News

Duncan Watts and CSSLab’s New Media Bias Detector

Researchers at the Computational Social Science Lab have developed the Media Bias Detector, which uses artificial intelligence to analyze news articles, examining factors like tone, partisan lean, and fact selection.

• Media Institutions

What Public Discourse Gets Wrong About Misinformation Online

A new study from the Computational Social Science Lab shows that while online misinformation exists, it isn’t as pervasive as pundits and the press suggest.

• Culture & Media
• Technology & Society

Mapping Media Bias: How AI Powers the Computational Social Science Lab’s Media Bias Detector

The CSSLab’s Media Bias Detector empowers users to analyze bias in major news outlets, not just based on the outlets’ political leaning, but on the topics they choose to cover.

• Political Communication

Mapping How People Get Their (Political) News

New data visualizations from the Computational Social Science Lab show how Americans consume news.

• Media Institutions
• Political Communication
• Technology & Society

Reexamining Misinformation: How Unflagged, Factual Content Drives Vaccine Hesitancy

Research from the Computational Social Science Lab finds that factual, vaccine-skeptical content on Facebook has a greater overall effect than “fake news,” discouraging millions from the COVID-19 shot.

• Health Communication
• Science Communication

Annenberg Furthers Research Through Educational Collaborations

Annenberg’s growing number of collaborations within Penn and with other institutions around the world is pushing the boundaries for research and education.

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.

• Political Communication

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.

• Technology & Society

Duncan Watts Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Watts was one of four distinguished scholars from Penn recognized for their innovative contributions to original 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.

• Political Communication
• Technology & Society