Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

10/22/2026

Congratulations to Farrah Rahaman for successfully defending her dissertation, with distinction!

Her dissertation is titled “No Form Like Disorder: Substrate, Visual Matter and Properties of Ruin in the Americas."

Farrah joins the faculty of Swarthmore Collegee, where she is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Black Studies.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Rahaman!

10/20/2026

Applications are now open for Annenberg’s Master of Communication and Media Industries (MCMI) program!

Join us today, October 20, from 5–6 p.m. ET for an in-person information session to learn more about the program, curriculum, and application process.

Register at the link in our bio.

10/20/2026

Applications are now open for Annenberg’s Master of Communication and Media Industries (MCMI) program!

Join us today, October 20, from 5–6 p.m. ET for an in-person information session to learn more about the program, curriculum, and application process.

Register here: https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/events/master-communication-and-media-industries-info-session-october-20

10/16/2026

As the midterm elections in the United States approach, we talked to Professors Sandra González-Bailón and Deen Freelon about their research on how social media affected the 2020 election:

Research 7 Oct 2026 New Studies Investigate Exposure to Misinformation and Deceptive Online Networks on Facebook and Instagram During the 2020 U.S. Election. What Does That Mean for the 2026 Midterms? Research by Professors Sandra González-Bailón, Deen Freelon, and colleagues examined how social m...

10/16/2026

Margot Susca of American University joined us last week for a Katz Colloquium on “The News Media Plutocracy: Concentrated Ownership, Financial Power, and America’s Democratic Crisis.”

Susca studies the influence of private equity and hedge funds on the news industry. Her talk took up the relationship between two trends: American news media increasingly owned and financed by the world’s wealthiest individuals, corporations, and asset managers, and a deterioration in U.S. press freedom.

10/15/2026

The midterms. Redbaiting in the early communication field. AI and science. Americans' civics knowledge. Read these stories and more on our website: https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news

10/14/2026

Who decides what's real in the age of AI? 🧠🤖

Professor Emeritus Joseph Turow will be at the Penn Bookstore to discuss "The Problem With Personalization" and how to move forward when each of us experiences a different version of the world.

📆 Thursday 10/15, 5:30 PM

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

Research analyzes the viral “Kamala is Brat” trend to show how everyday meme creators helped construct a presidential candidate’s public identity:

Research 12 Oct 2026 New Study Examines How TikTok Memes Shaped Kamala Harris’s Public Image During the 2024 Election Research analyzes the viral “Kamala is Brat” trend to show how everyday meme creators helped construct a presidential candidate’s public identity By Meredith Rovine Photo of ...

10/13/2026

Correlation does not equal causation. Yet in a new study of nearly 200,000 papers, Annenberg researchers found causal language in 46% of studies that cannot establish cause and effect, a practice that roughly tripled between 2000 and 2024.

Research 7 Oct 2026 When Causality is Overstated, AI Can Help or Make It Worse Doctoral candidates Calvin Isch and Timothy Dörr led a new study that shows that almost half of cross-sectional social science studies overuse causal language. By Jonathan Allan A new study by the Annenberg School for Co...