News

TV News Top Driver of Political Echo Chambers in U.S.

Duncan Watts and colleagues found that 17% of Americans consume television news from partisan left- or right-leaning sources compared to just 4% online.

• Political Communication

Annenberg Faculty Elected to 2021 Class of AAAS Fellows

Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Duncan Watts join eight other Penn scholars in their election to the newest class of Fellows.

Want to Reduce Political Polarization? Start by Looking Beyond Politics

Is bonding over non-political similarities the key to depolarizing political discussions? New research sheds light on how even hardliners can be swayed when coming in contact with opposing viewpoints.

• Political Communication

Do Success Stories Cause False Beliefs About Success?

Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not necessarily the case.

• Culture & Media

What Big Data Reveals About Online Extremism

Homa Hosseinmardi and her colleagues at Penn’s Computational Social Science Lab studied browsing data from 300,000 Americans to gain insights into how online radicalization occurs — and to help develop solutions.

• Technology & Society

PennMAP Research and Outcomes to Expand Thanks to Leadership Gift

Duncan Watts's Penn Media Accountability Project (PennMAP) is expanding, thanks to a new leadership gift from a Wharton alum.

• Technology & Society

Duncan Watts Launches Computational Social Science Lab

The new Computational Social Science Lab aims to thrive on mass collaboration and open science.

• Technology & Society

Annenberg Conversations to Focus on Gender in 2021-2022 Academic Year

Conversations will examine the current state of sexism, homophobia, and transphobia in various sectors of society.

• Culture & Media

Toward a Better Understanding of "Fake News"

Professor Duncan Watts published a framework for developing a comprehensive research agenda to study the origins, nature, and consequences of misinformation on democracy.

• Media Institutions
• Technology & Society

Sarah J. Jackson and Duncan J. Watts Awarded 2020 Andrew Carnegie Fellowships

Jackson will study Black media-makers, and Watts will study bias and misinformation in media.

• Culture & Media
• Media Institutions
• Technology & Society