Stanford Social Media Lab
Stanford Social Media Lab is an academic research unit within Stanford University that applies computational linguistics and NLP to study deception, trust, and AI-mediated communication on social media, operating the Digital Strength Initiative and Adolescents and Well-being Initiative with grant funding from NSF and DoD.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersStanford, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Stanford Social Media Lab does
Stanford Social Media Lab is an academic research unit within Stanford University's Department of Communication, founded in 2015 by Jeff Hancock after his move from Cornell University. The lab applies computational linguistics and natural language processing — including the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) framework, supervised classifiers, and word embedding models — to study psychological and interpersonal processes in social media, with particular focus on deception detection, trust, self-disclosure, and AI-mediated communication. The unit has produced over 80 journal articles and conference proceedings, and Hancock's TED Talk on deception has exceeded 1 million views.
The lab operates two principal programs: the Digital Strength Initiative (DSI), a coalition launched on 2024-03-21 with MediaWise, Google Jigsaw, Stanford Impact Labs, the American Library Association, and AARP state chapters that distributes free evidence-based digital literacy modules; and the Adolescents and Well-being Initiative, which conducts research on social media's impact on youth and publishes resources including 'A Parent's Guide to Digital Safety' and the 'What I Wish I Knew' student survey project (500+ responses). The lab also publishes policy statements, including an Academic Advisory Group Statement on the Social Media Minimum Age Act, and engages international policy forums such as ASEAN AI governance workshops.
The lab is non-commercial. Revenue derives from research grants — primarily U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Defense awards — supplemented by Stanford University institutional support. With approximately 20 personnel, including a director and a 2024-25 cohort of 6 fellows, the lab distributes research through peer-reviewed publications, conferences, TED/public lectures, earned media (NYT, CNN, NPR, CBS, BBC, Netflix), and direct-to-public channels including TikTok (@stanfordmediaproj) and Instagram (@stanfordmediaproject). There are no commercial products, pricing models, or paying customers.
Stanford Social Media Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stanford Social Media Lab
- Legal name
- Stanford Social Media Lab
- Website
- https://sml.stanford.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stanford Social Media Lab is an academic research unit within Stanford University that applies computational linguistics and NLP to study deception, trust, and AI-mediated communication on social media, operating the Digital Strength Initiative and Adolescents and Well-being Initiative with grant funding from NSF and DoD.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stanford Social Media Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Research Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Scholarly & Academic Multimedia (Research Videos, Interactive Figures) (EDAGALAJ)
Keywords
Where Stanford Social Media Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stanford
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stanford Social Media Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Research Grants: Funded by U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Defense grants for research on deception, technology, and social media
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Stanford Social Media Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Stanford Social Media Lab is an academic research laboratory within Stanford University that conducts interdisciplinary research on psychological and interpersonal processes in social media using computational linguistics, NLP, and behavioral experiments. Its offerings include the Digital Strength Initiative (DSI), a coalition providing evidence-based digital literacy tools and training to counter misinformation, and the Adolescents and Well-being Initiative, which researches social media's impact on youth and provides resources for parents and educators.
Product overview
The Stanford Social Media Lab is a research laboratory at Stanford University, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of research programs and educational initiatives. The Digital Strength Initiative provides evidence-based digital literacy tools and training to counter misinformation. The Adolescents and Well-being Initiative conducts research and provides resources on social media's impact on youth. Both programs operate as research-driven educational initiatives rather than commercial software products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Digital Strength Initiative (DSI): A coalition of values-aligned partners brought together to counter the forces of online misinformation, providing tools and training to help build digital strength and resilience.
- Adolescents and Well-being Initiative
Products and services
- Digital Strength Initiative (DSI) A coalition led by Stanford Social Media Lab that provides evidence-based digital literacy tools and training to help individuals build digital resilience against misinformation. The program includes self-directed interactive modules covering lateral reading, click restraint, reading upstream, reverse image search, and fact-checking strategies. It is designed for partner organizations, educators, libraries, and community groups seeking to distribute digital literacy resources to their constituencies.
- Adolescents and Well-being Initiative A research initiative focused on understanding and addressing the impact of social media on adolescent well-being. The program includes research projects, team activities, and resources such as 'A Parent's Guide to Digital Safety' and the 'What I Wish I Knew' project collecting surveys from students about social media experiences. It serves researchers, parents, educators, and policymakers concerned about youth and digital media.
Companies that use Stanford Social Media Lab
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stanford Social Media Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Stanford Social Media Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- MediaWisecoreMediaWise is a partner in the Digital Strength Initiative, working to counter online misinformation through digital literacy education and evidence-based tools developed by the Stanford Social Media Lab.
- Google JigsawcoreGoogle's Jigsaw unit collaborates with the Digital Strength Initiative to develop and distribute tools and training for building digital strength and resilience against misinformation.
- Stanford Impact LabscoreStanford Impact Labs partners with the Digital Strength Initiative to measure and scale the social impact of digital literacy interventions.
- American Library AssociationcoreAmerican Library Association serves as a distribution partner for the Digital Strength Initiative, leveraging library networks to reach communities with digital literacy resources.
- AARP (state chapters)coreAARP state chapters distribute digital literacy tools and training to older adults, a demographic particularly vulnerable to online misinformation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Stanford Social Media Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cornell Tech: Cornell Tech is a Cornell University research and graduate campus studying digital technologies and society. It is a broader incumbent peer — Hancock himself came from Cornell — and shares academic research DNA with the Stanford Social Media Lab.
Direct peers
- Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (Harvard): Harvard's Berkman Klein Center conducts interdisciplinary research on the internet, society, and technology policy. It is a close peer in studying misinformation, platform governance, and youth online well-being.
- Pew Research Center: Pew Research Center produces widely cited empirical research on social media use, misinformation, and technology's societal impact — directly comparable outputs to the Stanford Social Media Lab's public research mission.
- MIT Media Lab: MIT Media Lab is a comparable academic research lab studying the societal, psychological, and communicative impacts of digital technologies. Like the Stanford Social Media Lab, it operates within a leading university and produces widely cited interdisciplinary research.
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism: The Reuters Institute conducts academic research on news, journalism, and digital platforms — overlapping with the lab's misinformation, trust, and digital literacy research themes.
- Data & Society: Data & Society is a research institute focused on the social and cultural implications of data-centric technologies. It is a close peer in studying platform power, AI, and online harms with academic rigor.
- Oxford Internet Institute: OII is a leading academic department studying the social implications of the internet, including misinformation and online communication. Comparable in research output, university affiliation, and policy engagement to the Stanford Social Media Lab.
- Stanford HAI (Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence): Stanford HAI is a Stanford-affiliated research institute studying AI's impact on society — directly overlapping with the lab's AI-mediated communication and trust research — and serves a similar faculty-and-fellows model.
Others
- Knight Foundation: Knight Foundation funds journalism, media, and digital literacy research initiatives. It is an adjacent funder/ecosystem participant rather than a direct research competitor, but operates in the same policy and grant ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Center for Humane Technology: Center for Humane Technology is an advocacy and research organization addressing technology's effects on well-being and democracy. It overlaps with the lab's Adolescents and Well-being Initiative and misinformation work, though it operates more as a movement organization than an academic lab.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stanford Social Media Lab social profiles
Digital presenceStanford Social Media Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stanford Social Media Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Stanford Social Media Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stanford Social Media Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stanford Social Media Lab
What does Stanford Social Media Lab do?
The Stanford Social Media Lab is an academic research laboratory within Stanford University that conducts interdisciplinary research on psychological and interpersonal processes in social media using computational linguistics, NLP, and behavioral experiments. Its offerings include the Digital Strength Initiative (DSI), a coalition providing evidence-based digital literacy tools and training to counter misinformation, and the Adolescents and Well-being Initiative, which researches social media's impact on youth and provides resources for parents and educators.
Is Stanford Social Media Lab a public or private company?
Stanford Social Media Lab is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Stanford Social Media Lab founded?
Stanford Social Media Lab was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stanford Social Media Lab based?
Stanford Social Media Lab is headquartered in Stanford, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stanford Social Media Lab make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Grants.
Who are Stanford Social Media Lab's main competitors?
Cornell Tech is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (Harvard), Pew Research Center, MIT Media Lab, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Data & Society, Oxford Internet Institute and Stanford HAI (Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence). Knight Foundation is listed as an others. Center for Humane Technology is listed as an emerging player.
Does Stanford Social Media Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stanford Social Media Lab.
What industry is Stanford Social Media Lab in?
Stanford Social Media Lab's product category is Academic Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAFAD, Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAGALAJ, Scholarly & Academic Multimedia (Research Videos, Interactive Figures). Its NAICS code is 541720.