https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/ Columns and analysis by Dr. Carlos Merlo on elections, artificial intelligence, crisis and disinformation. en Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-12-two-step-flow-influencers/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-12-two-step-flow-influencers/ Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Political Marketing In 1944, researchers looking for the power of mass media found something else, people who passed ideas to their neighbors. Eighty years later, those opinion leaders have become news influencers with millions of followers. A guide to the two-step flow of communication, its critics and what it means for campaigns in the creator economy. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-11-ai-temporary-upskilling/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-11-ai-temporary-upskilling/ Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence A randomized trial with nearly 500 management consultants, now published in Nature Human Behaviour, shows that generative AI let non-specialists perform data science tasks far above their training. When the tool was removed, the new skills were gone. A breakdown of the design and what it means for teams that are reskilling through AI. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-10-deepfake-ads-liars-dividend/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-10-deepfake-ads-liars-dividend/ Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence The 2026 midterms were the first U.S. election in which AI-generated ads became routine. Most of them fooled no one. That is precisely the problem. When synthetic images become ordinary campaign material, the damage is not only that false things look real, but that real things become easy to deny. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-09-digital-democracy-from-below-review/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-09-digital-democracy-from-below-review/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence A new open-access collection from the University of Virginia argues that democratic control over artificial intelligence will not be won in summits or terms of service, but in procurement rules, local infrastructure and everyday civic practice. A review of what it offers leaders who want technology to strengthen, not replace, participation. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-05-framing/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-05-framing/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Political Marketing Two messages can contain the same facts and produce opposite decisions. Framing theory explains why, and why the battle over how a problem is defined often decides a campaign or a crisis before any argument begins. A guide to the concept, its evidence and its digital mutations. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-04-midterms-2026-special/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-04-midterms-2026-special/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT Elections Democrats are projected to take both chambers of Congress, with several races still being counted. Beyond the scoreboard, the 2026 midterms offer a compact course in referendum politics, candidate quality, the economics of anger and the discipline of waiting for the count. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-04-ai-petitions-outputs-not-outcomes/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-04-ai-petitions-outputs-not-outcomes/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence A natural experiment on 1.5 million Change.org petitions shows that an AI writing assistant changed how people wrote, making petitions longer and more alike, but did not help them win support. A breakdown of the design and what it means for campaigns that are rushing to automate their messaging. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-03-election-night-is-not-a-verdict/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-03-election-night-is-not-a-verdict/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Elections Tonight, millions of Americans will watch numbers move on a screen and mistake them for a result. The gap between the first count and the final count is not a flaw in democracy. It is where truth takes time, and where leaders reveal whether they respect it. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-02-ai-algorithms-misinformation-review/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-11-02-ai-algorithms-misinformation-review/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Disinformation On the eve of the U.S. midterms, Jeffrey Layne Blevins argues that algorithms do not simply distribute information; they manufacture a shared perception of reality shaped by economic and political interests. A review of a short, open-access book and what it offers campaigns, regulators and leaders. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-29-agenda-setting/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-29-agenda-setting/ Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Political Marketing In 1968, two researchers in Chapel Hill showed that the media did not tell voters what to think, but what to think about. Half a century later, the editor has been joined by an algorithm and a group chat. A guide to agenda setting and what it means for campaigns and leaders today. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-28-the-feed-is-the-message/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-28-the-feed-is-the-message/ Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Disinformation A field experiment published in Nature randomly assigned 2,000 users to custom-built feeds during the 2024 U.S. election. Engagement ranking did not change how people behaved, but it changed how they saw everyone else. A breakdown of the design and what it means for leaders who read public opinion through a screen. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-27-the-last-week/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-27-the-last-week/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Elections With the U.S. midterms a week away, the most consequential falsehoods are the ones that arrive too late to be corrected. Fifteen years of research on the continued influence effect explains why timing, not volume, is the real vulnerability, and what campaigns and institutions should do before the window closes. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-26-the-artificial-state-review/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-26-the-artificial-state-review/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Leadership Harvard historian Jill Lepore argues that data, algorithms and concentrated tech power have quietly replaced parts of democratic self-government. A review of her method, her limits, and the questions every leader should take from it. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-22-spiral-of-silence/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-22-spiral-of-silence/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Disinformation Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann argued in 1974 that people fall silent when they believe they are in the minority. Half a century later, the question is no longer only what the majority thinks, but who is manufacturing our sense of it. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-21-the-messenger-problem/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-21-the-messenger-problem/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence A new preregistered experiment in PNAS Nexus shows that telling people an AI chatbot leans toward the other party cuts its ability to correct their misconceptions by up to 28%. The finding revives a seventy-year-old lesson about source credibility, and it has direct consequences for anyone deploying AI in public communication. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-20-the-disclosure-illusion/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-20-the-disclosure-illusion/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Political Marketing More than $137 million has gone into AI-generated political ads this cycle, and only about a quarter carry a disclaimer. The usual answer is better labels. The evidence suggests labels are the wrong instrument, and that they may punish the campaigns honest enough to use them. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-19-ai-and-political-freedom-review/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-19-ai-and-political-freedom-review/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:45:00 GMT Artificial Intelligence Matthew Botvinick's new book from Princeton University Press argues that the real threat AI poses to democracy is not the fake video but the pressure it will place on the institutions that keep power in check. A review of its method and what leaders should take from it. https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-17-we-need-witnesses-the-night-tesla-had-to-prove-it-wasn-t-ai/ https://carlosmerlo.com/columns/2026-10-17-we-need-witnesses-the-night-tesla-had-to-prove-it-wasn-t-ai/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 17:31:00 GMT Disinformation To unveil its new car, the world’s most famous tech company had to bring in a live audience to vouch that it wasn’t artificial intelligence. In politics, that moment has already arrived.