Announcing the Inaugural Cohort of Applied Social Media Lab Fellows at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center

We are thrilled to announce the inaugural cohort of Applied Social Media Lab (ASML) Fellows at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. These distinguished professionals bring a wealth of experience from across industry, government, and civil society. They will spend their time at ASML collaborating with BKC’s interdisciplinary community of experts to develop new approaches to social media technology.

Fay Johnson is a seasoned product management leader with over two decades of experience driving innovation in consumer technology. Her work focuses on fostering trust, safety, and meaningful connection across digital platforms. At the Lab, she will conduct applied research on depolarization and enhancing civility in online discourse. She is exploring in-app interventions to encourage constructive interactions between users, grounded in behavior change psychology and pro-social behavioral theory.  

Louis Barclay is the developer behind Unfollow Everything, a browser extension that allows users to delete their Facebook News Feed by unfollowing their friends, groups, and pages. The tool got him banned from Meta products in 2021, and led to a lawsuit against Meta by UMass Amherst’s Ethan Zuckerman. At ASML, Louis will focus on building a platform for researchers to easily deploy and test interventions on social media platforms, such as a prompt to encourage civil discussions.

Fay and Louis represent the first of several ASML Fellows cohorts for the 2024-2025 academic year. The fellowship program offers participants the opportunity to develop innovative and practical approaches to social media technology oriented towards the public good. Fellows will lead self-directed projects aligned with one of four focus areas:

1. Spaces for Civil Discourse and Collaboration: Creating new platforms for constructive online dialogue.
2. Transparency Tools: Developing resources that make social media platforms more understandable to the public.
3. Personalized Safety Applications: Designing customizable tools to protect users from online threats.
4. Interoperable Software Infrastructure: Building frameworks that support diverse and healthy social media experiences.

Throughout their fellowship, ASML Fellows will collaborate with tech experts, civil society advocates, academics, and designers to refine their projects. They will also present their work to the ASML community, receiving constructive feedback to enhance their initiatives.  

For more information about the ASML Fellowship Program, please visit the Applied Social Media Lab's official website.

Please note that we are still evaluating the next cohort of fellows, and decisions will be communicated to successful applicants following the calendar determined by the call.