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Research

The YouTube Algorithm Isn’t Radicalizing People

A new study from the Computational Social Science Lab finds that the YouTube recommendation system is less influential on users’ political views than is commonly believed.

Telecommunication tower with cellular antennas for 5g mobile internet network stands in a forest with a blue sky background
Research

The Mission to Get Pennsylvanians Online

The Pennsylvania Broadband Research Institute, a collaboration between Penn and Penn State, looks for ways to bridge the digital divide in the state — and the rest of the nation.

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Research

The Commonalities of Common Sense

PIK Professor Duncan Watts and Computational Social Science Lab senior researcher Mark Whiting address a critical gap in how knowledge is understood.

Desmond Patton seated at a desk in an office
Faculty News

Desmond Patton and the Science of Being Human

Patton discusses his research in social media and violence, finding an interdisciplinary career in social work, communication, data science, and psychiatry, and why his open-mindedness never stops.

Hands of a person logging in to Facebook on a phone while a laptop with a blurred Facebook screen is in the background
Research

First Findings from US 2020 Facebook & Instagram Election Study Released

Unprecedented research by Prof. Sandra González-Bailón and colleagues reveals the influence of Facebook's algorithms on political news exposure.

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Graduate Student News

At the National Liberty Museum, People’s Browsing History Is on Display Through Art

Recent Ph.D. Roopa Vasudevan created a browser extension that transforms a person’s portrait based on the websites they visited.

Deen Freelon with water and a bridge behind him
Faculty News

Political and Computational Researcher Deen Freelon to Join Annenberg School Faculty 

Freelon, a specialist in the way social media and digital technology are used to express individuals’ politics and identities, will begin on July 1.

Professors and a group of 10 graduate students seated in a semi circle in the Plaza Lobby of the Annenberg School
Faculty News

New Center to Focus on Information Networks and Democracy

Directed by Sandra González-Bailón and co-directed by Yphtach Lelkes, the Center for Information Networks and Democracy will analyze the benefits and risks of digital technologies for political and civic engagement.

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Research

Americans Don’t Understand What Companies Can Do With Their Personal Data — and That’s a Problem

A new survey of 2,000 Americans finds that people don’t understand what marketers are learning about them online and don’t want their data collected, but feel powerless to stop it.

Decorative graphic taken from YouTube Politics Dashboard
Research

Radicalization at a Glance: Penn Media Accountability Project Launches Interactive Data Dashboard

As part of its Penn Media Accountability Project (PennMAP), the Computational Social Science Lab launches the first in a series of interactive data visualizations designed to make their research accessible and engaging.