António Câmara & Leah Stein (APRW)
Date and Time
Location
Zoom link for meeting below.
Today's speaker
- 12:00 PM: António Câmara, "A Field Experiment on X to Reduce Misinformation Spread on Social Media Without Platform Intervention"
- 1:00 PM: Leah Stein, "Local News and Subnational Policymaking"
Abstracts
"A Field Experiment on X to Reduce Misinformation Spread on Social Media Without Platform Intervention”
We conduct a field experiment on X to reduce the spread of misinformation without platform intervention. Social scientists have paid increasing attention to misinformation and interventions to reduce its harmful effects on social media. However, existing measurement strategies rely on carefully curated sets of URLs or “fake news” outlets and thus fails to capture the extent and variety of misinformation online. Moreover, existing interventions such as content moderation, corrections, and other forms of friction are impossible in settings where platforms are captured by governments or owners that are unable or unwilling to impose such policies. We propose novel methods to measure and reduce misinformation without any platform feature or institutional support. First, we model conversations that include multimedia attachments such as images and videos in each dialog act and use these models to measure conspiracy theory posting behavior. Second, we propose a novel treatment: distraction – a friendly reply on a post unrelated to misinformation. By redirecting attention and fulfilling social needs, we (expect to) reduce the number and proportion of misinformation posts authored and shared by users in the days following treatment. We implement this using an active iterative matched pairs field experiment on X. We are in the process of running pilot experiments and intend to run our final experiment this summer.
"Local News and Subnational Policymaking”
How does the decline in local news affect subnational policymaking? Subnational policymakers rely on local news to inform voters of their actions. On the other hand, policymakers face less scrutiny without local news reporting. In this project, I explore how policymakers respond to shifts in this informational environment. Specifically, I examine this question in the context of U.S. state governors granting corporate subsidies. Governors often grants subsidies to firms in exchange for economic investment and to attract or retain jobs. They also use subsidies to curry favor with voters since voters across the political spectrum value job creation. Critically, governors only gain credit for attracting firms when voters learn about these policies in the news or on social media. Therefore, without access to local news, governors may have less incentive to pursue these expensive policies. I plan test my hypotheses using data on local newspaper closures between 2014-2022 and corporate subsidy deals from Good Jobs First, a government watchdog group focused on corporate accountability.
The American Politics Research Workshop (Gov 3004) meets all academic year, Tuesdays, 12:00–2:00 PM, in CGIS K354. This workshop presents an opportunity for graduate students and Harvard faculty to present and receive feedback on their current research. The workshop highlights key theoretical and empirical findings from Harvard affiliates on topics related to American politics.
All interested Harvard affiliates are invited to attend.