Democracy can allow illiberal forces to flourish.

Democracy can also end these forces.

#Hungary

got this lovely message from Jens, 10 years ago this day

Universität Bremen

ZeMKI is pleased to welcome a new addition: Prof. Dr. Axel Bruns has recently joined the “Communicative AI” (ComAI) research group as a Mercator Fellow.
zemki.uni-bremen.de/en/short-interview-with-...

Eid Mubarak

I got 17/20 from reviewer#1, while reviewer#2 gave me 12/20 and encouraged me to study Global South. My case study is about Indonesia btw 😓

safe flight and enjoy Bremen

thanks for the communicative actions, i leaned a lot

authoritarian here we come

CFP: ADM+S Generative Authenticity Symposium Call for Papers Authenticity, Generative AI and Synthetic Media: An ADM+S Symposium 6-7 May 2026, QUT Kelvin Grove, Brisbane Authenticity is often at the centre of concer...

🚨CFP: The ADM+S Generative Authenticity project is hosting a small scholarly symposium on Authenticity, Generative AI and Synthetic Media on 6-7 May at QUT Kelvin Grove (and hybrid node).

Short abstracts due 9 March.
All info and the submission form: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

M/C Journal logo

♾️ CFP OUT NOW: M/C Journal '#immortality' issue, edited by Angelique Nairn and Deepti Bhargava. Article submissions due 17 Apr. 2026; issue launch date 17 June 2026. #mcjournal ♾️

journal.media-cultur...

It's a story of magical thinking in assuming we could ever rely on benevolent billionaires to save journalism. It's also a story of oligarchs turning their backs on democracy and exploiting their media assets to advance class interests. Above all, it's a tragedy for news workers and for all of us.

“Talk to Me as a Friend!”: How Teenagers Prefer Their Newsfluencers on Social Media This study investigates how Portuguese teenagers (aged 13–18) perceive and prefer the communication characteristics of so-called “newsfluencers” on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Through 20 semi-structured interviews, the research explores how verbal and non-verbal traits shape adolescents’ engagement with news in a media ecosystem increasingly dominated by digital intermediaries. Drawing on literature on brand journalism, the study categorizes preferences into four key elements: character, tone, language, and purpose. The findings reveal that teenagers favor newsfluencers who are inspiring and friendly (character), are honest and direct (tone), use simple and fun speech (language), and aim to educate and inform (purpose). Participants express a desire for journalists who “talk to me as a friend”, emphasizing authenticity, emotional proximity, and conversational clarity over traditional, formal modes of reporting. These insights suggest that effective youth-oriented journalism on social media must balance factual accuracy and emotional engagement, blending education with entertainment. The research contributes to emerging scholarship on social media journalism and youth news consumption by highlighting how relational and affective communication strategies can enhance young audiences’ trust, understanding, and participation in news.

NEW PUBLICATION!

In a new article in Journalism and Media, the DMRC's Aljosha Karim Schapals and colleagues consider communicative traits young people prefer in a "newsfluencer".

Available to read in open access here:

Some personal news, as they say.

Get your submissions ready for when our portal opens February 12. As the founding editor-in-chief of the new Springer Nature academic journal Creator and Influencer Studies, I’m thrilled to welcome them.

link.springer.com/journal/44538

QUT - Strengthening Public Opinion Formation Amid Digital Threats (PhD scholarship)

PhD scholarship applications are open for a project investigating how public opinion is formed in online spaces, with a focus on the deliberative quality of discussions, social influence dynamics, and platform affordances and governance across major digital platforms.

www.qut.edu.au/study/fees-a...

Call for applications: ZeMKI Visiting Research Fellowship 2026 Our Fellowship Program invites international researchers to Bremen for four weeks to deepen and connect their research in the transformation of media, communication, and information. Please submit your application via our online form by January 30, 2026 (23:59 CET).

📚 Applications are still open! In 2026 our Fellowship Program invites international researchers to Bremen for four weeks to deepen and connect their research in the transformation of media, communication, and information once again!

❗️More information:

PhD scholarship applications are open for a project investigating how public opinion is formed in online spaces, with a focus on the deliberative quality of discussions, social influence dynamics, and platform affordances and governance across major digital platforms.
www.qut.edu.au/.../strength....

Data centers target rural communities for lower costs, not to create high-quality jobs, study finds Local governments often tell residents that the power-hungry developments will bring numerous tech jobs to their communities. A new study contradicted that.

www.kare11.com/article/news...

The ultimate ace card in the attention economy: start a war.

PhD and Postdoc positions drop! The Research Council of Norway funded MishMash Centre for AI & Creativity has announced 18 doctoral and 6 postdoc positions in arts and/or science. I’m a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and so pleased to see this happening.

mishmash.no/news/positio...

so the uni just decided that they wont pay APC for any MDPI journals, without any explanation nor prior notice

Australia's social media ban for children under 16 begins today.

Our explainer paper provides an overview of the complex issue of social media bans for young teens, explaining the technical challenges, potential risks, and specific concerns voiced by parents and carers.

Read it here: qut.to/1ww5%

and hundreds of people were displaced 🥲

Apply for our sociotechnical systems postdoc position, for July 2026 Microsoft Research New England is looking for a postdoctoral researcher interested in bringing sociotechnical perspectives to analyze critical issues of our time. They will join a team of social sc…

Our postdoc search is open! socialmediacollective.org/2025/11/20/s...

the Indonesian president just declared Suharto as the national hero

AoIR Annual Conference Locations - Google My Maps AoIR Internet Research Conference Host Cities

#AoIR2026 will be in Mexico City!

See my map of all AoIR locations at www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/e...
#AoIR2025

Hey #AoIR2025 participants, the upcoming @qutdmrc.bsky.social Summer School will be highly relevant to many of you:

Public service media can thrive, also in the future.

It “only” takes stable funding, independence from politics, collaboration, savvy tech infrastructure investments, ‘must carry and promote’ obligations for platforms and the best, trustworthy journalistic standards.

Just that.

Conlusions from ⬇️

the revolution wont be live broadcasted anymore

since many protesters making live report via TikTok, recording police's brutality against the protesters, the platform decided to enable the feature in Indonesia