Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life
We research the intersection of technology platforms and democratic society.
Our work produces insights that inform a digital future rooted in equality and justice.
linktr.ee/unc_citap
- “AI technologies are not inevitable… their development and widespread use are subject to democratic governance.” We’ve released a new joint report from UNC + @unituebingen.bsky.social: "AI Governance & Democracy: A Statement of Principles and Transatlantic Research Goals".
- The statement outlines key principles and research priorities for ensuring AI development serves democratic values. The framework bridges U.S. innovation strengths with EU human rights protections, offering a unified approach to pressing challenges in AI oversight.
- Key components include: ✨Shared democratic principles for AI governance ✨Commitment to human rights and social justice ✨Framework for balancing innovation with protective oversight ✨Environmental and workforce considerations ✨Proposed research goals across five critical areas
- Their work comes at a crucial moment as technology companies advance competing visions of AI development that may conflict with democratic values. Read the full report: citap.unc.edu/publications...
- 🚨TODAY!🚨 We'll see you all soon! 📚👀
- Join us for "Black Twitter: Talking Back and Transforming Television", a conversation on digital activism, media, and culture with Meredith D. Clark and Sherri M. Williams: ✬ March 26 ✬ 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ✬ Halls of Fame, Carroll Hall ✬ Lunch provided 🔗 RSVP here: forms.office.com/r/j7cFNhTWRC
- Want to learn more? Tune in to KGI’s upcoming webinar on March 25th at 11am about how to fix the feeds 😊 Report authors will explain how algorithms are currently designed and how the report guidelines can make them better. Register now! 👇 bit.ly/4bBbraR
- American higher education now faces a perfect storm of demoralization, defunding, and delegitimization. These attacks are not random or isolated; they follow a classic authoritarian playbook, and go beyond ordinary policy disagreements and have become an existential threat to the academic sector.
- If we allow our universities to be gutted, we risk losing one of democracy’s fundamental pillars – the cultivation of knowledge, critical inquiry, and informed citizenship that sustain a free society.
- As Tressie McMillan Cottom said in a recent @nytimes.com conversation, "Our current crisis is an amalgamation of two tensions: We want the elitism of prestigious universities and yet we do not want them to have any control of our culture or status."
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View full threadNow is the time to work on that narrative. Now is the time to reinvest in your relationships with your colleagues, students, universities, and the academic fields you are a part of to steel them for what's ahead. Now is the time to fight for your universities.
- Join us for "Black Twitter: Talking Back and Transforming Television", a conversation on digital activism, media, and culture with Meredith D. Clark and Sherri M. Williams: ✬ March 26 ✬ 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ✬ Halls of Fame, Carroll Hall ✬ Lunch provided 🔗 RSVP here: forms.office.com/r/j7cFNhTWRC
- Dr. Meredith D. Clark & Dr. Sherri M. Williams will explore how Black digital communities have transformed TV, influenced representation, and challenged media gatekeepers. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with two leading scholars on Black digital activism!
- Dr. Meredith D. Clark is the author of "We Tried to Tell Y’all: Black Twitter & Black Digital Resistance", exploring how Black Twitter amplifies marginalized voices and disrupts erasure.
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View full threadLunch will be provided, along with some other fun items (📘👀), so RSVP to secure your spot now! forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
- Ecstatic to announce I'll join the University of North Dakota this fall as an Assistant Professor of Sociology! Honored to be a part of a close-knit community of dedicated faculty and students and to represent the Eternal Flame—persevering through adversity to make a tangible impact for the better.
- 📄 Excited to share a new dataset preprint! WikiReddit: Tracing Information and Attention Flows Between Online Platforms A collaboration with @beeeeeers.bsky.social, Viviane Ito, Agustin Orozco, and @ftripodi.bsky.social at @citap.bsky.social .
- The latest @pewresearch.org & Knight report reveals that almost 1 in 5 U.S. adults regularly get their news from influencers on social media. Sign up to join news influencers and social media experts on 2/16 to discuss the rapidly changing news landscape: kf.org/4aGa9e9.
- This is one last (unplanned) result of my Fulbright fellowship at CITAP. If you feel like reading a thorough analysis of how authoritarian tendencies overcome our democracies and what the US can learn from Central and Eastern Europe, click below (featuring among others, @ivan-kalmar.bsky.social)
- CITAP, in collaboration with Marie Heřmanová (@mariher.bsky.social) & Kristóf Szombati, presents a very timely and important reading list: "Authoritarian Politics: How to Understand It and How to Resist It." ...🧵 citap.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
- CITAP, in collaboration with Marie Heřmanová (@mariher.bsky.social) & Kristóf Szombati, presents a very timely and important reading list: "Authoritarian Politics: How to Understand It and How to Resist It." ...🧵 citap.unc.edu/wp-content/u...
- Authoritarianism isn’t just a regional issue—it’s a global phenomenon. This guide explores how authoritarian politics take root, drawing on lessons from Central & Eastern Europe. Understanding these patterns can help us resist them elsewhere.
- What’s inside?👇 I. Learning from the Past This section covers books & essays on the totalitarian regimes of the Soviet Bloc before 1989 & their aftermath. What happens when a society transitions away from authoritarian rule? What lessons can we learn today?
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View full thread"There is no more powerful political tool than occupying the high ground of popular culture." Authoritarianism thrives by shaping narratives—resisting it starts with understanding how those narratives are built. Read, reflect, and share this tool broadly. 🔗Link in bio
- In today's newsletter: -South Korea’s fight and lessons for global democracy from @heesoojang.bsky.social -Kamala Harris’ campaign and its impact on future leadership -The rise of GLP-1 medications and their implications -The role of social media in shaping online interactions and digital trust
- I was preparing to pitch an op-ed on the nationwide protests calling for President Yoon's resignation, aiming to provide global context amid the limited international coverage. Given the urgency, I’m sharing it now. I didn’t expect events to escalate this quickly. #SouthKorea #Democracy
- A few CITAPers are at NCA this week in New Orleans. Are you presenting? Let us know when and on what below! 👇👇👇
- 🚨TODAY!🚨 Join us in-person or virtually for "Experience vs. Expertise" with @mariher.bsky.social. Explore how social media creators balance authenticity and authority, and the impact of gender in digital spaces.
- ✨Join us on Nov. 15th, 3-4 PM at the Freedom Forum (or via livestream) for "Experience vs. Expertise" with @mariher.bsky.social !✨ Explore how social media creators balance authenticity and authority, and the impact of gender in digital spaces. 👇👇👇
- At the Digital Democracy Centre, we've just created this cool new starter pack featuring research institutions, researchers, NGOs, journals, and think tanks focused on how digital technologies and AI impact media, politics, and democracy. We'll be updating the list continuously!at://did:plc:3fctmgebqbmjupv4ugx3uuhi/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3lasudohuoq2j
- The Justice, Power, and Politics series is edited by @historianheather.bsky.social and Rhonda Y. Williams. #JPPbooks publishes new works that explore questions of social justice and political power and struggles for justice in the twentieth century. It is the definition of a field-defining series.
- Just published: "Fractured Platforms, Unified Narratives" - a deep dive into the 2024 election through the lens of storytelling and identity politics, the migration from X to Bluesky, a CITAP book review on January 6th & more.
- Tressie McMillan Cottom breaks down why Trump connects with voters: he speaks to their emotions and offers a story of winning, even without specific policies. It’s more than politics; it’s about making people feel seen and heard.
- On a broader scale, the fractured media landscape gave Trump an advantage. As @dkreiss.bsky.social notes, today’s digital ecosystem allowed Trump to speak directly to audiences who felt disconnected from mainstream news.
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View full threadThis Friday at 3pm EST, CITAP is hosting "Experience vs. Expertise" with Dr. Marie Heřmanová, where she will explore social media, authenticity, and authority. Join us in person or via Zoom.
- Welcome to all of our new followers 🎉 We’re committed to strengthening democracy through rigorous research on the impact of technology, information, & media in society. We’re excited to engage with you, share our insights into the digital landscape, & create more equitable information ecosystems.
- Whether you're a researcher, student, policymaker, or engaged citizen, your voice matters here. On our feed, you’ll find updates on CITAP events, newly published research papers, and opportunities to engage with our work firsthand.
- We’re building a future rooted in understanding power, uplifting people, and setting new precedents—let’s create it together.
- You ✨do not✨ want to miss this talk on Friday.... 3pm-4pm EST, join us at Carroll Hall or online! ✬RSVP below✬
- ✨Join us on Nov. 15th, 3-4 PM at the Freedom Forum (or via livestream) for "Experience vs. Expertise" with @mariher.bsky.social !✨ Explore how social media creators balance authenticity and authority, and the impact of gender in digital spaces. 👇👇👇
- ✨Join us on Nov. 15th, 3-4 PM at the Freedom Forum (or via livestream) for "Experience vs. Expertise" with @mariher.bsky.social !✨ Explore how social media creators balance authenticity and authority, and the impact of gender in digital spaces. 👇👇👇
- Honored to have the great A.J. Bauer review Media and January 6th: "While the historians question whether we can, the political communication scholars insist that we must." (cc co-editors @rebekahtromble.bsky.social @shannimcg.bsky.social Khadijah Costley White). www.tandfonline.com/eprint/V3DDA...
- 🚨TODAY!🚨 You do not want to miss this insightful and timely discussion. Join us at 5pm in Carroll Hall, or via Zoom Webinar. 👇👇👇 t.co/SqOhzN6DQw
- Join us tomorrow ✨in-person or via webinar ✨for "Racialized Disinformation: Elections Past, Present, and Future," a panel hosted by CITAP & CABJ. Learn how disinformation targets communities of color & ways to combat it, through the lens of #Election2024. 👇👇👇
- Join us tomorrow ✨in-person or via webinar ✨for "Racialized Disinformation: Elections Past, Present, and Future," a panel hosted by CITAP & CABJ. Learn how disinformation targets communities of color & ways to combat it, through the lens of #Election2024. 👇👇👇
- Dinner will be served, and if you are a UNC undergrad, you can earn a CLE credit! 👀
- 🚨NEW PAPER ALERT🚨 "Child-Sacrificing Drag Queens: Historical Antecedents in Disinformative Narratives Supporting the Drag Queen Story Hour Moral Panic." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... (thread for nonpaywall version)... 1/
- Tressie coming out the gate explaining why horserace coverage is not a great look for the media (CITAP could've charged me and I would've paid to watch this)
- 🚨There is still time to join this fantastic chat!! -> unc.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
- Today @ 5, we are hosting a fireside chat "Media Coverage of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election" featuring @dkreiss.bsky.social, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and @jschaeuble.bsky.social. ✨Join us at Carroll Hall or via webinar!✨ More info & RSVP below 👇👇👇
- Today @ 5, we are hosting a fireside chat "Media Coverage of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election" featuring @dkreiss.bsky.social, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and @jschaeuble.bsky.social. ✨Join us at Carroll Hall or via webinar!✨ More info & RSVP below 👇👇👇
- 🚨This Thursday was are hosting "Media Coverage of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election"!🚨 You do not want to miss this - RSVP now! 👇👇👇
- Mark your calendars- you do not want to miss this event !! Join us on Oct 24 at 5 PM for a fireside chat: "Media Coverage of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: The View from Germany and the U.S." Featuring Tressie McMillan Cottom, Juliane Schäuble, and moderated by Daniel Kreiss. RSVP below 👇👇👇
- We're thrilled to celebrate @alicetiara.bsky.social as she takes on her new role as Director of Research at @datasociety.bsky.social! Her incredible work at CITAP shaped our mission and vision from the start. We look forward to seeing what she does next 🎉
- Do you wonder about the connection between conspiratorial thinking and identity, emotion, and embodiment? We're so excited for this talk from our former postdoc (now Asst Prof at the University of Kentucky) Dr. Yvonne Eadon! 👽👀 You can watch virtually or join us at Flyleaf Books. See you then!
- 🚨Don't miss our very own Meredith Clark @meredithdclark.bsky.social in a Shorenstein Center talk, "Is she electable, though? Gender Bias in the Media". 🚨 📆Tuesday, September 17th ⏰3:00pm 💻Zoom webinar Sign up and read more here! 👇👇 👇
- This week @ CITAP: -how Kamala Harris is redefining the look of presidential leadership -community building through union organizing -a few media mentions & -a new paper on healthy information ecosystems 👇👇👇
- While Meta executives have suggested that CrowdTangle was never intended for research, @alicetiara.bsky.social told Engadget, "We were trained on CrowdTangle by people who worked at Facebook... They were very enthusiastic about academics using it." Read the full story 👇👇👇
- 🚨We are excited to announce that @meredithdclark.bsky.social is joining CITAP as a Principal Investigator🚨 Her work will bring invaluable insights into digital media's role in shaping public discourse and mobilizing social justice movements. Read the whole announcement in our newsletter below 👇👇👇
- Kathleen Searles and I have been researching how to better support and protect colleagues who face backlash when they share their expertise publicly. We prepared this tip sheet for academics who are likely to be doing public-facing engagement this election season. Please share widely.
- CITAP researchers travelled to the Gold Coast, Australia last month for #ICA24. We have just released a ✨special edition photo essay✨discussing ICA as well as a CITAP cohosted post-conference, "P3: Power, Propaganda, Polarisation." Check it out: citap.unc.edu/news/ica2024...
