ND Experts on Social Media and Democracy
The University of Notre Dame hosted the National Convening on Social Media and Democracy on May 27-29, which brought together a cross-partisan group of leaders and scholars around misinformation, technology, social media and democracy to collaborate and discuss policy changes that set a national agenda. The goal of this landmark event 鈥� aimed at establishing the next several years of governance on social media and technology, particularly as it relates to improving democratic outcomes 鈥� is to create a path forward for a social media infrastructure that supports, rather than subverts, democracy.
Led by Notre Dame鈥檚 , and in partnership with the and , this convening of government, industry and academic leaders seeks to provide policy changes that can potentially redirect social media to foster healthy civic engagement, improve understanding of political issues, build trust in public institutions, bridge divided viewpoints and transform polarizing social media conversations.
By creating a regulatory roadmap for responsible social media, participants hope to ultimately help individuals find common ground and enable democratic processes.
Learn more about Notre Dame faculty experts and their research on social media and democracy, below:
AI
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Expert
Paul Brenner
Brenner is an expert in cybersecurity, high-performance and cloud computing cyberinfrastructure, AI chatbot system safety, and cyberinfrastructure for national defense. His recent research includes evaluating social media platforms and AI.
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Nitesh Chawla
As founding director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, Chawla uses advancements in AI, data science and network science to do common good through interdisciplinary research by collaborating with community and national partners.
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Yong Suk Lee
Lee is associate professor of technology, economy and global affairs and program chair in technology ethics. His research looks at technologies that affect labor and firms, societal and ethical implications of new technologies, and governance of AI.
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Walter Scheirer
Scheirer is an assistant professor of computer science and engineering and an expert in image forensics, machine learning and AI. He focuses on combating coordinated social media campaigns that incite violence, sow discord and threaten democratic elections.
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Tim Weninger
An associate professor of engineering in computer science and engineering, Weninger is an expert in disinformation and fake news. He studies how dehumanization is used in social media to sow discord and threaten the integrity of democratic elections.
Big Tech & Regulation
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Lisa Schirch
Schirch, a leading expert on technology and democracy, studies how civic trust and social cohesion are built 鈥� and undermined 鈥� in polarized societies. She analyzes how digital platforms affect peace processes and democratic participation.
Democracy
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David Campbell
Campbell is the director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative and a professor of American democracy. His expertise lies in American politics, civic engagement, political behavior and the intersection of religion and politics.
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Katlyn Carter
Carter鈥檚 expertise as an assistant professor of history lies in the foundations of representative government and the use of secrecy and transparency in the democratic system. She also studies the American Constitution as well as media and democracy.
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Michael Coppedge
Coppedge is a professor of political science and a scholar of global democracy. He is a Co-Principal Investigator for the Varieties of Democracy project (V-Dem), which has measured attributes of democracy and governance for most countries since 1789.
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Matthew Hall
Hall is a professor of constitutional studies and director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy. His research focuses on polarization, political rhetoric, hate speech and censorship, and attitudes and threats toward democracy.
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Jeffrey Harden
A professor of political science, Harden is an expert on political representation and State legislatures. He also studies American political behavior and engagement, as well as how social media and community can ignite political activism.
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Karrie Koesel
Koesel, an associate professor of political science, studies how people and social communities are manipulated and compromised online. She explores how online propaganda and disinformation sow distrust in elections through social media posts.
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Sara Marcus
Marcus is an assistant professor in English whose expertise lies in feminism and social movements, social media, and arts and culture. She examines how those elements influence politics and democratic processes.
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Erin Rossiter
Rossiter is an assistant professor of political science and an expert in American political behavior and engagement, with a unique focus on polarization, interpersonal political communications and conversations that cross partisan lines.
Disinformation, Hate Speech & Censorship
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Expert
Paul Brenner
Brenner is an expert in cybersecurity, high-performance and cloud computing cyberinfrastructure, AI chatbot system safety, and cyberinfrastructure for national defense. His recent research includes evaluating social media platforms and AI.
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Expert
Matthew Hall
Hall is a professor of constitutional studies and director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy. His research focuses on polarization, political rhetoric, hate speech and censorship, and attitudes and threats toward democracy.
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Expert
Walter Scheirer
Scheirer is an assistant professor of computer science and engineering and an expert in image forensics, machine learning and AI. He focuses on combating coordinated social media campaigns that incite violence, sow discord and threaten democratic elections.
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Expert
Lisa Schirch
Schirch, a leading expert on technology and democracy, studies how civic trust and social cohesion are built 鈥� and undermined 鈥� in polarized societies. She analyzes how digital platforms affect peace processes and democratic participation.
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Expert
Ernesto Verdeja
As associate professor of peace studies and global politics, Verdeja examines social media and AI, as well as the ways disinformation and fake news can be predictors of political violence (physical, structural, hate speech, etc.) and mass atrocities.
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Expert
Tim Weninger
An associate professor of engineering in computer science and engineering, Weninger is an expert in disinformation and fake news. He studies how dehumanization is used in social media to sow discord and threaten the integrity of democratic elections.
Kid Safety Online
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Expert
Paul Brenner
Brenner is an expert in cybersecurity, high-performance and cloud computing cyberinfrastructure, AI chatbot system safety, and cyberinfrastructure for national defense. His recent research includes evaluating social media platforms and AI.
