Welcome to the Blog of the Research Group Dynamics of Digital Mobilization of the Weizenbaum Institute and Freie Universität Berlin!
Our research group investigates the logics and interrelationship of digital information infrastructures, (transnational) mobilizations in networked digital publics, the dynamics of diffusion and manipulation of information under conditions of automation and algorithmic control, and the quality of public debates in Europe and on an international scale.
RESEARCH BLOG
- Workshop Conditions of Success for the Far-Right: A One-Day Exploration of Communication Strategies, Critique and Scholarly InsightsIn November 2024, Baoning Gong and Florian Primig (FU Berlin) organized the workshop Conditions of Success for the Far-Right: A One-Day Exploration of Communication Strategies, Critique, and Scholarly Insights. This event, part of the workshop series of the Far-Right Researchers (FFR) network, brought together scholars from the “Contemporary Research on Far-Right Politics” group at the Weizenbaum Institute to explore the factors driving the far-right’s persistent rise. Through interdisciplinary discussions, participants examined the role of alienation, conspiracy theories, and alternative knowledge structures in fueling far-right mobilization. Presentations explored key topics such as digital media tactics, the rise of transnational networks, and […]
- Veiled conspiracism: Particularities and convergence in the styles and functions of conspiracy-related communication across digital platforms.At the beginning of this year, Dr. Kilian Buehling, Prof. Dr. Annett Heft, and Xixuan Zhang (all from the Weizenbaum Institute and Freie Universität Berlin) published their paper Veiled conspiracism: Particularities and convergence in the styles and functions of conspiracy-related communication across digital platforms in New Media & Society. Their research explores how digital communication spaces serve as critical infrastructures for anti-democratic actors to disseminate harmful content, particularly conspiracy theories. By exploiting platform affordances, these actors integrate conspiracy narratives into broader public discourse to advance their political agendas. To examine platform-dependent differences and convergence, the study compared the word choice, […]
- Final Event of the NEOVEX Research ProjectOn the 10th of December, our team members Annett Heft (Universität Tübingen, Freie Universität Berlin/Weizenbaum Institute), Kilian Buehling and Xixuan Zhang (both Freie Universität Berlin/Weizenbaum Institute) participated in the final event of the NEOVEX research project, which took place at the Representation of the State of Hamburg in Berlin. The event started with the presentation of the results of the subprojects. The IFSH Hamburg shared their findings from long-term and case studies on conspiracy theories and far-right ideologies. The colleagues of the TU Munich presented their conclusions on the (international) networks of actors during the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, the IDZ Jena presented its […]
- Die Transnationalität rechtsextremer Verschwörungstheorien online und ihre länderspezifische AdaptionConspiracy theories have never been limited by geopolitical borders. In today’s digital age, advancements in technology have amplified interactions between individuals and groups worldwide, accelerating the spread of such ideas across nations. This work by Xixuan Zhang, Joana Becker, Dr. Annett Heft, and Dr. Kilian Buehling explores into methods for measuring the transnational dissemination of conspiracy theories, shedding light on their global reach. The following text has been originally published in German on the NEOVEX website. Verschwörungstheorien haben auch in der Vergangenheit nicht an geopolitischen Grenzen Halt gemacht. Doch die Entwicklungen digitaler Technologien haben das Potenzial für Interaktionen zwischen Einzelnen und Gruppen […]
- The Transnationality of Far-Right Conspiracy Theories Online and Their Country-Specific AdaptationConspiracy theories have never been confined by geopolitical borders. In the digital age, social media and online forums amplify their reach, allowing far-right ideologies to spread and adapt across different national and cultural contexts. A recent study conducted by Xixuan Zhang, Joana Becker, Dr. Annett Heft, and Dr. Kilian Buehling examines this phenomenon by analyzing the transnational dissemination of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, a narrative that falsely claims a secret plot to replace white, Christian populations through migration. Why Are Conspiracy Theories So Adaptable Across Countries? While conspiracy theories often emerge in specific historical and cultural contexts, their abstract nature allows them […]
- Visual Framing of Climate Denialism: Kilian Buehling at Collegium Helveticum WorkshopFrom November 26th to November 27th, Kilian Buehling (Freie Universität/Weizenbaum Institute) participated in a workshop about “Visual Aspects of Political Communication and Digital Platforms” organized by the Collegium Helveticum. The workshop was designed to create a dynamic interdisciplinary forum, bringing together researchers from diverse fields to explore the evolving challenges and opportunities in the discipline. Kilian Buehling had the opportunity to present his work on the visual framing of climate denialism, co-authored with Jing Zeng (University of Zurich) and Annett Heft (Universität Tübingen, Freie Universität/Weizenbaum Institute), on several platforms. He presented “Visual Framing of Climate Denialism: A Cross-Platform Analysis of Reddit, […]
- AoIR 2024 conference and pre-conference satellite event at the University of Sheffield, UKTwo DigiMoD Team Members, Daniel Thiele (Freie Universität/Weizenbaum Institute) and Miriam Milzner (Freie Universität/Weizenbaum Institute), participated in a satellite event of the Association of Internet Researchers Conference (AoIR 2024) that took place at the University of Sheffield, UK. On October 29th, Daniel Thiele presented “Suspiciously similar. An embedding approach to capturing multimodal coordinated behavior,” co-authored with Miriam Milzner at the Pre-Conference Workshop “Coordinated Sharing Behavior Detection Conference.” Our team members introduced a novel tool for detecting coordinated social media manipulation in this presentation—the R package coorsim. Coordinated social media manipulation denotes a phenomenon in which groups of accounts artificially amplify the visibility of social […]
- Workshop on Misinformation Research at the Weizenbaum InstituteFrom November 7th to November 8th, the DigiMoD team participated in a workshop at the Weizenbaum Institute titled “Contextualizing Misinformation Research: Theoretical, Empirical, and Legal Frameworks” that was organized by Elizaveta Kuznetsova and Martha Stolze of the research group “Platform Algorithms and Digital Propaganda.” The recent workshop on mis- and disinformation in digital political communication explored the sources, stakeholders, and political dynamics that shape these phenomena online and offline. To understand the underlying conditions that foster misinformation and to discuss potential frameworks, the event tackled topics like algorithms, traditional and “alternative” media, elections, and gender-based dynamics. The workshop brought a […]
- Workshop on Generative AI, Digital Publics, and Data Access at the Weizenbaum InstituteFrom October 24th to October 25th, the DigiMoD team joined a workshop the Weizenbaum Institute hosted titled “Generative AI, Digital Publics, and Data Access: Advancing Collaborative Research”. This international workshop brought together researchers from the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland Tech University and the Weizenbaum Institute. Through a combination of research presentations and breakout sessions, the workshop provided a fruitful opportunity to learn about new perspectives and find starting points for future collaborations. On the second workshop day, October 25th, Daniel Thiele (Freie Universität Berlin/Weizenbaum Institute) presented the paper “Manipulating climate change debates? Coordinated behavior on Twitter during COP […]