The international symposium “Indicators of Social Cohesion in Social Media and Online Media,” hosted by the Social Media Observatory (SMO) at the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research, took place from April 24 to 26, 2024. It explored the pivotal role of social and online media in uniting and dividing communities, from supporting democratic movements to fostering political polarization through disinformation. The focus of the event was on addressing research challenges like privacy concerns, data access limitations, and the need for advanced computational expertise.
On the third day of the Symposium, Dr. Annett Heft (Freie Universität Berlin and Weizenbaum Institute) presented the work “Affording Conspiracism. Particularities of Conspiracy-Related Communication Across Platforms”, co-authored by Dr. Kilian Buehling and Xixuan Zhang (both Freie Universität Berlin and Weizenbaum Institute) as part of the NEOVEX project on the diffusion of conspiracy theories. The research examined how different social media platforms shape the communication style and functions of conspiracy-related content, focusing on the “Great Replacement/White Genocide” and “New World Order” theories. By analyzing word choice, language style, and author stance in texts from 4chan, Twitter, and alternative media from 2011 to 2021, the study explored the interplay between platform features, user cultures, and the resulting communication dynamics.
We thank the Social Media Observatory (SMO) for organizing the event and for the inspiring exchange.