Newsletter
COSMOS Wins “Best Paper Award” for Research on How Narratives Spread Across Digital Platforms in Porto, Portugal
Our research titled “Narrative Contagion Under Competing Information Environment: An Epidemiological Modeling Analysis of Tariff Discourse on X and Weibo” received the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Integration of Digital and AI-related Technologies (IntAI 2026), held June 7–11, 2026, in Porto, Portugal. Led by Prof. Nitin Agarwal, the Best Paper Award-winning study uses epidemiological modeling to examine how competing tariff narratives spread across X and Weibo, revealing how platform design, moderation, and governance can shape which narratives gain momentum and which fade.
COSMOS Drives Global Impact with 13 Accepted Papers at ASONAM 2026 in Rabat, Morocco
COSMOS Research Center is proud to highlight its recent presentation of 13 research studies at the 18th International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining in Rabat, Morocco, on August 24-27, 2026. As a premier international forum for social network analysis and mining, ASONAM brings together global leaders to evaluate complex behavioral dynamics and data analytics. Supported by federal research grants focused on cognitive security, national defense, and digital platform resilience, these studies employ advanced natural language processing, predictive temporal modeling, multiplex graph theory, and artificial intelligence capabilities. By uncovering how coordinated online behavior, toxicity transmission, algorithmic recommendation traps, and narrative diffusion unfold across global platforms, this body of work advances our ability to safeguard public discourse and defend democratic institutions.
Hot off the Press: Unlocking the Blueprint behind Digital Uprising
In a new study, “Examining Linguistic Strategies for Digital Mobilization in Social Movements on Instagram and TikTok”, published in the Communications of the Association for Information Systems (vol. 58), COSMOS researchers analyze how distinct language types (conative, referential, emotive, and expressive) drive collective action on Instagram and TikTok. By examining over 130,000 social media posts and comments across major political campaigns in Brazil and Taiwan, the team created a Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipeline mapping how speech functions evolve across movement lifecycles, showing that early calls to action transition into factual grounding and emotional solidarity. These findings provide a scalable framework for civic tech and platform safety tools to predict real-world mobilization, protest, and social movements.
Research Spotlight: Discovering Influential Groups and Cross-Platform Narrative Contagion
COSMOS highlights two studies presented at the 14th International Conference on Complex Networks and Their Applications (Complex Networks) in New York, USA, advancing new approaches to understanding influence and information spread across digital networks. Led by Prof. Nitin Agarwal, the studies introduce a scalable method for identifying influential groups in social networks and a cross-platform epidemiological framework for modeling how narratives move across Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Together, the work provides new tools for analyzing coordinated influence, mapping narrative diffusion, and strengthening the resilience of online information ecosystems.
Cosmographer Corner: From COSMOS to Production Systems: Dr. Adewale Obadimu’s Journey!
COSMOS alumnus Dr. Adewale Obadimu has published Practical System Design: Building Reliable Systems Through Production Failures. Drawing on his experience across robotics, consumer platforms, and financial services, the book uses 14 real-world incident case studies to teach engineers how to design resilient systems using measurements and resource limits. Dr. Obadimu credits his foundation to Prof. Agarwal’s mentorship at COSMOS for shaping his research-driven approach to software, emphasizing that reliable infrastructure is essential for dependable computational research, data pipelines, and AI systems.
New Hire: Esra Erdin hired as a Data Engineer at COSMOS Research Center
COSMOS is excited to welcome Esra Erdin as our new Data Engineer, where she bridges the gap between advanced research and scalable engineering. Esra specializes in social network analysis, data analytics, and privacy in online communities. Under the direction of Prof. Nitin Agarwal, she builds AI-driven workflows, tests large language models, and applies network science to transform complex socio-computational research into practical solutions that safeguard the digital ecosystem.