hamburg, PA: $87 million - Tremont, PA: $120 million - San Antonio, TX: $82 million - El Paso, TX: $123 million - Social Circle, GA: price unknown This is unprecedented.
27935411866
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 09/02/2026
The demise of the CIA World Factbook is “part of a broad war on information being waged by the Trump administration,” @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.
bit.ly
The Trump Administration’s War on Data
A series of recent steps have erased the shared facts that help uphold democracy.
1326296
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Molly White @molly.wiki · 25/01/2026
Even when there’s no accountability, the record matters. Credit to the Wikipedia editors maintaining this page.
en.wikipedia.org
Deaths, detentions and deportations of American citizens in the second Trump administration - Wikipedia
3853461493
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 24/01/2026
Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was “armed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com/BillMelugin_...
22353082693
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 21/12/2025
Love this short opinion piece on “mechanical bypass” in analogy to “spiritual bypass”.
pnas.org
The “machinal bypass” and how we’re using AI to avoid ourselves | PNAS
The “machinal bypass” and how we’re using AI to avoid ourselves
917563
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
A college student complaining about a grade on a paper is not national news. Not even close. The details have minimal import outside the class itself. Well-funded political activists targeting profs and TAs—in this case because they're trans—with the help of elected state officials? National issue.
132315576
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025. US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom. open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
25547212
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 07/11/2025
i've always been fascinated by cultural property theft/antiquities trafficking (NOT partaking in it 🙃) dream job in another life, tbh
030
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Ethan Zuckerman @ethanz.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Friend and colleague Ryan McGrady has an excellent piece in Tech Policy Press on Grokipedia. Rather than excoriating the new project for Elon worship (true, but hardly interesting), he looks into how Grokipedia redefines sources for encyclopedic knowledge: www.techpolicy.press/with-grokipe...
techpolicy.press
With Grokipedia, Top-Down Control of Knowledge Is New Again | TechPolicy.Press
Ryan McGrady asks, who is Grokipedia for, other than its owner?
1114
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Late to this, but if you aren't willing to stand up for trans people that puts you on the side of the villains. There is no excuse and no "strategy" that justifies it. Either stand with people under attack from the state or get out of the way so someone with a working moral compass can step up.
18495144
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Center for an Informed Public @cip.uw.edu · 30/10/2025
Slate: Scholars, including @cip.uw.edu graduate research assistant and @hcde.uw.edu PhD candidate @zarine.net, say "recent attacks on Wikipedia differ from earlier critiques" of the website, which had focused on Wikipedia's content. Read more: slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It’s Not a Total Surprise.
An armed man at a gathering of the website’s volunteers is just the latest reminder: Editing the internet’s encyclopedia has never been riskier.
133
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 15/09/2025
Interested in doing a Ph.D studying online communities, governance, digital open infrastructure, etc.? Several faculty at @communitydata.science are recruiting students for next year! Join our Prospective Student Q&A on September 26: blog.communitydata.science/prospective-...
blog.communitydata.science
Prospective PhD Student Q&A – September 26th
Thinking about applying to graduate school? Wonder what it’s like to pursue a PhD or research-based master’s degree? Interested in understanding relationships between technology and society? …
040
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Yvonne Lam @yvonnezlam.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Nudging very much appeals to people who want a politics without politics.
1267
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 07/07/2025
moonflower... santana cover 🌸
020
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Ashlyn B. Aske @ashlynba.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Drawing on some of my work from the past year at the Center for an Informed Public, I published a piece in Lawfare with my colleague Stephen Prochaska.
131
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 05/06/2025
This is a preliminary attempt to synthesize the two for those working in community governance, content moderation, or information integrity spaces... more to come!!
020
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 05/06/2025
I have been thinking recently about the coalescing field of disinfo studies and the more commons-based approaches to online community governance, and where these two perspectives conflict when it comes to addressing online information manipulation and related threats...
130
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 05/06/2025
a new short research brief with @mako.cc and @aaronshaw.bsky.social synthesizes some of the work I presented at @communitydata.science Science of Community Dialogues back in April! zenodo.org/records/1560...
zenodo.org
Online Community Resilience: Governing Public Information Goods Under Attack
Online communities steward a complex set of public information goods. These goods face a range of urgent threats: strategic information pollution and governance capture; legitimacy attacks by external...
192
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
David Klion @davidklion.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
For the June issue of @thenation.com, I wrote about the Harper’s letter 5 years later, and how under a quarter of its signatories have spoken out about Mahmoud Khalil and other campus activists imprisoned for speech.
thenation.com
They All Signed the “Harper’s” Letter. Where Are They Now?
Many of those who were loudest in denouncing cancel culture then are now curiously silent in the face of Donald Trump’s assaults on free speech.
24918236
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Sarah Gilbert @sarahagilbert.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
7/ And the study has harmed CMV, an important public sphere for people to engage in debate, learn new things, have their assumptions challenged, and maybe even their minds changed. Are people going to trust that they aren’t engaging with bots? And if they don’t, can the community serve its mission?
136619
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 26/04/2025
Ed Martin's latest target: Wikipedia. The interim U.S. attorney and pro-Trump bulldog has sent a letter seeming to threaten the Wikimedia Foundation's tax-exempt status over allegations that it is "spreading propaganda." Our story: www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Wikipedia’s nonprofit status questioned by D.C. U.S. attorney
Ed Martin sent a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation accusing it of spreading propaganda
931512751
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 25/04/2025
Seattle! Playing the NEW Hidden Hall in Fremont this Sunday with my funk/r&b/latin group, Soleado 😌💃
Poster for show at Hidden Hall, a venue in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, showing doors at 7 and music at 7:30.
010
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Mert Can Bayar @mertcanbayar.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
🚨 My first solo-authored piece is out in Electoral Studies! 👽 I examine when and how conspiracy theories become participatory, increasing political mobilization. Using the United States and Turkey as cases of a most-different-systems design, I explore how conspiracy theories drive political action.
sciencedirect.com
Partisan and non-partisan conspiracy theories’ diverging effects on political participation
What role do conspiracy theories play in mobilizing political action? Both historical and contemporary accounts have written on the role of conspiracy…
2247
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
So weird to see colleges promoting their USNWR grad school rankings today like grad students aren’t being disappeared by their government.
81867382
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 03/04/2025
This is tomorrow! Register online here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Science of Community Dialogue - The Role of Community Governance
This online meeting will take place on April 4th at 12pm - 2pm CT. The presenters are Professor Paul Gowder (Northwestern University) and Zarine Kharazian (University of Washington). Online communiti...
101
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 19/03/2025
Are you an organizer of an online group/community thinking through governance strategies for resisting online information manipulation? Join @communitydata.science for our next Community Dialogue!
086
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
DHS just detained a Columbia student who helped lead campus protests—a direct attack on campus activism. This timeline shows why authoritarians fear student protests: they're often the first and most effective catalysts for pro-democracy movements.
Infographic titled ‘Student-Led Pro-Democracy Protests and Their Impact Worldwide (1955–2025).’ A vertical timeline from 1955 to 2025 lists major student-led protests (e.g., Hungary 1956, Prague Spring 1968, Tiananmen Square 1989, Arab Spring 2010s). Each protest is color-coded by outcome: Successful Transition, Partial Gains, or No Immediate Gains. The visual underscores how student activism has shaped political and social landscapes over seven decades.
521080
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 06/03/2025
Traditional counter-disinformation strategies in this space, however, tend to miss these nuanced dynamics. Ungated version here: zarine.net/Miyashita_et...
zarine.net
010
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 06/03/2025
We also reflect on how these operations function as "actants" that actively shape the wider peacekeeping ecosystem -- concern over their impact has shaped peacekeeping self-image, resourcing and coalition-building.
110
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 06/03/2025
Using a combination of interviews and analyses of public social media trace data (RIP CrowdTangle), we argue that these campaigns are not just top-down, state-directed phenomena, but involve complex interactions between state actors, influencers, and everyday people (they're participatory).
120
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 06/03/2025
Our paper examines how disinformation campaigns interact with and affect UN peacekeeping missions, focusing on two cases involving the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
110
Zarine Kharazian @zarine.net · 06/03/2025
New paper in International Peacekeeping with Naomi Miyashita, Laura De Backer, and @katestarbird.bsky.social: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
How Strategic Information Operations Affect Peacekeeping: Two Case Studies from the Central African Republic
Strategic information operations – efforts by individuals or groups to shape public opinion using propaganda, rumors and facts – pose significant challenges to peacekeeping missions. These operatio...
173
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Amy Bruckman @asbruckman.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
The New Yorker says Wikipedia is a beacon of hope, with quotes from me and @mako.cc www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
newyorker.com
Elon Musk Also Has a Problem with Wikipedia
Lately, Musk’s beef has merged with a general conviction on the right that the site is biased against conservatives.
22510
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
Daphne Keller @daphnek.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
The lawsuit brought by Rumble and Trump Media against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice de Moraes is *fascinating* in ways that will need a long thread to unpack. 1/ storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
68346
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
m. r. sauter @oddletters.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
each one of those university programs that push kids to "be entrepreneurial" and "solve community problems with innovation" is a public policy failure and an abdication of the role of the university in the public sphere. stop putting me on committees if you dont want me to say this to deans.
948467
Reposted by Zarine Kharazian
sohyeon hwang @s0hw.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
join us in seattle this september! we're especially interested in thinking about "social model collapse," aka how the introduction of novel technologies like AI tools disrupt core social and technical processes that sustain communities
011