Harmony Labs

Harmony Labs is an applied research lab that works to decode media’s social effects, and it conducts experiments to better understand how media can better support an open, inclusive, and democratic society. Its new Narrative Observatory is a first-of-its-kind data tool designed to help advocates, organizers, storytellers and others working to improve democracy navigate today’s highly fractured media ecosystem and reach the public on issues that matter. Based on on-going analysis of the media behaviors of over 50,000 people in the U.S. and the content they interact with across platforms and devices, the Observatory provides a way to explore the interaction of various audiences with the narratives that condition their beliefs and values. This grant supports Harmony Labs to partner with a coalition of nonprofits in Michigan to use the Narrative Observatory to generate a comprehensive view into the media behaviors of key audiences in Michigan. Its goal is to inform strategies for navigating a highly fractured media ecosystem and reaching key audiences with high-quality information about a range of local-interest issues, such as COVID-19 and the environment.