Social Media and Democracy, with the Social Science Research Council

April 19 - 20th, 2018

Stanford University, Arrillaga Alumni Center 326 Galvez Drive
Stanford, CA 94305

The 2016 American elections intensifed popular as well as scholarly interest in the relationship between media and democracy on topics like fake news, information bubbles, and algorithmic propaganda.

Social Media and Democracy: Assessing the State of the Field and Identifying Unexplored Questions will convene researchers as part of a two-day conference to assess the current literature on social media and democracy, and to set a research agenda for the field moving forward.

Open to the public with RSVP. Limited availability.

Agenda

Thursday, April 19

8:30 – 9:00 am: Registration and Breakfast

9:00 – 9:30 am: Opening Remarks

9:30 – 11:00 am: Inflammatory Speech and Incivility Online

Susan Benesch, Harvard University
Bryan Gervais, University of Texas, San Antonio
Diana Mutz, University of Pennsylvania
Monica Stephens, University of Buffalo

11:00 – 11:30 am: Coffee Break

11:30 – 1:00 pm: Distribution and Effects of Fake News

Renee DiResta, Data for Democracy
Kelly Garrett, The Ohio State University
David Rand, Yale University
Josh Tucker, New York University

1:00 – 2:00 pm: Lunch

2:00 – 3:30 pm: Correcting Disinformation

Jonathan Albright, Columbia University
Matt Baum, Harvard University
Adam J. Berinsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Matt Gentzkow, Stanford University
Emily Thorson, Syracuse University

Friday, April 20

8:30 – 9:00 am: Breakfast

9:00 – 10:30 am: Homophily in the Social Media Sphere

Damon Centola, University of Pennsylvania
Annie Franco, Stanford University
Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University
Jaime Settle, College of William and Mary

10:30 – 10:45 a.m: Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:15 pm: Globalization of the Marketplace of Ideas

Nina Jankowicz, The Wilson Center
Linda Kinstler, Freelance Journalist
Jennifer Pan, Stanford University

12:15 – 1:30 pm: Concluding Discussion Over Lunch

Partners

Conference chairs:

Nate Persily, James B. McClatchy Professor of Law Stanford University

Diana Mutz, Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication University of Pennsylvania

Conference hosts:

Media and Democracy, Social Science Research Council

Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, Stanford University

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

With support from:

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The Democracy Fund

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation