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New Frameworks for Approaching the Study of Discursive Polarisation

It’s the second and last day of the ECREA PolCom 2023 conference in Berlin, and it starts with a panel on polarisation that I’ve had a hand in organising. We begin with Michael Brüggemann, whose focus is on discursive polarisation. He begins by pointing out that polarisation is often ill-defined, and the communicative dimension in particular is often under-conceptualised and under-researched.

What Explains Negative Attitudes towards Social Media in Germany?

The last speakers in this ECREA PolCom 2023 conference session are Christian Strippel and Sophie Jokerst, whose interest is in the democratic potentials of social media. They begin by introducing the results from the Weizenbaum Institute’s panel survey – which in Germany produced generally positive views of the overall impact of the Internet on society, but far more mixed views on social media in particular.

Social Media User Engagement with Protest Events

The next speaker in this ECREA PolCom 2023 conference session is Luna Staes, whose focus is also on online user engagement with street protests. Social movement organisations are using social media to engage with the public, and this also generates user engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments, etc.) that provide instant feedback on online publics’ appetite for protest messages.

Logistical Infrastructures of Attention for Russian Anti-War Protests

The next speaker in this ECREA PolCom 2023 conference session is Svetlana Chuikina, whose interest is in how Russian anti-war activists (including in the diaspora around the world) engage in the construction of media events in order to promote their messages. There are a number of such groups, including the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR), the Youth Democratic Movement (VESNA), and Technologies for Social Good (Teplica).

Effects of Protest Features on Protest Perceptions

The next session at ECREA PolCom 2023 conference starts with a paper by Pablo Jost, whose interest is in protest events. Protests often aim to generate media attention, yet such media attention is often not supportive of protests, especially when they are disruptive (or can be portrayed as such) – and this produces more critical perception and less identification with protests.

Effects of Different Media Literacy Messaging on Fact-Checking Behaviours

The final speaker in this THREATPIE panel at ECREA PolCom 2023 conference is Patrick van Erkel, who explores the role of media literacy in addressing misinformation. Media or news literacy has been promoted substantially in response to the infodemic of mis- and disinformation in recent years, and some such approaches can be affective. But what are the mechanisms for such effects: do they genuinely increase news literacy, or simply create more general distrust in the media?

No Evidence of Echo Chambers from Selective Exposure

The fourth speaker in this session at ECREA PolCom 2023 conference is Ana Cardenal, who moves beyond reported to observed behaviour, with a particular focus on selective exposure practices. This combines survey data with Web tracking data across Spain, France, Germany, the US, and the UK.

Perceptions of Other People’s Ability to Detect Misinformation

The next speaker in this ECREA PolCom 2023 conference panel is Nicoleta Corbu, who explores the same dataset as the previous two speakers by examining third-person perceptions about misinformation detection. People generally tend to perceive greater media effects on third persons than on themselves; this might also have consequences for their own behaviours, such as less active fact-checking practices – but to date, there is no empirical data to prove this assumption.

Media Effects on Perceptions of Social Cohesion in Society

The second speaker in this panel at ECREA PolCom 2023 conference is Christine Meltzer, whose focus is on the perception of social cohesion in society, and its relationship with media use. Such cohesion is critical as it plays a crucial role in societies’ responses to crises.

Perceptions of Misinformation across Countries and Platforms

The next panel at ECREA PolCom 2023 conference is on the THREATPIE project, and begins with Karolina Koc-Michalska presenting data on perceptions of misinformation. Such perceptions are informed by how people understand the world around them, and leads them to actively shape incoming stimuli rather than passively receiving them.

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