Daniel R Thomas
Biographic Data
| ID | 3821085 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Daniel R Thomas |
| GIVEN NAMES | Daniel R |
| FAMILY NAME | Thomas |
| SIGNATURE | THOMAS D R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Columbia University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6284-4768 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Influence Policing
This paper conceptualizes an emerging model of algorithmic policing; ‘influence policing’. This harnesses the affordances of Internet platforms to conduct domestic digital influence campaigns for crime prevention. These campaigns use sophisticated targeted messaging to directly ‘nudge’ behaviour and shape the culture of specific groups. By targeting people using micro-level behavioural, personal-interest and location-based data, influence campaig…
Influence government, platform power and the patchwork profile
The targeted digital advertising infrastructures on which the business models of the social media platform economy rest have been the subject of significant academic and political interest. In this paper, we explore and theorise the appropriation of these infrastructures — designed for commercial and political advertising — by the state. In the U.K., public sector bodies have begun to repurpose the surveillance and messaging capacities of these s…
The effects of exposure to violence on social network composition and formation
Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing
Many critics raise concerns about the prevalence of ‘echo chambers’ on social media and their potential role in increasing political polarization. However, the lack of available data and the challenges of conducting large-scale field experiments have made it difficult to assess the scope of the problem 1,2 . Here we present data from 2020 for the entire population of active adult Facebook users in the USA showing that content from ‘like-minded’ s…
How do social media feed algorithms affect attitudes and behavior in an election campaign?
We investigated the effects of Facebook’s and Instagram’s feed algorithms during the 2020 US election. We assigned a sample of consenting users to reverse-chronologically-ordered feeds instead of the default algorithms. Moving users out of algorithmic feeds substantially decreased the time they spent on the platforms and their activity. The chronological feed also affected exposure to content: The amount of political and untrustworthy content the…
A theory of targeted and indiscriminate state violence in networks
Theories explaining why states choose to use targeted or indiscriminate violence against civilians hinge on the state’s capacity to gain information about who to target and its ability to do enough damage to prevent defection to the rebel’s side. In contrast to these theories, I show that the choice of strategy depends on the characteristics of the community experiencing the violence, not the state employing it. This article argues that even when…
Influence, infrastructure, and recentering cybercrime policing
We document and evaluate emerging policing strategies that are reshaping how centralised law enforcement agencies deal with online cybercrime markets. The first of these we term infrastructural policing, drawn from law enforcement campaigns to disrupt international drug markets and involving targeting the administrators who maintain the infrastructure supporting cybercrime markets. The second, we term influence policing, a strategy drawn from cou…
The effects of rural electrification in India
Influence, infrastructure, and recentering cybercrime policing
We document and evaluate emerging policing strategies that are reshaping how centralised law enforcement agencies deal with online cybercrime markets. The first of these we term infrastructural policing, drawn from law enforcement campaigns to disrupt international drug markets and involving targeting the administrators who maintain the infrastructure supporting cybercrime markets. The second, we term influence policing, a strategy drawn from cou…
The effects of rural electrification in India
The effects of rural electrification in India
Influence, infrastructure, and recentering cybercrime policing
We document and evaluate emerging policing strategies that are reshaping how centralised law enforcement agencies deal with online cybercrime markets. The first of these we term infrastructural policing, drawn from law enforcement campaigns to disrupt international drug markets and involving targeting the administrators who maintain the infrastructure supporting cybercrime markets. The second, we term influence policing, a strategy drawn from cou…
A theory of targeted and indiscriminate state violence in networks
Theories explaining why states choose to use targeted or indiscriminate violence against civilians hinge on the state’s capacity to gain information about who to target and its ability to do enough damage to prevent defection to the rebel’s side. In contrast to these theories, I show that the choice of strategy depends on the characteristics of the community experiencing the violence, not the state employing it. This article argues that even when…
Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing
Many critics raise concerns about the prevalence of ‘echo chambers’ on social media and their potential role in increasing political polarization. However, the lack of available data and the challenges of conducting large-scale field experiments have made it difficult to assess the scope of the problem 1,2 . Here we present data from 2020 for the entire population of active adult Facebook users in the USA showing that content from ‘like-minded’ s…
How do social media feed algorithms affect attitudes and behavior in an election campaign?
We investigated the effects of Facebook’s and Instagram’s feed algorithms during the 2020 US election. We assigned a sample of consenting users to reverse-chronologically-ordered feeds instead of the default algorithms. Moving users out of algorithmic feeds substantially decreased the time they spent on the platforms and their activity. The chronological feed also affected exposure to content: The amount of political and untrustworthy content the…
Influence government, platform power and the patchwork profile
The targeted digital advertising infrastructures on which the business models of the social media platform economy rest have been the subject of significant academic and political interest. In this paper, we explore and theorise the appropriation of these infrastructures — designed for commercial and political advertising — by the state. In the U.K., public sector bodies have begun to repurpose the surveillance and messaging capacities of these s…
The effects of exposure to violence on social network composition and formation
Influence Policing
This paper conceptualizes an emerging model of algorithmic policing; ‘influence policing’. This harnesses the affordances of Internet platforms to conduct domestic digital influence campaigns for crime prevention. These campaigns use sophisticated targeted messaging to directly ‘nudge’ behaviour and shape the culture of specific groups. By targeting people using micro-level behavioural, personal-interest and location-based data, influence campaig…
Business (6 works) · Political science (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Internet privacy (4 works) · Computer security (3 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Politics (3 works) · Psychology (3 works) · Social Media and Politics (3 works)