Spotlight graph of X discourse about the shooting/killing of a man by ICE agents on January 24 in Minneapolis. Graph showing X posts along time (X axis) and cumulative number of X posts shared by that time (Y axis). Post counts are estimated (by Brandwatch) and include both X posts and reposts where the text contained terms indicating the post was about the *shooting AND the video* during the time period. Individual posts are plotted on the graph, sized by the number of reposts that post received (during the time period). Plotted posts are limited to posts that received >1 reposts. Two posts are highlighted. One by @gremloe (1/24/2026, 12:31:31 PM EDT): “It appears from zooming in just moments before ICE/CBP shoot yet another US citizen, one agent removes the victims firearm from his waste holster. The victim was UNARMED when he was shot multiple times. This is a state execution. Again.” A second by @bennyjohnson (1/24/2026, 1:21:28 PM EDT): “Tim Walz just a few days ago was climbing on the gate of his mansion urging protesters to keep causing “trouble” and fighting ICE. An armed man just attacked agents and got killed. See how that works? Minnesota officials are fueling this.”

If you're interested in seeing how framing contests are taking shape after the ICE killing of another person in Minneapolis, here's a window into the conversation on X this morning.
Link to interactive graph: faculty.washington.edu/kstarbi/Spot...
* I put this together quickly. Sorry for any errors

A poster for The Disinformation Summer Institute, June 15-18, 2026, Bainbridge Island, WA. The application deadline is Feb. 15 and available at disinfoinstitute.org

🧵Applications are now open for the second-ever Disinformation Summer Institute, taking place June 15-18, 2026 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The deadline to apply is February 15.

Learn more: disinfoinstitute.org

Framing the killing of Renee Nicole Good Within minutes of her death in Minneapolis, efforts began to shape how audiences interpreted the available evidence.

No matter what your politics and/or values are at this moment, @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social writes in a blog post that "it’s vital to understand the online dynamics and political strategies that are shaping how we see the world."

www.cip.uw.edu/2026/01/15/f...

Being Sensemakers: A Framework for University-Based Rapid Research of Elections, Crisis Events, and Beyond – Simple Book Publishing A framework for university-based rapid research of elections, crisis events, and beyond

Since 2020, our team has iterated on a model for “rapid research” to help surface, analyze, & resolve rumors about election administration. This work demonstrates an innovative role for researchers to support public sensemaking during rapidly unfolding events.

uw.pressbooks.pub/rapidresearc...

I'm proud to be a co-author on this new @cip.uw.edu report with my colleagues @danielletomson.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social @mertcanbayar.bsky.social and @emmaspiro.bsky.social.

Check out Kate's 🧵 ...

We're currently accepting applications to hire up to two @cip.uw.edu postdoctoral scholars to join our team in Seattle. The priority deadline to apply is January 15, 2026.

For the position description, salary range, qualifications and application process, click here: apply.interfolio.com/177901

Rabble-Rousers in the New King's Court: Algorithmic Effects on Account Visibility in Pre-X Twitter Algorithmic effects on social media platforms have come under recent scrutiny, with several works reporting that right-leaning accounts tend to receive more exposure. In this paper, we expand upon thi...

Recently accepted at ICWSM: arxiv.org/abs/2512.06129 (w/ @kayladuskin.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social, and @emmaspiro.bsky.social)

We look at how algorithmic feeds affect Twitter account visibility. More visible accounts:

-Are agitators
-Get attention from Elon Musk
-Are not legacy verified

Social media research tool can reduce polarization — it could also lead to more user control over algorithms A web-based method was shown to mitigate political polarization on X by nudging antidemocratic and extremely negative partisan posts lower in a user’s feed. The tool, which is independent of the...

🧵A new tool developed by researchers, including @cip.uw.edu faculty member @msaveski.bsky.social, shows it is possible to reduce partisan rancor in an X feed — without removing political posts and without the direct cooperation of the platform. (1/3) www.washington.edu/news/2025/12...

Seeking nominations: The CIP Award for Impact & Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements that advance civic health and promote an informed society by helping individuals, communities, and institutions navigate complex information challenges.

The UW Center for an Informed Public's logo on a graphic that reads "CIP Award for Impact & Excellence," with a night-time view of UW's Red Square with the Broken Obelisk sculpture illuminated.

We're currently seeking nomination materials for the @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. The submission deadline is January 15, 2026.

Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...

Alien of the gaps: How 3I/ATLAS was turned into a spaceship online When we reach the frontier of current knowledge, we’re tempted to insert a higher power into the space where answers aren’t yet satisfying for all.

UW CIP postdoc @mertcanbayar.bsky.social explains how a high-profile scientist's statements about the 3l/ATLAS comet harnessed uncertainty and attention dynamics, and spawned widespread speculation about an alien visitor, an "alien of the gaps" in human knowledge: www.cip.uw.edu/2025/12/03/3...

The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for nominations of folks making a difference towards promoting civic health and helping people and communities navigate the complex information systems that we all seem to be caught up in. If you know of someone making impact, please nominate them!

Do you know a human working hard to address complex information challenges in service of the public good? Consider nominating them for the CIP Award for Impact & Excellence.

Come join an incredible team of researchers and staff!

CIP researchers present 5 papers and workshop at 2025 CSCW conference in Norway At the CSCW conference in Bergen, Norway, CIP researchers facilitated a conference workshop and presented 5 papers, including one that received a Best Paper award.

Proud to be a part of this research center! www.cip.uw.edu/2025/10/27/u...

Bullshit as U.S. government policy. This is the punchline from my Feb 2025 lecture. If you’re interested in understanding more about how we got here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjiG...

It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.

Q&A: Ryan Calo on why 'we need to take a page from the Amish' Ryan Calo holds a joint appointment as a professor in the Information School and as the Lane Powell and D. Wayne Gittinger Professor at the UW School of La...

"There’s a pressing need for a generation of people who possess a technical understanding of the technology itself and also are informed about the methods and tools of regulation," @cip.uw.edu co-founder @rcalo.bsky.social said in an @ischool.uw.edu Q&A: ischool.uw.edu/news/2025/07...

How Minnesota shooting conspiracy theories took over social media feeds Before a suspect was ever named in the shootings, conspiracy theorists and opportunists jumped at the chance to blame their political opponents.

“The design of social media platforms facilitates and even incentivizes this kind of rumoring and political point-scoring in the wake of crisis events,” @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social said in an interview with @nbcnews.com. www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...

Misinformation research continues to be urgent science By one account, roughly 70% of Americans regard misinformation as a major threat, outpacing fears about climate change and infectious disease (1). This is true although the current and longer-term imp...

Important message from @ethanvporter.bsky.social @aaronshaw.bsky.social @emmaspiro.bsky.social

“NSF has accepted a dangerous myth that misinformation research (and research more generally) is really just partisan activism […] Nothing could be further from the truth”

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The newest budget numbers out of NSF are... not good. We're looking at worse than worst case scenarios for U.S. research universities. That's in addition to all the other attacks. Every person w/ a word processer and an hour of time should be penning an op-ed to their local papers this weekend.

We're currently accepting applications for the 2025-26 cohort of our @cip.uw.edu Community Fellowship program! (Did I mention one of the wonderful projects emerging from this program was featured in Teen Vogue?)

Learn more ... 👇👇👇

This statement from the NSF is insane.

Science is, in essence, designed to separate the true from the false.

Understanding how falsehoods spread is key to the scientific endeavor. It is not a violation of free speech to be proven wrong.

Kate Starbird is seated in a chair holding a smartphone and there's text above reading "A Spotlight on Rumors"

Coming up from 5:30-6:30 p.m. PST: @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social will present the 2025 UW Faculty Lecture, "A Spotlight on Rumors: Illuminating How Influence and Improvisation Shape Online Conversations." Event is in person and livestreamed.

www.washington.edu/facultystaff...

Coming up on February 24! @cip.uw.edu co-founder @katestarbird.bsky.social will be presenting, "A Spotlight on Rumors: Illuminating How Influence and Improvisation Shape Online Conversations," the 2025 University Faculty Lecture at the University of Washington. (In person and via livestream.) ⤵️⤵️⤵️

2025 University Faculty Lecture A Spotlight on Rumors: Illuminating How Influence and Improvisation Shape Online Conversations

Seattle folks: I'm giving a (free) public lecture Feb 24, where I'll explain what our team's decade of research on online rumors & disinformation reveals about the once-alternative media ecosystem that is driving the rise of right wing populism around the world. www.washington.edu/facultystaff...

NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately The move halts a large slice of money for most universities and research institutions virtually overnight, imperiling vital research in everything from cancer to heart disease.

Breaking news: The Trump administration cut billions in biomedical funding. Researchers say it imperils work on cancer and other illnesses.

Research universities are often the largest employers in their region. They are often the primary health care providers to communities. This funding shift will not only reduce US research leadership, it will put working people out of work and reduce healthcare access.

It’s the jobs. If we want this to matter to the broadest audience possible, then it’s the jobs. The impact on jobs and job prospects will reach each and every family in America today, tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. The science and medical care will matter most after job loss.

The proposed cuts to the US National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and NOAA would decimate American science. Perhaps naturally, a “post truth” movement, powered by bullshit, is going to be “post science” as well.

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.

I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...