David Karpf·Apr 21, 2022(Throwback Thursday)Lessons from the predictable failure of Americans ElectThere’s an old saying that, once something is online, it is there forever. That’s not actually true. As Jonathan Zittrain points out, “the…
David Karpf·Sep 23, 2021An Open Letter to the American Political Science Association regarding John Eastman and the…(Members of the APSA can sign on to this letter by clicking here)
David Karpf·Aug 9, 2018The Infowars Purge, and Life among Responsible Information Monopolies(Adapted and updated from my remarks at the 2018 International Communication Association Annual Meeting.)
David Karpf·Aug 2, 2018QAnon, immersive gaming, and the impending nihilistic collapse of civic lifeWhen you dissolve the boundary between politics and entertainment, things start to get weird.
David Karpf·Sep 14, 2017Sorting through the Facebook-Russia-Trump Advertising StoryWe learned from the Washington Post last week that a Kremlin-backed Russian firm spent at least $100,000 on Facebook ads to influence the…A response icon2A response icon2
David Karpf·Feb 1, 2017What about “President Bannon?” (an addendum)(This is a follow-up to Monday’s post, assessing the first week of the Trump Presidency. TL;DR version: I don’t believe we’re witnessing a…
David Karpf·Jan 30, 2017Is this what a nervous breakdown looks like in the Presidency?An alternate reading of the first week of Trump’s PresidencyA response icon6A response icon6
David Karpf·Jan 17, 2017Political Problem-Solving in the Age of Trump. (We’re going to need a fresh sheet of paper.)(TL;DR version: if the big idea you have for 2017 would be identical under a Clinton Presidency, it’s time to adjust your frame of…A response icon1A response icon1
David Karpf·Nov 28, 2016When the Press Fails II: the Danger of Reflexive BalancingLast week, I taught my graduate students about the theory of the “semi-independent press” that comes from Lance Bennett, Regina Lawrence…A response icon1A response icon1
David Karpf·Nov 14, 2016The Riddle of Trumpian NormalizationHere’s a riddle that I hope we will all keep in mind:
