Technology doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Neither does our research.

We research the intersection of technology platforms and democratic society. We analyze how social differences shape unequal dynamics in our information systems and prioritize questions of power. And that work produces insights that inform a digital future rooted in equality and justice.

Platforms, Power, and Politics

A new textbook from CITAP principal investigator Daniel Kreiss & co-authors offers an exciting and innovative new approach to political communication. It is essential reading for students of political communication and an important resource for scholars, journalists, and policymakers.

 

Political communication has fundamentally transformed as digital technologies have become increasingly important in everyday life. Technology platforms have become powerful political instruments for world leaders, campaigns, social movements, journalists, and non-governmental organizations. Moreover, they are essential to how people communicate about politics, encounter and share political information, and take action to pursue their political goals. This is the first textbook to center digital platforms in understanding political communication.

Get a copy

The Latest From CITAP

News

Tressie McMillan Cottom honored with Brandeis’s Gittler Prize on October 27th

November 1, 2023
Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom was presented with the Gittler Prize in an award ceremony; Tressie also visited classes and engaged with the Brandeis community for .

CITAP is Hiring!

September 18, 2023
We are seeking 2 Postdoctoral Research Associates to join us at CITAP .

CITAP is hiring!

August 23, 2023
We are seeking a dynamic, motivated Executive Director to provide innovative and visionary leadership for CITAP .

Announcing the 2023-24 affiliate community

August 4, 2023
We’re pleased to welcome our 2023-2024 cohort of affiliates .

Summer 2023 personnel announcements

July 14, 2023
This summer, CITAP is celebrating big moves across our team .

Francesca Tripodi wins 2023 CIP Award for Impact and Excellence

June 23, 2023
The award recognizes Tripodi’s research contributions to strengthening democracy against disinformation .

Call for Papers: Symposium on Misinformation & Marginalization

June 1, 2023
This symposium on Misinformation & Marginalization will explore global and comparative frames for mis- and disinformation studies that center marginalized perspectives .

Deen Freelon to join Penn; CITAP co-founder will become senior affiliate researcher

April 25, 2023
The CITAP community warmly congratulates our friend and colleague Professor Deen Freelon on his new appointment with the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School .

Publications

Transparency reports as CSR reports

November 1, 2023
How can we understand the motivations, audiences, and meanings of transparency reports produced by information and communications technology (ICT) companies .

CNN Can Kiss My As$

October 18, 2023
Who in the United States consumes far-right news media, and what does this consumption mean for American democracy .

Regulating Facial Recognition Technology

October 9, 2023
We analyze the regulatory patchwork used by state and local policymakers to govern facial recognition technology in the absence of federal legislation .

Platforms are Abandoning U.S. Democracy

September 26, 2023
Bridget Barrett and Daniel Kreiss argue platforms risk repeating the mistakes of the 2016 election nearly eight years on .

A review and provocation: On polarization and platforms

September 26, 2023
Is increasing polarization—the distance between politically meaningful groups in society—inherently bad for democracy .

‘Do your own research’: affordance activation and disinformation spread

September 20, 2023
We explain how pundits, propagandists, and conspiracy theorists ‘activate affordances’ to validate their claims .

Social media policy in two dimensions

September 14, 2023
American public opinion on who should be responsible for content governance is complicated .

Recentering power: conceptualizing counterpublics and defensive publics

June 19, 2023
What do researchers lose by failing to consider power when studying digital networks and right-wing publics .

Events

TJ Billard: Voices for Transgender Equality

TJ Billard offers an insider’s view into transgender activism during the first two years of the Trump administration .

Symposium on Religion, Media, and Public Life

Addressing the intersection of technology, American religion, and politics with particular attention to race and power .

Symposium on Misinformation and Marginalization

How does misinformation circulate in marginalized communities, and what misinformation narratives are shared about marginalized groups .

Lee McGuigan: Selling the American People

Where did adtech come from, and how did data-driven marketing come to mediate the daily encounters of people, products, and public spheres .

Melanie Feinberg: Everyday Adventures with Unruly Data

To understand the power and pitfalls of data science, we must attend to the data itself, not merely the algorithms that manipulate it .

Bridget Barrett: Merchandizing Democracy

Who buys campaign merch? Why do campaigns partake in merchandizing? What sells? Most importantly, what else can we learn from today’s online marketplaces for .

Hakeem Jefferson: From Margin to Center

Studying race and inequality requires an approach that takes seriously the experiences, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of those who live on the margins of our .

ChatGPT in Context

What is ChatGPT? Where did it come from? What does it mean for science, scholarship, and public life? Join our interdisciplinary panel for a discussion .