Tamar Mitts

Tamar Mitts is an Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs and a member of the Data Science Institute, the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and the Political Science Department at Columbia University. Her research addresses emerging challenges at the intersection of technology and conflict.

Professor Mitts’s work focuses on several broad questions: (a) What role does social media play during conflict and civil war? (b) How do violent and nonviolent movements use the internet to advance their cause? and (c) In what ways can media be manipulated to shape public opinion? Mitts’s research draws on innovative data collection techniques and creative research designs that leverage the wealth of information available in digital media platforms. Her articles have been published in leading journals, including the American Political Science Review, International Organization, the Journal of Politics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of Economic Perspectives, among other outlets. Her research has been cited in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Fortune Magazine, Vox, War on the Rocks, and Foreign Policy.

Her new book, Safe Havens for Hate: The Challenge of Moderating Online Extremism (Princeton University Press, forthcoming in 2025), offers a novel account of how content moderation shapes the activity of harmful content producers, by providing a deep dive into networks of extremist organizations on a wide range of social media platforms. Drawing on rich data on the activity of over a hundred militant and hate organizations, the book shows that different moderation standards across platforms create “safe havens” that allow these actors to organize, launch campaigns, and mobilize supporters.

Mitts holds an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University and a B.A. in politics from New York University.

Honors and Awards

• Best Paper Award in the Conflict Processes Section, American Political Science Association. 2023.
• Patricia Weitsman Award for outstanding graduate student paper, International Security Studies Section (ISSS) of the International Studies Association (ISA). 2018.