Research Tree Social Media Research x Insights

Color, solarized image of fallen pine needles as found in a pine forest. The colors are not natural and the contrast between light and dark is enhanced.

Help request: I would like to speak with a linguist who can help hone my understanding of the intersection of large language models with ideas that can become action. Reach me here or more privately Signal: esmichelson.01.

A screenshot of an Android app. Text: ▲ Nearby Glasses Smart Glasses are probably nearby Device: Unknown RSSI: -42 dBm Reason: Meta Company ID (0x058E) Company: Meta Platforms, Inc. This app notifies you when smart glasses are nearby. It uses company identificators in the Bluetooth data sent out by these. Therefore, there likely are false positives (e.g. from VR headsets). Hence, please proceed with caution when approaching a person nearby wearing glasses. They might just be regular glasses, despite this app's warning. Debug Log [19:08:40] Unknown (-50 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:40] Unknown (-50 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:41] Unknown (-34 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:42] Unknown (-34 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:42] Unknown (-34 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:42] Unknown (-57 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:43] Unknown (-40 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:43] Unknown (-42 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:43] Unknown (-42 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:44] Unknown (-42 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:44] Unknown (-42 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:44] Unknown (-42 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:45] Unknown (-40 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E) [19:08:45] Unknown (-63 dBm) Meta Company ID (0x058E)

I made an app.
play.google.com/store/apps/d...
Nearby Glasses is here to warn you when smart glasses are nearby.

I hope it's useful for someone.

Nearby Glasses's open source, free and rather simple
github.com/yjeanrenaud/...

It's also downloadable outside the Play Store. iOS port is in the making

Potential safety problem for bicyclists or opportunity for improved infrastructure? By Ron Johnson.

View the dashboard here
app.youscan.io/dashboard/FL...

Homeland Security Hires Labor Dept. Aide Whose Posts Raised Alarms

He raised alarms among colleagues at Labor for social media posts that echoed white supremacists and neo-Nazis. So now he will handle social media for Homeland Security. A great scoop by Evan Gorelick on the 21-yr-old behind all those weird memes on gvt accounts. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

Research Tree - Research & Insights Research & Insights we find interesting and think you will, too.

New report:
Perceptions of the image of the US:
Trust, Credibility, Reputation and Soft-power
👉🏽 This qualitative review reveals a continuing erosion of trust and credibility towards the United States occurring internationally and domestically.
www.research-tree.net/research-ins...

A founder off the rails rarely needs more data. They need someone steady enough to absorb the chaos without adding to it.

Founders, and CEOs for that matter, who are truly off the rails likely didn't heed any good information they were getting. Absorbing is one strategy for the strong-backed advisor, an intervention is another. Advisors can use the ignored info and also bring fresh data insights into play.

Peru's Presidential Removal: What American Investors Need to Know - Pholus Advisory Peru removed its third president in three years. Analysis of what institutional breakdown means for American investors in frontier markets.

"When criminal organizations reach the level where they can effectively influence who governs and a majority of legislators are under criminal investigation themselves, you’re not just managing business risk, you’re operating in a contested governance environment."

www.pholus.co/perus-presid...

TЯUTH A just completed project over the months was among the most interesting in my research career. It was reporting on environmental microplastics and was a genuine learning experience.

What I wrote about AI large language models impact on news reporting. www.linkedin.com/pulse/t%25D1...

So this is new: I’ve been personally sanctioned by a nation-state. How exactly is one supposed to mark that?

Reputable media sites should be here. There is a significant subset of engaged audience that doesn't even look at X.

How not to support the National Park Service Sadly, buying T-shirts from spammy websites will not help protect the U.S. National Park Service

For my last post of 2025, here's a look at a network of websites and social media accounts hawking #resistance- themed garments, frequently with slogans regarding U.S. National Parks.

As it turns out, the websites in question are likely operated from China.
www.conspirator0.com/p/how-not-to...

Opinion | Three Experts on Vaccines, Measles and Kennedy

Social science research can help us to understand why doubt and disinformation find a landing strip in some communities. Community-level research and interventions will not alone overcome the political economy of disinformation and doubt fueling these trends.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/o...

And chances are many "retired" are not actual people.

Follow the Affordability+Hoax I Feed in the menu for @researchtree.bsky.social to see the top liked posts from the past 24 hours. Its a combo of snark and news from Bluesky’s big accounts even as Trump and surrogates continue their foot/mouth media tour.

The censorship lie is a major part of US foreign policy:
-Rubio instructed diplomats to “lobby” against online safety regulations in EU & UK
-tech companies are passing what is said in private meetings btwn CSOs & regulators to Trump admin
-US lawmakers harassing foreign regulators
-and now this:

Researchers: Two new Bluesky Feeds created by me. Affordability+Hoax I and Affordability+Hoax II. The first sorts by Likes count, the second by post date. Trend will fade, but look for linkage to economic stats by "smart" ppl. as they seek new angles and snark from smarties and trolls.

For those of you reliant on web services and research, @cloudflare.social is experiencing service difficulties. It's not you. www.cloudflarestatus.com

Scrutinizing the Many Faces of Political Deepfakes | TechPolicy.Press Morgan Wack, Christina Walker, Alena Birrer, Kaylyn Jackson Schiff, Daniel Schiff, and JP Messina systematically analyzed political deepfakes.

A typology of deep fakes meeting the moment. Via @techpolicypress.bsky.social by @morganwack.bsky.social et. al.
www.techpolicy.press/scrutinizing...

🌐 How can formalized standards help align industry practices with regulatory requirements?

DTSP ED @davidsullivan.bsky.social will join a panel co-hosted by @tremau.bsky.social with fellow experts that will discuss the opportunities and advantages of adopting Trust & Safety standards.

Kai Trump, granddaughter of the President, who is a fine golfer but wouldn't quality for the tournament she's playing in (and whose name we should not know), is the least important story right now. Check her socre in the standings at the end if you must. Otherwise, leave her in peace.

Congrats! Meta users will not like this, but I suspect that the complaints will be more diffuse than the user backlash that quashed Horizon Worlds ambitions. The lesson learned, I suspect, is roll out without over-hyping.

a slop generated baby hippo swimming in water

In 2021, every active Meta user cost around one kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e—a way of measuring greenhouse gases—in terms of direct and unadjusted power grid emissions. By 2024, that had risen to 1.8 kilograms of CO2e. Similarly, every $1 million of revenue caused about 26 tonnes of CO2e in 2021. That’s now 36 tonnes. Meta did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Meta’s push to force-feed advertising slop into every single corner of the massive digital space it controls could not have worse timing. The country it’s headquartered in is pouring cash into resuscitating coal and accelerating gas. The United States just saw the first two half-year periods with an increase in coal generation for at least half a decade (probably longer), as the Trump administration sets about pouring millions into keeping coal on life support.

meta's emissions rising fast

Hey!! Here's my new piece for The New Republic!!

It's about how Meta is cramming generative video slop (the most energy-intensive of the gen systems) into its massive global advertising engine: a recipe for an order magnitude worsening of its already-huge harms 😱

newrepublic.com/article/2028...

Here is my question: Media, using your research, report 80 000 tonnes are deposited each year on French roads. But your report puts the number at 50 000 tonnes. Why the difference?

Dislikes? It's you training Bluesky so that you're less likely to see what they think is similar. And, they suggest it feeds an algorithm to derank some post replies. More in their link: bsky.social/about/blog/1...

You ask, "how can I keep my children away from social media?" I tell you, "Keep them away from social media." One way - Remove the phone from their reach. Put yours away, too. Walk or play together. Smile together. Be yourselves without judging each other or yourself. You are enough.

How China waged an infowar against U.S. interests in the Philippines The Chinese embassy in Manila hired a marketing firm that ran fake social media accounts praising China, undermining the Philippines’ security alliance with the U.S., and criticizing Western COVID vaccines, Reuters found.

To overhaul its struggling image in the Philippines, China paid Philippine firm InfinitUS to run fake social media accounts and wage a cyber war on its behalf.

Check out the full @reuters.com story on this online influence operation featuring insights from @graphika.com.

Home | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit A toolkit for open source researchers

Our new and improved Bellingcat Toolkit is one-year-old today! If you haven't used it yet its a one-stop shop for discovering useful open source tools, maintained by an amazing group of volunteers. You can find use cases, guidance and honest reviews for each tool. bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit

The Ford account on Instagram that says the feed has 0 posts and "no posts yet."

The Ford Trucks account on Instagram that says the feed has 0 posts and "no posts yet."

The Ford Mustang account on Instagram that says the feed has 0 posts and "no posts yet."