Methods papers are hard to assemble, but I hope this one is useful for researchers seeking to contend with visual data, particularly when that data can be harmful. I also hope in a time of increasing automation in research this paper centers human analysis and interpretation of social data! (3/3)
I am so so grateful to so many people! @katestarbird.bsky.social for her mentorship across many iterations of this work! @schafer.bsky.social, @priyadhawka.bsky.social, @mntmrtr1540.bsky.social for coming on this journey with me across three different studies. And ALL of my DRG students <3 (2/n)
I am at #CHI2026 presenting my paper on conducting mixed methods visual research with care in distressing contexts. This methods paper has been my heart and soul during my PhD! A version was rejected last year and this year I am honored it won a Best Paper award! doi.org/10.1145/3772... (1/n)
Spotlight graph of X discourse about the shooting/killing of a man by ICE agents on January 24 in Minneapolis. Graph showing X posts along time (X axis) and cumulative number of X posts shared by that time (Y axis). Post counts are estimated (by Brandwatch) and include both X posts and reposts where the text contained terms indicating the post was about the *shooting AND the video* during the time period. Individual posts are plotted on the graph, sized by the number of reposts that post received (during the time period). Plotted posts are limited to posts that received >1 reposts. Two posts are highlighted. One by @gremloe (1/24/2026, 12:31:31 PM EDT): “It appears from zooming in just moments before ICE/CBP shoot yet another US citizen, one agent removes the victims firearm from his waste holster. The victim was UNARMED when he was shot multiple times. This is a state execution. Again.” A second by @bennyjohnson (1/24/2026, 1:21:28 PM EDT): “Tim Walz just a few days ago was climbing on the gate of his mansion urging protesters to keep causing “trouble” and fighting ICE. An armed man just attacked agents and got killed. See how that works? Minnesota officials are fueling this.”
If you're interested in seeing how framing contests are taking shape after the ICE killing of another person in Minneapolis, here's a window into the conversation on X this morning.
Link to interactive graph: faculty.washington.edu/kstarbi/Spot...
* I put this together quickly. Sorry for any errors
I think that's part of the power of doing that type of memo/diary study structuring during unfolding events like this -- which is what we did in our 2024 election team! :)
[thread complete lol]
I think the main thing is that the diary study could evolve based on what people submit -- the form could get updated prompts etc. AND content collection about this phenomenon would be informed by this.
2) In the form, have users give their contact info if they might be interested in having a follow up interview
3) dovetail this with content collected by researchers on Junkipedia with relevant keywords, creators etc based on form responses
I would do it a bit multi prong but a bit nitty gritty.
1) have users submit both their written comments/experiences, screenshots, AND links to content on the app where creators are folk theorizing about what is going on [researchers would save those vids]
[1/n]
New research on Twitter (right before rebranding to X) shows right leaning accounts got outsized visibility from the algorithm & suggests this bias stemmed from different content production techniques (more sensational, outrage-bait) and from direct interaction w/ the new king of the platform: Musk.
STS/Communications scholar Morgan Ames (whom these authors don't cite) has repeatedly demonstrated that OLPC was ineffective at best, and harmful at worst, including in an award-winning book published in 2019.
The real question is why economists don't acknowledge work in other fields.
(Smart phone I mean! I had my razor at the same time as first card!)
Yes! I have always had one memorized as a just in case since I had my first credit card (which pre dates having my first cellphone).
UW CIP postdoc @mertcanbayar.bsky.social explains how a high-profile scientist's statements about the 3l/ATLAS comet harnessed uncertainty and attention dynamics, and spawned widespread speculation about an alien visitor, an "alien of the gaps" in human knowledge: www.cip.uw.edu/2025/12/03/3...
A note for cognitive researchers interested in the spread of misinfo and disinfo.
A lot of our research uses text-based presentation of information.
Most of what people use on social media is video-based.
I suspect more people watch news than read papers.
Maybe we should consider this?
Academia is really just juggling lots of things and being like "Wow I'm so good at juggling!" and ignoring the fact that still means you are a clown.
Bullshit as U.S. government policy. This is the punchline from my Feb 2025 lecture. If you’re interested in understanding more about how we got here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjiG...
It ends with a call to action to rage against the bullshit machine.
Look out for more work here! Priya is thinking more about vis practitioners, how vis can mislead, and tensions of open government datasets. I'm building more methods and ways we can safely and rigorously study participatory visual culture at the nexus of information disorder.
And I'm just so so grateful to @katestarbird.bsky.social for supporting this work. We learned so much writing this paper that we have now applied to all of our other papers! And we would not have gotten the award without Kate's master writing touches!!!
We then look at the journeys that these data visualizations go on -- and how they are remixed with re-creation but also how they jump platforms and are even photo-edited! It's a ride through a fun OSINT journey of how we assembled these lineages.
This is the first empirical work to come out of my larger anti-immigrant propaganda project! We focus on what frames and claims are made in data visualizations, and how open government units and data are confused on both sides of the aisle and lose clarity and accuracy.
It was such an honor to co-lead this paper w/ @priyadhawka.bsky.social. We do a fun mix of our research here -- looking at the visual participatory nature of data visualizations and the non-neutral underpinnings and infrastructures of the (open) data and actors behind them. (thread)
For Seattle folks… I’m giving a talk tonight at Obec Brewery (6:30) about science funding, the history of human computer interaction, and the future of AI. I’m off the clock, so I may get a little spicier than usual. If you’re around, please come!
Hi Seattle! Come see my talk on the history of human-computer interaction. I'll explain U.S. gov funding of science has led to many of the innovations that power our economy & shape our lives — and call out the short-sightedness & hypocrisy of efforts to defund science in this field & so many others
Happy refresh email for CSCW 2026 results for all who celebrate.
Does your work explore mis/disinformation, scams, hate speech, or other forms of harmful information online?
We are convening a CSCW workshop to bring together a global community focused on information disorder. We welcome short submissions, due August 8th.
cscw2025infodisorder.netlify.app
Interesting new study from researchers at the UW Center for an Informed Public finds that AI-generated persuasive messaging (AI-Pasta) is more effective in key ways (e.g. creating a false sense of consensus) and harder to detect than traditional CopyPasta.
Join us online or in person in Bergen, Norway!
Really excited to draw attention to this dissertation by Melinda McClure Haughey (@melm.cc). Melinda's research explored collaborative infrastructure for supporting the "sensemaking" work of journalists working on high-stakes, fast-paced & often data-driven beats. www.melm.cc/research/dis...
We’ve seen this repeatedly. QAnon. COVID denial. Election lies. War crimes denial. In each case, the problem wasn’t just what people believed, it was how those beliefs hardened into identity and made correction impossible.
Does your work explore mis/disinformation, scams, hate speech, or other forms of harmful information online?
We are convening a CSCW workshop to bring together a global community focused on information disorder. We welcome 2-6 page submissions, due August 1.
cscw2025infodisorder.netlify.app