When Kristina Brecko arrived at Stanford University in the fall of 2012 to start her PhD, she was already scanning the weather forecast糖心传媒攏ot for rainfall, but for snow. An avid snowboarder, she and her graduate study advisor, , a skier, were eager to get into the mountains.

There would be no great skiing that winter. California was entering what would become one of the most severe droughts in its history.

糖心传媒淚 liked to snowboard,糖心传媒� Brecko says. 糖心传媒淎nd so it was very salient that there really wasn糖心传媒檛 any good snow that year.糖心传媒�

The drought, , transformed daily life across the state. Cities pleaded with residents to conserve water and let lawns go brown, rip out grass, stop watering altogether. Billboards and public campaigns urged restraint. Many complied. But some of the state糖心传媒檚 heaviest water users, often homeowners with sprawling green lawns, did not.

For Brecko, now an assistant professor of marketing at the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 , the disconnect raised a question that would shape years of research. California was awash in public opinion messaging. Was any of it effective?

糖心传媒淭here was a lot of messaging happening, telling people to reduce their water usage,糖心传媒� she recalls. 糖心传媒淎nd I had these question糖心传媒攊t糖心传媒檚 all marketing, but is it working? What exactly is working and for whom?糖心传媒�

Rather than focusing on the people who had already embraced conservation糖心传媒攖hose willing to let their lawns die or remove them entirely糖心传媒擝recko and Hartmann became interested in the holdouts糖心传媒攖hat is, the households with the highest water consumption. , published in the Journal of Marketing Research, argue that those households should not be shamed or ignored. Instead, they should be targeted.

Harm reduction over abstinence

The study borrows a concept from public health: the idea of harm reduction. Instead of demanding abstinence糖心传媒攏o drugs, no cigarettes, no lawns糖心传媒攖he approach aims to reduce damage among people unlikely to completely quit a harmful action.

In California糖心传媒檚 drought-stricken suburbs, the harm was outdoor irrigation. The tool was a smart irrigation controller, a device that automatically adjusts watering schedules based on weather, soil conditions, and plant needs. The question was whether such a device could significantly reduce water use without undermining more aggressive conservation efforts, like turf removal.

糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檙e always going to be people who are just not going to do it,糖心传媒� Brecko says, referring to lawn removal. 糖心传媒淏ecause it goes totally against their preferences.糖心传媒�

Working with Redwood City Public Works, the researchers tested whether offering irrigation controllers (at either steep discounts or for free) could change behavior among residents who wanted to keep their lawns green. Crucially, the study took place toward the end of the drought, after years of aggressive messaging and rebates for turf removal had already circulated.

糖心传媒淏y the time we ran our study, people had had the chance to adopt the most effective solution糖心传媒攁t least those people who would do it,糖心传媒� Brecko explains.

That timing mattered. Those most committed to conservation had already removed their turf. That meant the researchers could now focus on everyone else.

Field tests in thirsty times

The team ran two large-scale field experiments in Redwood City. In 2016, roughly 7,000 households were offered discounts on smart irrigation controllers, ranging from 10 percent to 80 percent. Some homeowners were also offered free professional installation.

Adoption was slower than expected.

糖心传媒淚 think people just weren糖心传媒檛 sure,糖心传媒� Brecko says. 糖心传媒淭he device was relatively new, and even the utility company wasn糖心传媒檛 sure what effect it would have on water usage.糖心传媒�

The second experiment, in 2017, scaled up dramatically. About 19,000 households were randomly assigned to receive a free smart irrigation device, available in limited quantities. The process was designed to be as easy as possible: Residents received emails and accessed a dedicated online portal where discounts were applied instantly糖心传媒攏o rebates, no paperwork.

The response was swift. Clearly, price and convenience mattered. Messaging alone did not. 糖心传媒淚ncremental discounts aren糖心传媒檛 really going to do the trick,糖心传媒� Brecko notes. 糖心传媒淲e learned that we needed to overcome some barriers to adoption.糖心传媒�

Who adopted糖心传媒攁nd who saved

The devices appealed most to people who used the most water, with heavy irrigators adopting the device at the highest rates.

糖心传媒淚t allows you to keep the green lawn that you care about.糖心传媒� Brecko says, 糖心传媒淏ut it might allow you to also contribute to that social goal that we care about.糖心传媒�

Once installed, the controllers delivered substantial and lasting savings. Water use dropped by about 26 percent (from a regular irrigation baseline) during shoulder seasons糖心传媒攅arly spring and fall糖心传媒攚hen manual systems often overwater because homeowners forget to adjust them. The reductions persisted for nearly four years, the researchers found.

Among the heaviest irrigators, the water savings were large enough to offset the typical $250 cost of the device in roughly six months. The conserved water alone could cover a household糖心传媒檚 annual indoor needs. But just as important, the study found no evidence that smart controllers undermined more aggressive conservation.

糖心传媒淲e don糖心传媒檛 see any difference in turf removal rates,糖心传媒� Brecko says. 糖心传媒淎nd we see no increases in consumption among non-irrigator households.糖心传媒�

In other words, harm reduction did not 糖心传媒渃annibalize abstinence,糖心传媒� the duo writes.

A middle road for climate behavior

For policymakers, the findings challenge the all-or-nothing approach that often dominates environmental messaging. The most effective solution糖心传媒攖o simply rip out the lawn糖心传媒攚ill never appeal to everyone.

糖心传媒淢y initial inclination is to say everyone should do the thing that糖心传媒檚 most powerful,糖心传媒� Brecko says. 糖心传媒淏ut the thing is, we all have really different preferences.糖心传媒�

While some people care deeply about conservation, others may have competing priorities and care more about their yard糖心传媒檚 aesthetics, their kids糖心传媒� being able to play on grass, or the curb appeal of their home. Stigmatizing the latter group or ignoring their strong preferences, can leave them unnecessarily out of conservation efforts.

糖心传媒淣ot that those high users don糖心传媒檛 care about conservation, it糖心传媒檚 just that they might care about something else more,糖心传媒� says Brecko. 糖心传媒淚f you don糖心传媒檛 engage them, they might do nothing.糖心传媒�

The lesson, she argues, is not to abandon high-impact solutions, but to sequence and supplement them. If you want people who use the most water to conserve, you may have to let them keep what they love, while reducing the shared costs of doing so.

糖心传媒淭hey get the thing that they care about,糖心传媒� Brecko says. 糖心传媒淎nd you, as the conservation-oriented person, get the conservation, too.糖心传媒�

Sales of gun kits, also referred to as 糖心传媒済host guns,糖心传媒� have surged in recent years糖心传媒攔ising from 1,600 in 2017 to more than 19,000 in 2021糖心传媒攁 nearly twelvefold increase, according to data cited by the Supreme Court of the United States. Because these kits were hard to trace, they made it possible for convicted felons, minors, and those with restraining orders糖心传媒攁ll of whom are prohibited from purchasing guns糖心传媒攖o get their hands on working firearms.

That糖心传媒檚 why in 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began to treat these kits just like readily assembled guns, the latter of which are regulated by the . The act requires those who import, manufacture, or deal with guns to keep sales records, conduct background checks, and mark their products with serial numbers.

But gun kit manufacturers pushed back against the ATF, arguing instead that parts do not necessarily make a whole. The case ultimately reached the US Supreme Court, where the justices sided with the ATF in its March ruling in . That decision also carried a surprising and direct link to the 糖心传媒.

The justices used a 2017 paper by Scott Grimm, an associate professor of , and Beth Levin, his former PhD advisor at Stanford University, to conclude that gun kits are intended to be used as guns and as such fall under the rule applied by the ATF.

The case hinged on the idea of so-called artifact nouns. In the court糖心传媒檚 ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch糖心传媒攚riting for the majority糖心传媒攃ites the linguists糖心传媒� work: 糖心传媒淭he term weapon is an artifact noun糖心传媒攁 word for a thing created by humans. Artifact nouns are typically 糖心传媒榗haracterized by an intended function,糖心传媒� rather than by some ineffable 糖心传媒榥atural essence.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕

Grimm was initially stunned.

糖心传媒淭his came as a massive surprise that our work, which really engages with linguistic and cognitive questions, ended up being so relevant and something so practical and far-reaching,糖心传媒� he says.

Q&A with Scott Grimm

What is an artifact noun?

Grimm: It糖心传媒檚 a basic distinction between types of things in the world. On one hand you have all the natural kind entities, like water, or tiger, or rock. And then on the other hand you have artifacts. An artifact is anything that is man-made, designed, or refashioned in some way. It boils down to this basic metaphysical distinction. As linguists, we are interested in how these differences are reflected in language, and, in fact, nouns that encode artifacts behave very differently from nouns that encode natural kinds.

Does an artifact require a specific function?

Grimm: It糖心传媒檚 been a long-standing observation that an artifact has a function, like a hammer that wasn糖心传媒檛 invented without reason: A hammer exists to perform the function of hammering a nail or various other things, and so without a function, typically, objects don糖心传媒檛 qualify as an artifact of that type. But that distinction can be very slippery, because there are some objects, which are designed to fulfill a specific function, like a door stop for instance. But you can also use a box of books as a doorstop. In those cases, anything that is immediately fulfilling the function also qualifies as one of those artifacts.

By the way, what exactly does a linguist do?

Grimm: Well, people often ask me how many languages I speak. [Grimm chuckles] But that糖心传媒檚 not it. We try to understand the structure of human language, from the types of sounds produced in speech to the types of meaning categories convey糖心传媒攁nd see how these structures vary across the 7,000 languages spoken in the world. One challenge is that language is so familiar to us we take it for granted. It糖心传媒檚 at the center of human interaction and is the vehicle for thought.

How did you find out the Supreme Court had used your research?

Grimm: There was an amicus brief, supporting the ATF, written by several linguists from Georgetown, Brandeis, and Stanford. One of the coauthors of the amicus brief notified us as the Supreme Court decision came out. That was the very first I heard of it.

What was your initial reaction?

Grimm: I was certainly surprised. And then, of course, I was happy to see this as one of those cases糖心传媒攑eople working on basic science have few expectations that their work will be applied to a completely different area of society, but it happens, and it happens more frequently than we think and certainly more than we publicize.

How does your work on artifact nouns apply to this case?

Grimm: The law allows the government to regulate firearms. The question the court was trying to decide was whether these ghost guns fall under firearms. Part of the question is: What qualifies as a weapon? That is where our work on artifact nouns is relevant.

I should also mention that, of course, our work didn糖心传媒檛 happen in a vacuum. There were several other linguists who had thought about artifact nouns and written about them. I think the key was that we were more explicitly talking about an artifact noun糖心传媒檚 intended function, rather than just noting that there was a function. In the paper, we made the link to the intended function and gave a very explicit analysis of how that worked.

Why? Because usually things are designed with a function in mind, even if it糖心传媒檚 not serving that function at every moment. For instance, a chair is designed to be sat in, but someone doesn糖心传媒檛 need to be sitting in it the whole time. It糖心传媒檚 the intended function, which is important. Likewise, if you are special ordering a ghost gun kit, the intended function of that object, once you assemble it rather easily, is to function as a weapon.

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented while still referring to your work. How so?

Grimm: I think Clarence Thomas糖心传媒檚 point is that the majority opinion is referring to ordinary language use in how to interpret the law. He explicitly says that in statutory drafting we糖心传媒檙e not considering colloquial language usage. I think he糖心传媒檚 saying we should interpret the words 糖心传媒渇rame糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒渞eceiver糖心传媒� with respect to the statutory history, rather than with a more ordinary language approach.

However, I think it糖心传媒檚 the kind of distinctions that are being drawn here that cut directly to the heart of how people understand our terms for things in the world. These are the meanings we traffic in, whether it糖心传媒檚 in statutory law or ordinary conversation. I think his approach is trying to relegate the linguistic work to be only about ordinary conversation, which, of course, it applies to, but is not limited to. In fact, linguistic work can help us greatly in contexts of high precision, such as legal contexts.

Based on your work, did the justices get the ruling right?

Grimm: I would say in adopting this distinction, yes. I think they understood and applied what we were arguing for in a straightforward fashion. But I don糖心传媒檛 think it糖心传媒檚 proper for me to say whether it糖心传媒檚 correct or not. I simply don糖心传媒檛 have the expertise to pass judgment on the judges.

Meet the expert

Scott Grimm is an associate professor with the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 Department of Linguistics and the director of the Quantitative Semantics Lab. His research interests range from semantics and linguistic fieldwork to lexicography and African languages, such as Gur languages糖心传媒攁 major branch of the Niger-Congo language family in West Africa. Among other publications, he is the coauthor of a Dagaare-English dictionary in the African Language Grammar and Dictionary Series (Language Science Press, Berlin, 2021).

Socially responsible investors (SRIs) often see themselves as agents of social or environmental progress. They buy into polluting or 糖心传媒渄irty糖心传媒� companies believing that their capital can nudge a business toward a cleaner path. Their intention is straightforward: to invest in the bad to make it good.

But a by finance professors at the 糖心传媒, Johns Hopkins University, and the Stockholm School of Economics argues that this logic can backfire. Instead of accelerating environmental reforms, SRIs may unintentionally create incentives for firms to postpone them.

糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 surprising at first,糖心传媒� agrees study coauthor , an assistant professor of finance at URochester糖心传媒檚 , 糖心传媒渂ut when you think about this from the correct angle, it makes sense.糖心传媒�

Waiting for the good guys

The researchers model a scenario that companies may face in real life: Imagine you own a polluting but profitable factory. You could invest now to make it greener, or you could hold off, knowing that an SRI糖心传媒攕omeone who is explicitly looking for a company to improve糖心传媒攎ight come along later and pay a premium precisely because the company is 糖心传媒渄irty.糖心传媒�

And that, according to Kopytov, is the crux of the problem. Well-intentioned investors 糖心传媒渏ust do not want to invest in a green firm that already has achieved everything it can,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚nstead, they really want to make an impact with their money.糖心传媒�

Managers at such polluting companies are aware of this motivation to do good.

糖心传媒淚 might think, 糖心传媒榃ell, why would I invest in this project on my own? I can allocate my money somewhere else and wait until those socially responsible investors come along and give me their money because they care about making the world a greener place,糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 Kopytov says.

That糖心传媒檚 how green reforms get stalled. In other words, the very presence of investors seeking to do good can create an incentive for firms to delay doing good themselves.

Traditional investors may add further delays

The effect is magnified by traditional investors who care predominantly about financial gains. Because SRIs will pay less if a company is already inclined to go green, a purely financially motivated owner becomes a tougher negotiator. If you糖心传媒檙e a polluting firm, that糖心传媒檚 valuable.

糖心传媒淚nstead of selling directly to socially responsible investors at a relatively low price, I can actually sell it to a financial investor who then will sell it to socially responsible investors at a higher price,糖心传媒� Kopytov explains. This dynamic creates a resale chain that rewards waiting (to enact environmental change) rather than acting.

A possible fix

The researchers examined how investment mandates might counteract this delay. Many funds already use policies that exclude polluters or reward cleaner firms. But exclusion alone isn糖心传媒檛 enough.

A more effective approach, Kopytov says, is for SRIs to publicly commit to paying a premium for firms that have聽already聽cleaned up their act. 糖心传媒淚f they can commit to such a mandate,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渕anagers would reform earlier in order to earn that premium.糖心传媒�

The key challenge here is credibility. If the reform has already been done, some investors may ask, why pay now? To overcome the temptation not to pay the premium, investment funds may need public, enforceable commitments that would penalize them if they broke the promise of paying a premium for already enacted green reforms. Signing binding principles of responsible investing, Kopytov says, would create a reputational cost for those SRIs who deviate from the agreed-upon premium rule.

Rethinking impact investing

Ultimately, the study seeks to reframe what 糖心传媒渋mpact investing糖心传媒� really means. Investors often measure progress after a deal is made but the authors argue that if mandates are structured correctly, all the measurable impact happens before the acquisition rather than afterward.

糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 really important how you invest your money responsibly if you care that the money is making an impact糖心传媒攂ecause that can slow down the speed at which firms are being reformed by their current owners,糖心传媒� Kopytov cautions.

In other words, good intentions may not be enough. Real change depends not just on desiring impact but on designing incentives that make acting sooner, not later, the best financial choice.

Why do the world糖心传媒檚 most prestigious firms糖心传媒攕uch as McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and other elite consulting giants, investment banks, and law practices糖心传媒攈ire the brightest talents, train them intensively, and then, after a few years, send many of them packing? A in the聽American Economic Review聽concludes that so-called adverse selection is not a flaw but rather a sign that the system is working precisely as intended.

Two financial economists, from the 糖心传媒 and the University of Wisconsin糖心传媒揗adison respectively, created a model that explains how reputation, information, and retention interact in professions where skill is essential and performance is both visible and attributable to a specific person, particularly in fields such as law, consulting, fund asset management, auditing, and architecture. They argue that much of the professional services world operates through 糖心传媒渋ntermediaries糖心传媒澨切拇綌firms that both hire employees (also referred to as 糖心传媒渁gents糖心传媒� or 糖心传媒渕anagers糖心传媒�) and market their expertise to clients糖心传媒攂ecause clients can糖心传媒檛 themselves easily judge a worker糖心传媒檚 ability from the outset.

糖心传媒淚dentifying skilled professionals is critical yet presents a major challenge for clients,糖心传媒� the researchers write. 糖心传媒淪ome of the firm糖心传媒檚 employees are high-quality managers,糖心传媒� says coauthor , the Jay S. and Jeanne P. Benet Professor of Finance at the University糖心传媒檚 , 糖心传媒渂ut the firm is paying them less than their actual quality, because initially the employees don糖心传媒檛 have a credible way of convincing the outside world that they are high-quality.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒楥hurning糖心传媒� to boost reputation

At the start of an employee糖心传媒檚 career, the firm has an advantage, Kaniel and his coauthor Dmitry Orlov contend, because the firm (糖心传媒渢he mediator糖心传媒�) can assess an employee糖心传媒檚 talent more accurately than outside clients can. During what the authors call 糖心传媒渜uiet periods,糖心传媒� the firm keeps those who perform adequately and pays them standard wages.

Over time, however, an employee糖心传媒檚 public performance糖心传媒攎easured by successful cases, profitable investments, or well-executed projects糖心传媒攔educes the firm糖心传媒檚 informational advantage. As the informational gap shrinks, the firm needs to pay some employees more because clients are now able to observe an employee糖心传媒檚 good performance and hence update their beliefs about the employee糖心传媒檚 skills.

糖心传媒淎t some point, the informational advantage becomes fairly small,糖心传媒� says Kaniel, 糖心传媒渁nd the firm says, 糖心传媒榃ell, I will basically start to churn. I will let go of some employees, and by doing that, I can actually extract more from the remaining ones.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕

Ironically, to the client these churned糖心传媒攐r strategically fired糖心传媒攅mployees look just as good as the ones whom the firm kept. Churning happens not because these employees have failed but because they may be just somewhat lower-skilled than their peers. Subsequently, churning heightens both the reputation of the firm and of the employees who remain.

A paradoxical equilibrium

Somewhat counterintuitively, the researchers show that churning can benefit both sides. Workers who stay on with an elite firm accept lower pay in the short run as the tradeoff for building a stronger reputation for themselves. When these workers eventually leave the elite firms, they can command higher fees directly from clients.

As a result of the churning, the informational gap between firm and client keeps shrinking because the client catches up to what the firm knows about its workers and which ones it values most. At first glance, the duo argues, the firm糖心传媒檚 reduced informational advantage should now cause a further drop in profits. But here comes the strategic twist: The firm starts to underpay those better workers who kept their jobs, akin to making them pay for being 糖心传媒渃hosen.糖心传媒� Consequently, profits do not decline and may even increase.

糖心传媒淔irms now essentially can threaten the remaining employees: 糖心传媒楲ook, I can let you go, and everybody糖心传媒檚 going to think that you糖心传媒檙e the worst in the pool. If you want me not to let you go, you need to accept below market wages,糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 says Kaniel.

The result is a paradoxical but stable equilibrium. Workers accept being underpaid temporarily because remaining at a top firm serves as a signal to the market about their elite status. It also helps explain why prestigious employers can attract ambitious newcomers despite grueling hours and relatively modest starting pay.

Meanwhile, those who are let go aren糖心传媒檛 failures糖心传媒攔ather, their exit is part of a system that signals who糖心传媒檚 truly top-tier, the researchers argue. In fact, fired workers often find success on their own because potential clients interpret a person糖心传媒檚 prior affiliation with a top firm as proof of the worker糖心传媒檚 strong ability and qualifications.

In short, the 糖心传媒渦p-or-out糖心传媒� path of professional life may not just be a cultural phenomenon among top professional service firms but also an efficient response to how reputation is maintained and information flows. What looks like a ruthless system of constant turnover, the researchers argue, is in reality a finely tuned mechanism that helps the market discover and reward true talent.

When the social media platform invited users to flag false or misleading posts, critics initially scoffed. How could the same public that spreads misinformation be trusted to correct it? But a by researchers from the 糖心传媒, the University of Illinois Urbana糖心传媒揅hampaign, and the University of Virginia finds that 糖心传媒渃rowdchecking糖心传媒� (X糖心传媒檚 collaborative fact-checking experiment known as Community Notes) actually works.

The paper, published in the journal Information Systems Research, shows that when a community note about a post糖心传媒檚 potential inaccuracy appears beneath a tweet, its author is far more likely to retract that tweet.

糖心传媒淭rying to define objectively what is misinformation and then removing that content is controversial and may even backfire,糖心传媒� notes coauthor , the Xerox Professor of Information Systems and Technology at URochester糖心传媒檚 . 糖心传媒淚n the long run, I think a better way for misleading posts to disappear is for the authors themselves to remove those posts.糖心传媒�

Using a causal inference method called regression discontinuity and a vast dataset of X posts (previously known as tweets), the researchers find that public, peer-generated corrections can do something experts and algorithms have struggled to achieve. Showing some notes or corrective content alongside potentially misleading information, Rui says, can indeed 糖心传媒渘udge the author to remove that content.糖心传媒�

Community Notes on X: An experiment in public correction

Community Notes operates on a threshold mechanism. For a corrective note to appear publicly, it must earn a 糖心传媒渉elpfulness糖心传媒� score of at least 0.4. (A proposed note is first shown to contributors for evaluation. The bridging algorithm used by Community Notes prioritizes ratings from a diverse range of users糖心传媒攕pecifically, from people who have disagreed in their past ratings糖心传媒攖o prevent partisan group voting that could otherwise manipulating a note糖心传媒檚 visibility.) Conversely, notes that fall just below that threshold stay hidden to the public. That design allows for a natural experiment as the researchers were able to compare X posts with notes just above and below the cutoff (i.e., visible to the public versus visible only to Community Notes contributors )糖心传媒攖hereby enabling them to measure the causal effect of public exposure.

In total, the researchers analyzed 264,600 posts on X that received at least one community note during two separate time intervals糖心传媒攖he first before a US presidential election, which is a time when misinformation typically surges (June糖心传媒揂ugust 2024), and the second two months after the election (January糖心传媒揊ebruary 2025).

The results were striking: X posts with public correction notes were 32 percent more likely to be deleted by the authors than those with just private notes, demonstrating the power of voluntary retraction as an alternative to forcible removal of content. The effect persisted across both study periods.

The reputation effect

An author糖心传媒檚 decision to retract or delete, the team discovered, is primarily driven by social concerns. 糖心传媒淵ou worry,糖心传媒� says Rui, 糖心传媒渢hat it糖心传媒檚 going to hurt your online reputation if others find your information misleading.糖心传媒�

Publicly displayed Community Notes (highlighting factual inaccuracies) function as a signal to the online audience that 糖心传媒渢he content糖心传媒攁nd, by extension, its author糖心传媒攊s untrustworthy,糖心传媒� the researchers note.

In the social media ecosystem, reputation is important糖心传媒攅specially for users with influence糖心传媒攁nd speed matters greatly, as misinformation tends to spread faster and farther than corrections.

The researchers found that public notes not only increased the likelihood of tweet deletions but also accelerated the process: among retracted X posts, the faster notes are publicly displayed, the sooner the noted posts are retracted.

Those whose posts attract substantial visibility and engagement or who have large follower bases, face heightened reputational risks. As a result, verified X users (those marked by a blue check mark) were particularly quick to delete their posts when they garnered public Community Notes, exhibiting a greater concern for maintaining their credibility.

The overall pattern suggests that social media糖心传媒檚 own dynamics, such as status, visibility, and peer feedback, can improve online accuracy.

A democratic defense against misinformation?

Crowdchecking, the team concludes, 糖心传媒渟trikes a balance between protecting First Amendment rights and the urgent need to curb misinformation.糖心传媒� It relies not on censorship but on collective judgment and public correction. The algorithm employed by Community Notes emphasizes diversity and views that are supported by both sides.

Initially, Rui admits, he was surprised by the team糖心传媒檚 strong findings.

糖心传媒淔or people to be willing to retract, it糖心传媒檚 like admitting their mistakes or wrongdoing, which is difficult for anyone, especially in today糖心传媒檚 super polarized environment with all its echo chambers,糖心传媒� he says.

At the outset of the study, the team had wondered if the correcting mechanisms might even backfire. In other words, could a public display note really induce people to retract their problematic posts or would it make them dig in their heels?

Now they know it works.

糖心传媒淯ltimately,糖心传媒� Rui says, 糖心传媒渢he voluntary removal of misleading or false information is a more civic and possibly more sustainable way to resolve problems.糖心传媒�

I didn糖心传媒檛 come from an academic family. I didn糖心传媒檛 really know what the job description for a professor of political science entailed. What I did know was that I loved reading and thinking about the world.

When I got to Berkeley in the late 1980s, things were shifting politically on a global scale. It was an optimistic period: The Berlin Wall came down, apartheid was ending, and Latin America糖心传媒檚 military dictatorships were collapsing. The 糖心传媒渢hird wave糖心传媒� of democratization was really a triumph of liberal democracy, and I wanted to understand why, why now, and how long could it last?

I really didn糖心传媒檛 have a grand plan to become a professor. I just wanted to keep asking questions, keep reading, and keep learning about how to study politics. It wasn糖心传媒檛 obvious to me how any of these things worked professionally, but, luckily, I had great mentors. Being guided at the right moment can change the entire trajectory of a life.

The book that really shaped me as a graduate student was by Adam Przeworski. I still assign it in almost every class I teach. At Berkeley, where I started as a graduate student, the training had leaned more toward history, typologies, conceptualizing, path dependence, and critical junctures (the idea that past events and historical processes create conditions that set countries on certain paths and make certain outcomes more or less likely).

The professors at the University of Chicago, where I transferred in my second year of graduate school, showed me another way of thinking about how to study politics糖心传媒攖o focus on how institutions shape individuals糖心传媒� incentives and the ways in which people interact strategically. That was exactly the approach that had originally been pioneered at URochester in the 1960s. By the 糖心传媒�90s, it was being used by these phenomenal people who studied comparative politics at Chicago, including my mentor, Susan Stokes, who is this year糖心传媒檚 president-elect. The approach she and others taught was much more intuitive to me, and I felt I could really build on that.

If I could redesign one US political institution, it would be the Electoral College, hands down. We糖心传媒檙e the only country in the world that still has one, and there糖心传媒檚 really no rhyme or reason for it. It can distort the popular vote, it糖心传媒檚 vulnerable to manipulation, and it gives the presidency糖心传媒攁n office that over the last few decades has already seen a tremendous concentration of power because of Congress糖心传媒檚 dysfunction糖心传媒攁 shaky democratic foundation. It糖心传媒檚 rare that you have an institution that is so bad that there糖心传媒檚 no downside to reforming it. But this is definitely one of them. I糖心传媒檇 replace it with a system where the candidate who wins the most votes nationally becomes president. That principle is really important for rebuilding trust in our democracy.

What keeps me passionate about my work is the chance to draw connections between ideas. I love taking a theoretical framework from one context and seeing how it can illuminate a completely different problem. Or noticing when something everyone assumes about politics has a neglected but important flip side. That kind of intellectual puzzle is deeply satisfying.

As I got older and became a , I found that it糖心传媒檚 equally satisfying to teach that approach. Watching students light up when they see how these tools or models can unlock a political puzzle糖心传媒攖hat never gets old.

And then there糖心传媒檚 the other piece: balance. Academic life requires solitude and focus, but it also demands interaction and engagement. The trick is to have both. Fellowships and my work with and the are all attempts at balancing my inward, isolated academic work with the outward responsibility of sharing ideas beyond academic journals.

I feel lucky. Lucky to have had mentors who nudged me in the right direction. Lucky to be in a field where the questions never stop coming. And lucky that the things I loved as a child糖心传媒攔eading, writing, asking why糖心传媒攁re all part of my job description today.

Pulitzer Prize糖心传媒搘inning historian and 糖心传媒 alumnus Steven Hahn 糖心传媒�73 has spent years chronicling the political experiences of ordinary people, particularly those at the margins, such as white farmers and enslaved people. In his latest book, (W. W. Norton, 2025), he traces the enduring themes of exclusion, repression, and antidemocratic politics in the United States across centuries.

糖心传媒淚lliberalism is not a backlash,糖心传媒� Hahn insists. 糖心传媒淏acklash is one of the most misleading words in the American political vocabulary, because it suggests that a political phenomenon only expresses ignorance and rage and nothing more than that.糖心传媒� Instead, he argues, illiberalism is a coherent political culture with 糖心传媒渄eep historical roots.糖心传媒�

What is 糖心传媒渋lliberalism糖心传媒�?

Hahn starts with a definition: 糖心传媒淚lliberalism is not just one thing; it糖心传媒檚 a collection of ideas and practices,糖心传媒� he explains. A fundamental characteristic of illiberalism is the belief in people糖心传媒檚 inequality (as opposed to equality)糖心传媒攚hether it糖心传媒檚 social, political, or civil糖心传媒攁nd the belief in inherent or assigned hierarchies of race, gender, or nationality, he argues. Other hallmarks include a desire for cultural or religious homogeneity, the 糖心传媒渕arking of internal and external enemies,糖心传媒� accepting violence as a means of attaining and maintaining power, and privileging the 糖心传媒渨ill of the community糖心传媒� over the rule of law.

Examples of illiberal moments in US history

Rather than spotlight only the most notorious examples, Hahn points to episodes often celebrated as triumphs of liberalism. Here are some examples:

In the 1830s, as voting rights expanded for white men, free Black people were disfranchised and Native Americans, Mormons, Catholics, and abolitionists faced expulsion. 糖心传媒淎braham Lincoln worried about mob rule,糖心传媒� Hahn notes, describing the murder of an abolitionist in Illinois and a lynching in St. Louis.

The Progressive Era (1900糖心传媒�1920), commonly referred to as the birth of modern liberalism, also saw 糖心传媒渁n almost across-the-board embrace of eugenics糖心传媒� along with widespread Jim Crow racism. Segregation, Hahn notes, appealed to progressives as 糖心传媒渁 modern way糖心传媒� of dealing with racial conflict: 糖心传媒淚nstead of watching a tsunami of lynchings, you could choreograph racial interactions.糖心传媒� He points out that disfranchising people politically糖心传媒攖hrough literacy tests, residency requirements, and new registration laws糖心传媒攁ll of which were intended to make it difficult for certain groups of people to vote. Such efforts targeted not only Black people but also European immigrants.

Meanwhile, eugenics, the pseudoscientific attempt to improve the human race through selective breeding (and to counter the reproduction of those who were seen as defective) was very much in vogue. Birth control activist and sex educator Margaret Sanger was a proponent, as were Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and 糖心传媒攖he latter (as New Jersey governor) even signed the bill for mandatory sterilizations. 糖心传媒淓ugenics imagined marrying science and the state to create a better social order,糖心传媒� says Hahn. 糖心传媒淏ut that meant literally trying to breed a better society.糖心传媒�

The 1960s saw important civil rights victories, yet the political far right was 糖心传媒渞econstituting itself,糖心传媒� Hahn says. Figures like segregationist George Wallace, a former Alabama governor, honed a language of grievance 糖心传媒渁bout federal overreach糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒渟tate rights,糖心传媒� winning significant support outside the South. Additionally, he says, the decade ushered in a 糖心传媒渨ar on crime糖心传媒� that foreshadowed later mass incarceration.

What drives illiberal politics?

Racial conflict is central but it糖心传媒檚 not the only reason for the rise of broad illiberal sentiment. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a confluence of things,糖心传媒� Hahn says, noting that demographic instability certainly plays a role糖心传媒攌nowing that by the middle of the 21st century white people will become a minority in the United States. Additionally, economic anxiety can stoke fear.

糖心传媒淟arge sections of the American middle class and working class have not seen their real incomes rise since the 1970s,糖心传媒� Hahn acknowledges. But he points out that illiberal ideas also flourished when the American economy was expanding as it did in the 1950s and 60s.

Ultimately, he says illiberal beliefs predate the founding of America. 糖心传媒淲hat I糖心传媒檓 talking about really precedes the emergence of liberalism,糖心传媒� Hahn emphasizes. 糖心传媒淭hese ideas have their origins in a feudal and early modern world.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒淚lliberalism is always close to the surface,糖心传媒� he cautions. Not cyclical but a constant, ready to erupt when crises occur and political opportunists fan its flames. His perspective directly challenges the notion of an enduring American liberal tradition. Instead, Hahn argues that this liberal tradition was largely 糖心传媒渁n invention of the 1940s and 1950s糖心传媒澨切拇綌based on a societal Cold War consensus. He hopes readers will recognize that illiberalism 糖心传媒渉as political coherence糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒減opular appeal,糖心传媒� shaping the nation from its earliest days. His message is sobering糖心传媒攊lliberalism is not an aberration but a defining feature of the American story.

URochester set the course

Hahn糖心传媒檚 own political awakening began at the University of Rochester, where he majored in history after becoming involved in the anti糖心传媒揤ietnam War movement. 糖心传媒淚 was arrested at least once,糖心传媒� he recalls of his student years.

Originally, he糖心传媒檇 been interested in pursuing an engineering degree. But by the time he got to Rochester, 糖心传媒渋t was pretty clear that astronautical engineering was not going to work for me,糖心传媒� he recalls with a chuckle.

Influential URochester history professors, among them Christopher Lasch, Eugene Genovese, and nurtured his intellectual curiosity. In 2004, Hahn won both the Pulitzer Prize in History and the Bancroft Prize for his book (Harvard University Press, 2005).

After stints at the University of Delaware; the University of California, San Diego; Northwestern University; and the University of Pennsylvania, Hahn is now a , where he continues to probe some of the country糖心传媒檚 most uncomfortable truths.

糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 no doubt in my mind,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渋f I hadn糖心传媒檛 gone to Rochester, I wouldn糖心传媒檛 be doing what I糖心传媒檓 doing now.糖心传媒�