The SPARTA Lab is currently looking for self-motivated students seeking a Ph.D. in Computer Science and interested in pursuing research in topics related to computational social science, online privacy, and Internet measurement. Send an email to "rishab[-]-nithyanand[at]uiowa[dot]edu" with the subject "you NEED to hire me!" if you're interested in working with us and have a demonstrably strong background in any of the following areas: computer networking, statistics, text analytics, or experiment design.

---

Online Radicalization

Hussam Habib

Fall 2019 -

Rishab Nithyanand

Assistant Professor

Our focus is on identifying avenues and understanding the mechanics of online radicalization. Our end-goal is to use this understanding to develop better (more effective and scalable) interventions for vulnerable individuals on the cusp of radicalization.

We are currently working on several projects to (1) identify how radical ideologies flow between online communities and from online to offline communities, (2) measure the impact of algorithmic bias in search and recommendation systems on the ideologies of vulnerable individuals, and (3) understand how the misuse of new technologies (e.g., push notifications) can unintentionally result in populations more vulnerable to radicalization.

Publications

• Hussam Habib, Padmini Srinivasan, and Rishab Nithyanand. Pathways to Radical Misogyny: How Participation, Interaction, and Perception in Online Communities Increase Radical Behavior. Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ACM CSCW 2022).

• Hussam Habib, Maaz Bin Musa, Fareed Zaffar, and Rishab Nithyanand.Are Proactive Interventions for Reddit Communities Feasible?. Proceedings of the 2022 International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (AAAI ICWSM 2022).

• Hussam Habib, Rishab Nithyanand. Exploring the Magnitude and Effects of Media Influence on Reddit. International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, ICWSM 2022, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, June 6, 2022., 2022.

• Ryan Stoldt, Andrew High, Ashley Peterson, Kathryn Biddle, Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Rishab Nithyanand, Brian Ekdale, Timothy Havens, Hussam Habib, and John Thiede, Relationships among vaccination attitudes, social media use, and activist vs. radical behavior. 72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA 2022).

• Hussam Habib, Maaz Bin Musa, Fareed Zaffar, Rishab Nithyanand. To act or react: Investigating Proactive Strategies For Online Community Moderation. International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, ICWSM 2022, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, June 6, 2022., 2022.

• Rishab Nithyanand, Brian Schaffner, and Phillipa Gill. Online Political Discourse in the Trump Era. CoRR, 2017.

• Rishab Nithyanand, Brian Schaffner, and Phillipa Gill. Measuring Offensive Speech in Online Political Discourse. 7th USENIX Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet, FOCI 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada, August 14, 2017., 2017.