Data & Society
Social, cultural, political, and economic implications of data-centric platforms and algorithmic systems. Platform labor/precarity, recommendation algorithms & attention economies, mis/disinformation dynamics, power asymmetries on platforms.
- Type
- Nonprofit Research Institute
- Based in
- New York, NY (US)
- Focus region
- Primarily US/academic but highly influential globally in platform studies
Notable projects
Extensive report series on platform economies, content moderation workforces, algorithmic bias and inequality, data infrastructures of platforms; ethnographic and empirical studies of how platforms reshape society and work.
Produces rigorous, peer-influenced research often used by policymakers, journalists, and other civil society. Focuses on structural/platform-level issues rather than individual bad content. Strong interdisciplinary approach.
Reports (2)
Full database- Jan 2024· X/Twitter, Other
When Kindness Kills: How Algorithms Accelerate Savior Swarms
Introduces 'savior swarming,' algorithmically amplified surges of well-intentioned collective action that overwhelm and harm the communities they aim to help (cases: Twitter trending, r/BlackPeopleTwitter).
- Jan 2024· Cross-platform
Reckoning with Mis/Disinformation in 2024 (series)
A reflection series revisiting a decade of mis/disinformation research in the context of the 2024 US election, examining how platform information systems continue to be gamed.