In the most recent VPD Speaker Series, NYU’s Paul M. Barrett detailed how social media use can enable or contribute to political strife. Based on a review of more than 400 social science studies, his new HFG-funded report ‘We Want You To Be A Proud Boy: How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence‘ identifies particular features of social media platforms that make them susceptible to exploitation and suggests how to mitigate the dangers.

Watch the video recording here.

“While our 2024 Emerging Scholars come from diverse fields and study cases from different locations and historical periods, they are united in studying problems of serious violence,” said HFG’s Director of Research Joel Wallman. “Some are looking at the causes of violence, others are examining how justice systems handle it, and some are studying effective ways to foster peace after conflict. These eleven students and their research projects are excellent investments in HFG’s mission to clarify the roots of violence and what works to prevent or reduce it.”

In the latest installment of The Polarization Project, HFG Distinguished Fellow of Practice Greg Berman interviews Jennifer McCoy, a professor of political science at Georgia State University, about how the American political system encourages polarization, how elite political rhetoric influences the behavior of the general public, and whether both parties are equally to blame for our current predicament.