Archived articles
Hydroxychloroquine tablets on white background
Misinformation
Study confirms rise in demand for unproven, unsafe COVID-19 treatments
Published April 30, 2020
Comments by President Trump, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk correlate to massive increase in searches for chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine
Illustration of tweets around the globe
COVID-19
Twitter data gives social distancing insights
Published April 9, 2020
Researchers are using Twitter's publicly available location data to determine how well the residents of each state are adhering to social distancing guidelines
Illustration of people using social media and smart phones
Q+A
Social media and COVID-19
Published March 27, 2020
Mark Dredze discusses how social media can help support messaging from public health organizations and combat the spread of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Multiple news tweets referencing Demi Lovato overdose
Substance abuse
Missed opportunities in overdose coverage
Published Jan 14, 2019
Only 216 of the 42,500 news reports about Demi Lovato's alleged overdose included mention of national addiction hotline, 1-800-662-HELP
Vaccine vials and a syringe
Misinformation operation
Study: Russian trolls fueled vaccine debate
Published Aug 24, 2018
Findings suggest much of the Twitter discussion about vaccines may be linked to 'malicious actors' with 'hidden agendas'
A young man wears headphones and stands in front of a line of lockers, one of which is decorated with messages and cards in a memorial
Suicide prevention
Why '13 Reasons Why' alarms experts
Published Aug 10, 2017
Release of Netflix show in March prompted spike in suicide-related web searches, fears of suicide contagion
Zika virus
Misinformation, amplified
Published May 24, 2016
Social media conspiracy theories could undermine efforts to combat Zika virus, experts caution
HIV/AIDS
The 'Charlie Sheen Effect'
Published Feb 22, 2016 Video
Study author: Actor's announcement 'potentially the most significant domestic HIV prevention event ever'
Twitter analysis could yield insight into vaccine refusal
Published Feb 24, 2015
Computer scientist Mark Dredze part of team exploring why people refuse vaccines, how these reasons vary among communities
Mental health
You are what you tweet
Published Dec 9, 2014
Analysis of Twitter posts could provide fresh insight into mental illness trends