Research & Innovation

For years, social media companies have faced pressure from users and government watchdogs to stop misinformation from distorting elections, deepening political divisions and undermining Americans’ trust in institutions.

But what if dramatically reducing people’s exposure to unreliable sources that frequently spread misinformation doesn’t actually change what they believe?

UC Berkeley Political Science Ph.D. student Olivier Bergeron-Boutin tested that question on Facebook and Instagram during the 2020 presidential...

Beyond the barbecues, fireworks and other festivities, the United States’ 250th birthday was cause for many Americans to reflect on the nation’s founding, identity and future.

While many stories retold around the Fourth emphasize gritty colonists fighting for the ideals of freedom against a vast British Empire — stories populated with tri-corner hats, hand-sewn flags and crates of dumped tea — historians continue to examine the more complex histories behind the founding and the events that followed for the next 250 years. They challenge us to...

The 136 conversations took place in roughly the same way: Pleasantries would be exchanged, a recorder started, then UC Berkeley researchers asked middle-class Californians to dig deep. Who deserves government assistance? What values do you hope to instill in your children? What do you think about undocumented immigration? What is the American dream, exactly?

Those wide-ranging interviews form the basis of aself-scrutinizing new book from Berkeley professors G. Cristina Mora and...

We would like to wrap up the 2025–2026 academic year by congratulating all of the current Cal Bears and recent alums who received nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships this academic year, as well as those who submitted strong applications for more than 30 scholarship and fellowship programs our office supports.