More on the Information Technology and Politics section

Best Student Paper
Best Public Facing Scholarship
Best Book Award
Best Conference Paper
Best Dissertation Award
Best Published Article Award
Best Instructional Software Award
Best Research Software Award
Best Website Award
Instructional Web Application Award
Outstanding Political Science Computer Software Award
Best Panel, Strategic Narrative in International Politics

Best Student Paper

Best student paper presented in information technology and politics at the previous year’s APSA meeting.

2025	Yilin Su, University College London “Fake News and Public Opinion in Nondemocracies: Evidence from Singapore.”
2024	Manu Singh, Columbia University “Fake it till you make it: Behind the scenes of bot-driven popularity.”
2023	Rui Wang, The State University of New York at Buffalo “Not all Bots Are Created Equal: The Impact of Bots Classification Techniques on Identification of Discursive Behaviors Around the COVID-19 Vaccine.”
2023	Dror Walter, Georgia State University “Not all Bots Are Created Equal: The Impact of Bots Classification Techniques on Identification of Discursive Behaviors Around the COVID-19 Vaccine.”
2023	Yotam Ophir, The State University of New York at Buffalo “Not all Bots Are Created Equal: The Impact of Bots Classification Techniques on Identification of Discursive Behaviors Around the COVID-19 Vaccine.”
2022	Cristian Vaccari, Loughborough University Outside the Bubble: Social Media and Political Participation in Western Democracies, Oxford UP.
2022	Augusto Valeriani, University of Bologna Outside the Bubble: Social Media and Political Participation in Western Democracies, Oxford UP.
2021	Katharina Heger, Leipzig University “Women’s Online Political Participation: Empowerment Through a Feminist Identity.” Presented at the 2020 APSA Annual Meeting.
2021	Christian P. Hoffmann, Leipzig University “Women’s Online Political Participation: Empowerment Through a Feminist Identity.” Presented at the 2020 APSA Annual Meeting.
2020	Heather Hughes, University of Haifa “The Macedonian Fake News Industry and the 2016 Election.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2019	Emily Van Duyn, The University of Texas at Austin “Hidden Democracy.”

Best Public Facing Scholarship

Best public-facing scholarship published in the previous calendar year. This includes blog posts and popular press publications intended for a broad public audience.

2025	Michael Bossetta, Lund University
2024	Danielle Brown, Michigan State University
2024	Kathleen Searles, Louisiana State University
2023	David Nemer, University of Virginia
2022	Shannon McGregor, University of North Carolina
2020	David Karpf, George Washington University
2019	Julia Azari, Marquette University

Best Book Award

The Best Book Award recognizes the best book in the area of Information Technology and Politics. The contest is limited to books published in the previous calendar year.

2025	Sabina Mihelj, Loughborough University Václav Štětka, Loughborough University The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024.
2025	Honorable Mention Mohamed Zayani, Georgetown University Joe F. Khalil, Northwestern University in Qatar The Digital Double Bind: Change and Statis in the Middle East. Oxford University Press, 2024.
2024	Alice Marwick, University of North Carolian at Chapel Hill The Private is Political: Networked Privacy and Social Media. Yale University Press, 2023.
2024	Honorable Mention Thomas J. Billard, Northwestern University Voices for Transgender Equality: Making Change in the Networked Public Sphere. Oxford University Press, 2023.
2023	Jennifer Forestal, Loyola University Chicago Designing for Democracy. How to Build Community in Digital Environments. Oxford University Press.
2023	Honorable Mention  Nina Hall, John Hopkins University Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era, Think Global, Act Local. Oxford University Press.
2023	Honorable Mention Emily van Duyn, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Democracy Lives in Darkness, How and Why People Keep their Politics a Secret. Oxford University Press.
2021	Rachel K. Gibson, University of Manchester When the Nerds Go Marching in: How Digital Technology Moved from the Margins to the Mainstream of Political Campaigns. Oxford University Press, 2020.
2020	Nils B. Weidmann, University of Konstanz The Internet and Political Protest in Autocracies. Oxford University Press, 2019.
2020	Espen Geelmuyden Rod, Uppsala University The Internet and Political Protest in Autocracies. Oxford University Press, 2019.
2019	Margaret Roberts, University of California, San Diego Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall. Princeton University Press, 2018.
2018	Joel Penney, Montclair State University The Citizen Marketer: Promoting Political Opinion in the Social Media Age. Oxford University Press.
2017	Daniel Kreiss, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Prototype Politics: Technology-Intensive Campaigning and the Data of Democracy. Oxford University Press, 2016.
2016	Eitan Hersch, Yale University Hacking the Electorate: How Campaigns Perceive Voters. Cambridge University Press, 2015
2015	Catie Bailard, George Washington University Democracy’s Double-Edged Sword: How Internet Use Changes Citizens’ Views of their Government. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.
2014	Andrew Chadwick, University of London The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. Oxford University Press, 2013.
2013	David Karpf, George Washington University The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy. Oxford University Press, 2012.
2012	J.P. Singh, Georgetown University Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011.
2010	Stephen Coleman, University of Leeds The Internet and Democratic Citizenship: Theory, Practice and Policy. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
2010	Jay Blumler, University of Leeds The Internet and Democratic Citizenship: Theory, Practice and Policy. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Best Conference Paper Award

The Best Conference Paper Award recognizes the best conference paper in the area of information technology and politics. The contest is limited to articles presented at conferences in the previous calendar year.

2025	Jan Zilinksy, Technical University of Munich Thomas Zeitzoff, American University “Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and the Politics of Anti-Technology.”
2025	Lisa P. Argyle, Brigham Young University Ethan C. Busby, Brigham Young University Joshua R. Gubler, Brigham Young University Alex Lyman, Brigham Young University Justin Olcott, Brigham Young University Jackson Pond, Brigham Young University David Wingate, Brigham Young University “Testing Theories of Political Persuasion Using Artificial Intelligence.”
2024	Joshua Tucker, New York University “Misinformation Exposure Beyond Traditional Feeds: Evidence from a WhatsApp Experiment in Brazil.”
2024	Rajeshwari Majumdar, New York University “Misinformation Exposure Beyond Traditional Feeds: Evidence from a WhatsApp Experiment in Brazil.”
2024	Tiago Ventura, Georgetown University “Misinformation Exposure Beyond Traditional Feeds: Evidence from a WhatsApp Experiment in Brazil.”
2024	Jonathan Nagler, New York University “Misinformation Exposure Beyond Traditional Feeds: Evidence from a WhatsApp Experiment in Brazil.”
2023	Kari Steen-Johnsen, Institute for Social Research, Norway “The Road to Citizenship: Discussing Politics Reinforces Political Interest.” Presented at the 2022 APSA Annual Meeting.
2023	Mads Thau, Institute for Social Research, Norway “The Road to Citizenship: Discussing Politics Reinforces Political Interest.” Presented at the 2022 APSA Annual Meeting.
2023	Cristian Vaccari, Loughborough University “The Road to Citizenship: Discussing Politics Reinforces Political Interest.” Presented at the 2022 APSA Annual Meeting.
2022	Cristian Vaccari, Loughborough University “The Campaign Disinformation Divide: Believing and Sharing News in the 2019 UK General Election”
2022	Andrew Chadwick, Longborough University “The Campaign Disinformation Divide: Believing and Sharing News in the 2019 UK General Election”
2022	Johannes Kaiser, Longborough University “The Campaign Disinformation Divide: Believing and Sharing News in the 2019 UK General Election”
2021	Annelise Russell, University of Kentucky “Tweeting Red: Angry Emotional Appeals in Congress.” Presented at the 2020 APSA Annual Meeting.
2021	Whitney Hua, University of Southern California  “Tweeting Red: Angry Emotional Appeals in Congress.” Presented at the 2020 APSA Annual Meeting.
2020	Erika Franklin Fowler, Wesleyan University “Political Advertising Online and Offline.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2020	Michael M. Franz, Bowdoin College “Political Advertising Online and Offline.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2020	Gregory J. Martin, Stanford University Graduate School of Business “Political Advertising Online and Offline.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2020	Zachary Peskowitz, Emory University “Political Advertising Online and Offline.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2020	Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University “Political Advertising Online and Offline.” Presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
2019	Cristian Vaccari, Loughborough University  “Digital Political Talk and Participation in Established and Third Wave Democracies.”
2019	August Valeriani, University of Bologna  “Digital Political Talk and Participation in Established and Third Wave Democracies.”
2018	Shelley Boulianne, MacEwan University “Twenty years, thirty-five countries: Digital media effects on participation.”
2018	Honorable Mention Andrew Guess, Princeton University “Inside the fake news bubble? Consumption of online fake news in the 2016 US Election.” Honorable Mention Brendan Nyhan, University of Michigan “Inside the fake news bubble? Consumption of online fake news in the 2016 US Election.” Honorable Mention Jason Reifler, University of Exeter “Inside the fake news bubble? Consumption of online fake news in the 2016 US Election.”
2017	Hannah Chapman, University of Wisconsin – Madison “Shoring Up Autocracy: Participatory Technologies and Regime Support in Putin’s Russia.”
2016	Yannis Theocharis, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research “A Bad Workman Blames his Tweets.”
2016	Pablo Barberá, New York University “A Bad Workman Blames his Tweets.”
2016	Zoltán Fazekas, University of Southern Denmark “A Bad Workman Blames his Tweets.”
2016	Sebastian Adrian Popa, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research “A Bad Workman Blames his Tweets.”
2015	Natalie Jomini Stroud, University of Texas, Austin “Can News Comment Sections Be More Deliberative?”
2015	Joshua M. Scacco, Purdue University “Can News Comment Sections Be More Deliberative?”
2015	Ashley Muddiman, University of Wyoming “Can News Comment Sections Be More Deliberative?”
2015	Alexander L. Curry, University of Texas, Austin “Can News Comment Sections Be More Deliberative?”
2015	Honorable Mention Kevin Wallsten, California State University “Persuasion from Below? An Experimental Assessment of the Impact of Anonymous Comments Sections on New Reader Attitudes”
2015	Honorable Mention Melinda Tarsi, Bridgewater State University “Persuasion from Below? An Experimental Assessment of the Impact of Anonymous Comments Sections on New Reader Attitudes”
2014	Gabriella Sacramone-Lutz, Columbia University  “Does Information Technology Flatten Interest Articulation?”
2014	Macartan Humphreys, Columbia University  “Does Information Technology Flatten Interest Articulation?”
2014	Guy Grossman, University of Pennsylvania “Does Information Technology Flatten Interest Articulation?”
2012	Christopher Mascaro, Drexel University The Daily Brew: The Structural Evolution of the Coffee Party on Facebook (presented during the 2010 United States Midterm Election Season)
2012	Sean Goggins, Drexel University The Daily Brew: The Structural Evolution of the Coffee Party on Facebook (presented during the 2010 United States Midterm Election Season)
2012	Alison Novak, Drexel University “The Daily Brew: The Structural Evolution of the Coffee Party on Facebook (presented during the 2010 United States Midterm Election Season)
2010	Jessica Feezell, University of California, Santa Barbara “Facebook is…Fostering Political Engagement: a Study of Online Social Networking Groups and Offline Participation.”
2010	Meredith Conroy, University of California, Santa Barbara “Facebook is…Fostering Political Engagement: a Study of Online Social Networking Groups and Offline Participation.”
2010	Mario Guerrero, University of California, Santa Barbara “Facebook is..Fostering Political Engagement: a Study of Online Social Networking Groups and Offline Participation.”
2007	Kevin Wallsten, University of California, Berkeley

Best Dissertation Award

The Best Disseration Award recognizes the best dissertation in the area of Information Technology and Politics.

2025	Eddie Yang, University of California, San Diego “Automating Autocracy: Authoritarian Institutions and the Politics of Artificial Intelligence.”
2024	Will Schulz, Princeton University “Warped Words: How Online Speech Misrepresents Opinion.”
2023	Tongtong Zhang, Stanford University “Whose Voice Matters? Conformists, Non-Conformists, and Responsiveness in China”
2023	Honorable Mention Kiran Arabaghatta Basavaraj, University College London “The Dynamics and Diffusion of Campaign Misinformation”
2021	Josh Simons, Harvard University “Democracy against Prediction: Citizen Rule in the Age of Machine Learning.”
2020	Xu Xu, Pennsylvania State University Authoritarian Control in the Age of Digital Surveillance. 2019
2019	Lizhi Liu, Georgetown University “From Click to Boom: The Political Economy of E-Commerce in China.” Stanford University.
2018	Juan S. Larrosa-Fuentes, Temple University “Communication and the Body Politic: Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign in Philadelphia’s Latino Community.”
2018	Honorable Mention Chrysi Dagoula, University of Sheffield “The Ongoing Structural Transformations of the Digital Public Sphere(s): The Role of Journalism.”
2016	David Benson, Southern Methodist University “The Internet Effect: How Authoritarian Governments use Internet Communication Technologies to Maintain Control of States.”
2015	Andreas Jungherr, University of Bamberg “The Use of Twitter in the Analysis of Political Phenomena”
2014	Jun Liu, University of Copenhagen “How Chinese People Use Mobile Phones to Change Politics and Democracy.”
2013	Leticia Bode, University of Wisconsin and Georgetown University “Political Information 2.0: A Study in Political Learning Via Social Media”
2012	Daniel Ross, York University “The Political Economy of Free and Open Source Software” (Completed at York University; advised b y George Comninel)

Best Information Technology & Politics Article Award

The Best Published Article Award recognizes the best scholarly article published about Information Technology and Politics. The contest is limited to articles published in the calendar year. The winner will receive a certificate and a check for the cost of one year’s membership in the APSA and the ITP section. 

2025	Daniel Muise, Stanford University David M. Markowitz, Michigan State University Byron Reeves, Stanford University Nilam Ram, Stanford University Thomas N. Robinson, Stanford University “(Mis) measurement of political content exposure within the smartphone ecosystem: investigating common assumptions.” Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media 4: 1-46. 2024.
2024	David Lazer, Northeastern University “Inequalities in Online Representation: Who Follows Their Own Member of Congress on Twitter?” Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media 3: 1-34. 2023.
2024	Pranav Goel, Northeastern University “Inequalities in Online Representation: Who Follows Their Own Member of Congress on Twitter?” Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media 3: 1-34. 2023.
2024	Jon Green, Duke University “Inequalities in Online Representation: Who Follows Their Own Member of Congress on Twitter?” Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media 3: 1-34. 2023.
2024	Stefan McCabe, George Washington University “Inequalities in Online Representation: Who Follows Their Own Member of Congress on Twitter?” Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media 3: 1-34. 2023.
2023	Benjamin Guinaudeau, University of Konstanz “Fifteen Seconds of Fame: TikTok and the Supply Side of Social Video.” Computational Communication Research, 4(2), 463-485.
2023	Kevin Munger, Pennsylvania State University “Fifteen Seconds of Fame: TikTok and the Supply Side of Social Video.” Computational Communication Research, 4(2), 463-485.
2023	Fabio Votta, University of Amsterdam “Fifteen Seconds of Fame: TikTok and the Supply Side of Social Video.” Computational Communication Research, 4(2), 463-485.
2021	Guy Grossman, University of Pennsylvania “Information Technology and Political Engagement: Mixed Evidence from Uganda.” Journal of Politics 82(4), 2020.
2021	Macartan Humphreys, Columbia University and WZB Berlin  “Information Technology and Political Engagement: Mixed Evidence from Uganda.” Journal of Politics 82(4), 2020.
2021	Gabriella Sacramone-Lutz, Columbia University “Information Technology and Political Engagement: Mixed Evidence from Uganda.” Journal of Politics 82(4), 2020.
2020	Jennifer M. Larson, Vanderbilt University “Social Networks and Protest Participation: Evidence from 130 Million Twitter Users.” American Journal of Political Science, Volume 63, Issue 3, July 2019, pages 690-705
2020	Jonathan Nagler, New York University “Social Networks and Protest Participation: Evidence from 130 Million Twitter Users.” American Journal of Political Science, Volume 63, Issue 3, July 2019, pages 690-705
2020	Jonathan Ronen, Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology “Social Networks and Protest Participation: Evidence from 130 Million Twitter Users.” American Journal of Political Science, Volume 63, Issue 3, July 2019, pages 690-705
2020	Joshua A. Tucker, New York University “Social Networks and Protest Participation: Evidence from 130 Million Twitter Users.” American Journal of Political Science, Volume 63, Issue 3, July 2019, pages 690-705
2019	Stephen Meserve, Texas Tech University “Google Politics: The Political Determinants of Internet Censorship in Democracies.” Political Science Research & Methods 6(2): 245-263.
2019	Daniel Pemstein, North Dakota State University  “Google Politics: The Political Determinants of Internet Censorship in Democracies.” Political Science Research & Methods 6(2): 245-263.
2018	Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Vienna “Effects of the News-Finds-Me Perception in Communication: Social Media Use Implications for News Seeking and Learning About Politics.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
2018	Brian Weeks, University of Michigan “Effects of the News-Finds-Me Perception in Communication: Social Media Use Implications for News Seeking and Learning About Politics.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
2018	Alberto Ardèvol-Abreu, Universidad de la Laguna “Effects of the News-Finds-Me Perception in Communication: Social Media Use Implications for News Seeking and Learning About Politics.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
2017	Cristian Vaccari, University of London, Royal Holloway “Online Mobilization in Comparative Perspective: Digital appeals and political engagement in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.” Political Communication34(1):69-88.
2016	Pablo Barberá, New York University “Birds of the Same Feather Tweet Together: Bayesian Ideal Point Estimation Using Twitter Data.” Political Analysis, 23(1), 76-91.
2014	Pablo Rey Mazon, pageonex.com
2013	Yochai Benkler, Harvard University A Tale of two Blogospheres Discursive Practices on the Left and Right (American Behavioral Scientist April 2012 vol 56 no 4 pages 459-487)
2013	Aaron Shaw, UC Berkeley and Harvard University A Tale of two Blogospheres Discursive Practices on the Left and Right (American Behavioral Scientist April 2012 vol 56 no 4 pages 459-487)
2007	Brian Krueger, University of Rhode Island

Best Instructional Software Award

The Best Instructional Software Award recognizes a work that enhances the teaching of political science through the use of technology.

2013	George Boynton, University of Iowa Samuel Best, University of Connecticut Brian Krueger, University of Rhode Island Jeffrey Ladewig, University of Connecticut Clifford Vickrey, University of Connecticut http://www.quickcount.us
2007	Roy Rosenzweig, George Mason University 1998 David Smetters, MicroCase Corporation “Explorit”
1997	Kent Portney, Tufts University “Crime and Punishment” Jerry Goldman, Northwestern University “Crime and Punishment”
1995	G. Garson, North Carolina State University “American Government Simulations”
1994	Marc Triebwasser, Central Connecticut State University “The American Government Interactive Videodisc”
1992	Kenneth Janda, Northwestern University “IDEAlog: A Computer Program for Analyzing Political Values” Jerry Goldman, Northwestern University “IDEAlog: A Computer Program for Analyzing Political Values”  Dennis Hartman, Northwestern University “IDEAlog: A Computer Program for Analyzing Political Values” Michael Rich, Brown University “STATMASTER: A Computer Guide to Interpreting SPSS” Jack Combs, Brown University “STATMASTER: A Computer Guide to Interpreting SPSS”

Best Research Software Award

The Best Research Software Award recognizes a work that contributes to the furtherance of research in the field as well as improvement of research.

2012	Derrick Cogburn, American University IDPP Cyberinfrastructure Micah Altman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology DistrictBuilder Michael McDonald, George Mason University DistrictBuilder
1998	D. Scott Bennett, Pennsylvania State University “EUGene” Allan Stam, Yale University “EUGene”
1997	Kenneth Benoit, Harvard University “Ezl: An (Easy) Program for Ecological Inference” Gary King, Harvard University “Ezl: An (Easy) Program for Ecological Inference”
1995	Philip Schrodt, University of Kansas “KEDS: Kansas Event Data System”
1994	Gary King, Harvard University “COUNT: A Program for Estimating Event Count and Duration Regression Models”
1992	Andrew Gelman, University of California, Berkeley “JudgeIt: A Computer Program for Evaluating Electoral Systems and Redistricting” Gary King, Harvard University “JudgeIt: A Computer Program for Evaluating Electoral Systems and Redistricting”
1991	Michael Vasu, North Carolina State University “SocStatSim” Ellen Vasu, North Carolina State University “SocStatSim”

Best Website Award

The Best Political Science Website or Software Award recognizes the website or software, which contributes to research and/or teaching in political science

2010	Chirag Shah, Rutgers, The State University Context Miner http://contextminer.com/index.php
2006	Charles Prysby, University of North Carolina Voting Behavior: The 2004 Election Carmine Scavo, East Carolina University Voting Behavior: The 2004 Election
2002	John Wilkerson, University of Washington Legislative Simulator depts.washington.edu Dirksen Congressional Center www.dirksencongressionalcenter.org LEGSIM http://depts.washington.edu/
2001	Teaching Human Rights Online www.oz.uc.edu/thro
2000	Center for Responsive Politics www.OpenSecrets.org
1998	Project Vote Smart

Instructional Web Application Award

2007	Bryan Jones, University of Washington Policy Agendas Project
2000	Warner Institute for Education in Democracy http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/focus/

Outstanding Political Science Computer Software Award

The Outstanding Political Science Computer Software Award recognizing excellence in the creation of political science computer software for classroom or research applications.

2014	Pablo Rey Mazon, PageoneX
2007	John Wilkerson, University of Washington Policy Agendas Project Frank Baumgartner, Penn State University Policy Agendas Project
2000	Michael Corbett, Ball State University “Poli-Tutor” University of California, Berkeley “Computer-Assisted Survey Methods Program,” http://csa.berkeley.edu/
1991	Bahram Farzanegan, University of North Carolina, Ashville “ISN4”
1990	Philip Schrodt, University of Kansas “Crosstabs”

Best Panel, Strategic Narrative in International Politics

2014	Ken Rogerson, Chair Sarah A. Oates, Discussant Laura Roselle, Panelist Ben O’Loughline, Panelist Robin Christoper Brown, Panelist Cristina Archetti, Panelist Allister John Miskimmon, Panelist