Analysis and Theory

Develop new ideas, analysis, and theory and strengthen existing ideas that could make progress in the digital social sphere. (e.g. papers, digital humanities projects, op-eds and other public writing)

Posts

December 12, 2024

The Supreme Court should hear TikTok’s appeal

Alum Anupam Chander co-authored this op-ed for The Washington Post about the D.C. Circuit's decision to uphold the U.S. government's divest-or-ban order against TikTok.

November 28, 2024

Misinformation exploits outrage to spread online

Alum Kate Klonick co-authors this article in Science on the role of emotions—particularly anger and outrage—in the spread of misinformation online.

November 26, 2024

Loneliness and Social Media with Jeff Hall

Alum Jeff Hall joined the Frontiers in Health and Happiness podcast from the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness to discuss the impact and potential benefits of social media on loneliness.

November 25, 2024

Ten Myths About the Effect of Social Media Use on Well-Being

Alum Jeff Hall examines and rebuts 10 common myths about social media use and its effects on well-being.

October 30, 2024

Sunset and Renew: Section 230 Should Protect Human Speech, Not Algorithmic Virality

Visiting Scholar Allison Stanger co-authors this piece with Jaron Lanier and Audrey Tang advocating for a “repeal and renew” approach to Section 230 in order to reform the social media ecosystem.

October 11, 2024

Free Speech vs. Free Ride: Navigating the Supreme Court’s Social Media Paradox

Visiting Scholar Marshall Van Alstyne shares his opinion on how the US Supreme Court ought to reframe how they think about social media in order to adequately regulate platforms without impinging on free speech.

September 23, 2024

RSM Fall 2024 Speaker Series

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media is bringing back its Speaker Series this Fall with an exciting group of writers, social scientists, and academics.

September 4, 2024

Want to fight misinformation? Teach people how algorithms work

Visiting Scholar Myojung Chung shares findings from her recent study indicating how more widespread algorithmic knowledge could help mitigate the spread of misinformation.

August 28, 2024

Mapping the Space of Social Media Regulation

RSM's Manon Revel and Kalie Mayberry, along with alum Nathaniel Lubin co-authored this paper for the MIT Science Policy Review providing potential frameworks for better regulation of social media platforms.

May 29, 2024

Announcing the 2024-2025 RSM Visiting Scholars

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media is thrilled to announce its 2024-25 cohort of Visiting Scholars. These seven visiting faculty members will use their time with the Institute to investigate urgent social media problems and propose mitigations for harmful online phenomena.

Events

December 4, 2024

Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Johan Farkas to discuss the current state of fake news online.

November 20, 2024

The Impact of Conspiracy Theories: At Home and Online (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Nieman Fellow Jesselyn Cook and Berkman Klein Center-Nieman Fellow Ben Reininga for a discussion with Jonathan Zittrain on the spread and impact of conspiracy theories online.

November 14, 2024

Beyond the Big Lie (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Bill Adair to discuss his new book, Beyond the Big Lie: The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy.

October 30, 2024

Combating Misinformation Through Digital Markets (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Visiting Scholar Marshall Van Alstyne to present research on market interventions to combat misinformation.

October 23, 2024

Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Mary Anne Franks to discuss her new book, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment.

October 9, 2024

Social Processes of Online Hate (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes former Visiting Scholar Joe Walther and current BKC Fellow Sahana Udupa to discuss the recent edited volume, Social Processes of Online Hate.

September 25, 2024

The Lie Detectives (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Sasha Issenberg to discuss his new book The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in the Disinformation Age.

May 8, 2024

Democracy and Technology

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Prof. Lawrence Lessig and Claudia Chwalisz for a conversation with Manon Revel on the future of democracy in the 21st century.

May 8, 2024

POSTPONED: Information Foraging in a Social Media World (RSM Speaker Series)

The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Carl T. Bergstrom for a talk exploring social media's impact on the scale of human communication and our mechanisms for creating collective understanding.

May 2, 2024

Platforms and the Right to Information

Join us for a one-day workshop examining what the right to information should look like in relation to platforms and how it can be implemented in a manner that protects user privacy.