Computer Says Maybe28 Nov 2025

Who Knows? Independent Researchers in a Platform Era w/ Brandi Geurkink

Imagine doing tech research… but from outside the tech industry? What an idea…

More like this: Nodestar: Turning Networks into Knowledge w/ Andrew Trask

So much of tech research happens within the tech industry itself, because it requires data access, funding, and compute. But what the tech industry has in resources, it lacks in independence, scruples, and a public interest imperative. Alix is joined by Brandi Guerkink from The Coalition of Independent Tech Research to discuss her work at a time where platforms have never been so opaque, and funding has never been so sparse

Further Reading & Resources:

More about Brandi and The Coalition
Understanding Engagement with U.S. (Mis)Information News Sources on Facebook by Laura Edelson & Dan McCoy
More on Laura Edelson
More on Dan McCoy
Jim Jordan bringing in Nigel Farage from the UK to legitimise his attacks on EU tech regulations — Politico
Ted Cruz on preventing jawboning & government censorship of social media — Bloomberg
Judge dismisses ‘vapid’ Elon Musk lawsuit against group that cataloged racist content on X — The Guardian
See the CCDH’s blog post on getting the case thrown out
Platforms are blocking independent researchers from investigating deepfakes by Ariella Steinhorn

Disclosure: This guest is a PR client of our consultancy team. As always, the conversation reflects our genuine interest in their work and ideas.

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