UCLA Big Data and Politics Seminar Series
The Prevalence and Sharing Patterns of “Fake News” in the US in 2016 and 2020
David Lazer
University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Computer Sciences
Co-Director of NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks
Northeastern University
Friday, May 14, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PT
Zoom link: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/97899586814
Abstract: This presentation discusses the prevalence and sharing patterns of “fake news” in the United States in 2016 (regarding the election) and 2020 (regarding COVID-19). Substantively, the questions asked are: How common is fake news, as a specific genre of misinformation, been on Twitter? How concentrated are exposure and sharing patterns? And how does fake news fit into the broader information ecosystem on Twitter? Methodologically, the focus will in part be on the development of panels of accounts that are linked to administrative data as a method to measure aggregate behaviors on social media.
