UC Berkeley School of Information

What does it mean to measure risk on digital platforms, especially for those most vulnerable to online harm? Marisa Hall, a student in UC Berkeley’s Master of Information and Cybersecurity (MICS) program, is tackling this question head-on with research that quantifies and addresses platform risk for marginalized users, in particular LGBTQ+ youth. Hall has been invited to present their research at the Stanford Trust & Safety Conference, which will be held from September 25-26, 2025, and looks forward to sharing their work with industry experts and leaders interested in creating change within their organizations.

On Oct. 27, 2022, Elon Musk became the new owner of Twitter, ushering in countless new changes. One of Musk's biggest directives was how content moderation was going to work under his new leadership. This resulted in numerous guidelines and teams being removed. Multiple studies have linked this decision to a dramatic rise in hate and hate groups across the platform, and many other sites have followed suit. Ph.D. student Dan Hickey spoke to the All Sides podcast about how social media sites are being used as a tool to spread hate.