Social Media and Politics is a podcast bringing you innovative, first-hand insights into how social media is changing the political game. Subscribe for interviews and analysis with politicians, academics, and leading digital strategists to get their take on how social media influences the ways we engage with politics and democracy. Social Media and Politics is hosted by Michael Bossetta, political scientist at Lund University. Check out the podcast's official website: https://socialmediaandp ...
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Media Systems, Digital Media, and the Hybridity Cycle, with Prof. Daniel Hallin
38:27
38:27
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38:27
Professor Daniel C. Hallin, Distinguished Professor of Communication at UC San Diego, shares his thoughts on media systems and how digital media relates to the concept. We discuss the components of a 'system' and current debates around the concept of 'hybridity' in media studies. This leads to a broader discussion of conceptual stretching, media ca…
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Countering Project 2025 with Google Search Ads, with Kindred Motes
36:45
36:45
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36:45
Kindred Motes, Founder and Managing Partner at KM Strategies Group (KMSG), shares his advocacy work to counter the online reach of Project 2025. Working with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, KMSG launched a paid campaign on Google Search before Project 2025 became mainstream. Kindred shares how TikTok played a role in catalyzing Proje…
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Web Browsing Data to Study Digital Political Behavior, with Prof. Sebastian Stier
36:42
36:42
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36:42
Prof. Sebastian Stier, Scientific Director of Computational Social Science at GESIS and Professor of CSS at the University of Mannheim, discusses how web tracking data can inform social science questions. We discuss the data structure of web browsing data, how it is collected, and the types of incentives used to recruit participants. Prof. Stier al…
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Micro-Influencer Marketing for Political Campaigns, with Ryan Davis
39:46
39:46
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39:46
Ryan Davis, Co-Founder of People First, discusses how "micro-influencers" or "micro-creators" are being used in political campaigns. We discuss the benefits of using micro-influencers for engagement, as well as how they can be used to target specific blocks of voters. Ryan also shares how these creators can inform the political strategy of campaign…
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Far Right Women Influencers on YouTube and Instagram, with Dr. Eviane Leidig
43:53
43:53
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43:53
Dr. Eviane Leidig, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Tilburg University, discusses her book "The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization." We break down the role of social media for the alt-right movement, and how platforms like Instagram and YouTube work to mainstream extremist views. These insights come from Dr…
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Wikipedia Public Relations for Politics, Brands, and Crisis Communication, with Rhiannon Ruff
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48:09
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48:09
Rhiannon Ruff, Wikipedia Expert and Founding Partner at Lumino, discusses how politicians and brands can effectively manage their Wikipedia presence. We discuss why Wikipedia is important for Google Search and AI like ChatGPT, and how the tone, norms, and editors of Wikipedia make editing your own page difficult. Rhi shares her tips on how to manag…
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Race, Racism, and Resistance on Social Media, with Dr. Rob Eschmann
40:19
40:19
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40:19
Dr. Rob Eschmann, Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University, discusses his latest book When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age (University of California Press). We cover how social media works to unmask everyday experiences of racism, and how this affects student life at American universities. Dr. Eschmann …
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Data-Driven Campaigning: How Political Campaigns use Data, Analytics, and Technology, with Prof. Kate Dommett and Dr. Simon Kruschinski
50:29
50:29
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50:29
Prof. Kate Dommett, Professor of Digital Politics at the University of Sheffield, and Dr. Simon Kruschinski, Postdoctoral Researcher in Communication at the University of Mainz, discuss their new book: Data-Driven Campaigning and Political Parties. We discuss the book's theoretical framework on how system-level, regulatory-level, and party-level fa…
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China's Digital Strategy for Information Control, with Dr. Andrew MacDonald
44:31
44:31
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44:31
Dr. Andrew W. MacDonald, Assistant Professor of Social Science at Duke Kunshan University, shares research from his new book Directed Digital Dissidence in Autocracies: How China Wins Online. We discuss the Chinese digital and social media context, citizens' perceptions of online propaganda, and how the state manipulates digital information to furt…
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2023 Year in Review! Social Media and Politics, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten
1:37:01
1:37:01
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1:37:01
The 8th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review! This year, we cover the platforms' year in review reports, AI for political communication, the creator economy, and EU concerns around disinformation and cyberattacks. Here are links to resources discussed in the episode, and see you in 2024! Platform Reports: Meta Instagram TikTok Reddit Pin…
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Democracy, Architecture, and Social Media, with Dr. Jennifer Forestal
40:32
40:32
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40:32
Dr. Jennifer Forestal, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, discusses how digital platforms can be approached from an architectural perspective. Dr. Forestal shares insights from her latest book, Designing for Democracy, where she evaluates digital platforms' democratic potential from the lens of political theory. …
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Covid Vaccine Hesitancy in Sweden, with Dr. Mia-Marie Hammarlin
46:25
46:25
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46:25
Dr. Mia-Marie Hammarlin, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at Lund University, shares her research on vaccine hesitancy in Sweden. We discuss the major themes of coronavirus vaccine skepticism on the Swedish online forum Flashback, as well as Dr. Hammarlin's ethnographic research meeting with vaccine hesitant communities. Here are links to…
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Political Persuasion and the Effects of Targeted Social Media Ads, with Dr. Alexander Coppock
41:38
41:38
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41:38
Dr. Alexander Coppock, Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University, shares his research on measuring the political effects of persuasive information. We discuss how political persuasion affects voters holding different viewpoints, the durability of these effects over time, and how much political ads seem to affect voters' political …
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Cross-Cutting Expression on Social Media: Brexit on Facebook, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten
58:05
58:05
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58:05
Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Associate Professor in Strategic Communication at Lund University, joins a discussion of cross-cutting expression and its implications for digital campaigning on Facebook. On the theory side, we discuss concepts of online self-expression and cross-pressures. We also discuss how political ideology can be inferred from …
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Negative Campaigning on Facebook in EU Elections, Cross-Platform Extremism, and Dissonant Public Spheres, with Prof. Ulrike Klinger
48:49
48:49
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48:49
Prof. Ulrike Klinger, Professor for Digital Democracy at the European New School for Digital Studies at European University Viadrina, shares her latest research on negative campaigning on social media. We discuss some of the challenges in studying digital communication in the EU, as well as what explains a rise in negative campaigning across two Eu…
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Connecting Social Media Influencers with Political Campaigns, with Zach Fang
29:17
29:17
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29:17
Zach Fang, Head of Sales and Business Development at Vocal Media, shares how the start-up is building a database of social media influencers to connect with political campaigns and organizations. We discuss what makes TikTok influencers a different type of political advertising and how their costs stack up to traditional broadcast and social media.…
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Digital Media Trends in American Political Campaigns, with Russell Mindich
28:06
28:06
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28:06
Russell Mindich, political consultant and author of the 2022 Political Tech Landscape Report, shares his insights on the role of social media in political campaigning. We discuss social media influencers and how campaigns are connecting to them on TikTok, the move towards politicla advertising on streaming services, and the potential uses of ChatGP…
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Social Media, Democracy, and National Security, with Jenny Reich
34:05
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34:05
Jenny Reich, Fellow at the Georgetown Law Center on National Security, discusses the Center's recent report entitled Social Media: The Canary in the Coal Mine. We dive into the potential security risks posed by digital technology developments as well as the report's recommendations for addressing them at the levels of government, the tech industry,…
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Progressive Big Tech Regulation and Advocacy, with Adam Kovacevich
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39:16
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Adam Kovacevich, Founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, shares his trade association's goals for progressive advocacy in the tech sector. We discuss the politicization of 'Big Tech' and recent opinion polls about Midterm voters' attitudes towards tech regulation. We also discuss how First Amendment rights apply to tech companies, misperceptions of…
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Political Targeting, Strategic Communication, and Democracy, with Prof. Sanne Kruikemeier
35:49
35:49
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Prof. Sanne Kruikemeier, Professor of Digital Media and Society at Wageningen University & Research, discusses her latest research on political targeting. We discuss how political targeting differs in EU and US contexts, how perceptions of targeting affect voters' democratic perceptions, and what types of issues parties strategically communicate du…
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Digital Political Advertising Beyond Social Media, with Megan Clasen
52:09
52:09
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52:09
Megan Clasen, Partner at Gambit Strategies, shares her insights into digital political advertising for persuasion and mobilization. We discuss the role of social media ads relative to CTV and OTT advertising, as well as how political ads compete with corporate brands for inventory on these services. Megan also shares her experiences with Facebook's…
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2022 Year in Review! Social Media and Politics, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten
3:26:58
3:26:58
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3:26:58
The 7th Annual Social Media and Politics Podcast Year in Review! A Mega Episode with lots of knowledge bombs - you'll simply have to listen to hear them all! Here is a gift of all the platform year in review reports: Facebook: Protecting People from Online Threats in 2022 Instagram: 2023 Instagram Trend Report Google: Year in Search TikTok: 1) Year…
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Social Media, Citizen Journalism, and Activism in Africa, with Prof. Bruce Mutsvairo
38:06
38:06
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38:06
Prof. Bruce Mutsvairo, Professor of Media and Politics at Utrecht University, shares his insights on the role of social media and politics on the African continent. We discuss digital activism across countries, how structures like data bundles might lead to surveillance, and the growing role of influencers as reporters of news. The Special Issue ca…
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Data-driven Campaigning with Polling and Focus Groups in American Elections, with Zac McCrary
1:02:34
1:02:34
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1:02:34
Zac McCrary, Partner at Impact Research and host of the Pro Politics podcast, shares his insights on how American campaigns leverage polling and focus groups to craft a winning message. We discuss the upcoming 2022 US midterm elections, the (still) dominant role of television in political advertising, how social media fits into the picture, and how…
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Cross-Platform Visual Campaigning on Social Media: Emotions in Political Candidates' Facebook and Instagram Images
1:01:15
1:01:15
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1:01:15
In this episode, it's just me! I present a recently published study, co-authored with Rasmus Schmøkel and published in Political Communication, that analyzes US Presidential campaigns' emotion expression across Facebook and Instagram. I'll explain the theoretical backdrop of the study, give an overview of the state-of-the-art on visual political co…
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Data Journalism to Report Social Media and Politics, with Aleszu Bajak
51:58
51:58
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51:58
Aleszu Bajak, Senior Data Reporter at USA Today, discusses his reporting on social media and politics using computational methods. We talk about the types of data that data journalists are working with, how they acquire it (e.g., Freedom of Information Requests), and how they approach reporting results in a way that tells an engaging story. We also…
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Swedish Elections 2022, Political Communication, and Social Media, with Dr. Nils Gustafsson
45:46
45:46
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45:46
Dr. Nils Gustafsson, Senior Lecturer of Strategic Communication at Lund University, discusses the run-up to the 2022 Swedish Elections and then findings from his research. First, we chat about the main political issues that Swedes are voting on, as well as how political parties and party leaders are digital campaigning on social media. Then, Dr. Gu…
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Social Media, Information Markets, and the Attention Economy, with Prof. Vincent Hendricks
44:35
44:35
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44:35
Prof. Vincent Hendricks, Professor of Formal Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, discusses his new book The Ministry of Truth: Big Tech's Influence over Facts, Feelings, and Fictions. Prof. Hendricks shares how social media are like investment banks in the attention economy, how information is packaged and sold, and what Big Tech's growing …
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Machine Learning the Facebook URLs Dataset to Study News Credibility, with Dr. Tom Paskhalis
42:42
42:42
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42:42
Dr. Tom Paskhalis, Assistant Professor in Political and Data Science at Trinity College Dublin, shares his research on applying machine learning to the Facebook URLs Dataset from Social Science One. The project develops a model to label whether a news domain is credible or not based on Facebook interactions data. We discuss the Facebook URLs datase…
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Anti-Immigration YouTube Videos: Tactics and Narratives, with Shauna Siggelkow
45:10
45:10
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45:10
Shauna Siggelkow, Director of Digital Storytelling at Define American, discusses a new report on anti-immigration YouTube videos: 'Immigration will Destroy Us and Other Talking Points.' We break down the report, which identifies a network of viral YouTube videos promoting narratives associated with the Great Replacement Theory. Shauna also shares f…
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Social Media Influencers and Politics, Environmental Behavior, and Covid Misinformation, with Dr. Desirée Schmuck
43:44
43:44
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43:44
Dr. Desirée Schmuck, Assistant Professor at the Department of Mass Communication at KU Leuven, shares her research on social media influencers and their effects on users' political attitudes and behavior. We break down three of Dr. Schmuck's studies. The first focuses on how exposure to political influencer content affects young social media users'…
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Political Tech Incubators in American Digital Campaigning, with Eric Wilson
33:35
33:35
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33:35
Eric Wilson, Managing Partner at Startup Caucus and Host of The Business of Politics Show, discusses political tech incubators and their emerging role in US digital campaigning. We chat about how the Republican and Democratic Party need different tech solutions for different campaigning styles, the need for start-up campaigning firms, and the poten…
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Technology Disruption, Democracy, and Principled Platform Regulation, with Prof. Lance Bennett
42:38
42:38
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42:38
Prof. Lance Bennett, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Communication at the University of Washington, discusses the types of principled values that should guide platform regulation. We reflect on the disruptive ethos of tech companies and what that means for democracy. We also discuss theories of capitalism, recent changes in data privacy…
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Challenging Covid Vaccine Misinformation on Private Social Media, with Prof. Andrew Chadwick
58:18
58:18
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Prof. Andrew Chadwick, Professor of Communication at Loughborough University, shares insights from his new public research report: Covid Vaccines and Online Personal Messaging: The Challenge of Challenging Everyday Misinformation. The report explores how British citizens use private social messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and in…
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Comparing Digital Political Communication across Countries and Time, with Prof. Anders Olof Larsson
43:35
43:35
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Prof. Anders Olof Larsson, Professor of Communication at Kristiania University College, shares his comparative social media research on party communication. We start out with a macro-level look at political parties' adoption of Facebook and Instagram across Europe, before focusing more specifically on Scandinavia. Prof. Larsson discusses the pros a…
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Rating News Credibility with Algorithms, with Arjun Moorthy
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56:42
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56:42
Arjun Moorthy, co-founder and CEO of The Factual, discusses how machine learning and natural language processing can rank news for credibility. Arjun breaks down the criteria underpinning The Factual's rating system as well as how it tries to minimize bias. We talk about some of the pitfalls of optimizing news for engagement, as well as how anonymi…
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Social Media and the War in Ukraine, with Prof. Joshua Tucker
39:38
39:38
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Prof. Joshua Tucker, Professor of Politics at NYU and Co-Director of the Center for Social Media and Politics, discusses social media's impact on the invasion of Ukraine. We talk about 'information theaters' of operation and how they differ across the West, Ukraine, Russia, and China. Prof. Tucker also shares his thoughts on Volodymyr Zelensky's te…
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Political Leader Evaluations on Instagram and Emotions in Covid Crisis Communication, with Dr. Jenny Lindholm
43:20
43:20
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43:20
Dr. Jenny Lindholm, University Teacher and Researcher in Political Science, Media, and Communication at Åbo Akademi University, discusses her research on visual political communication. First, we break down Dr. Lindholm's eye-tracking experiment on how party leaders' Instagram photos affect viewers' trait perceptions of leaders. The focus is on whe…
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Mobile News Consumption: How Smartphone News Exposure Affects Political Knowledge, with Dr. Jakob Ohme
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53:32
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53:32
Dr. Jakob Ohme, Senior Researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute, discusses his research on mobile news consumption. Dr. Ohme breaks down how exposure to political news on a smartphone might differ from a desktop, and he breaks down results from a recent eye-tracking study exploring the topic. We also discuss how smartphones can be used for data colle…
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2021 Year in Review! Social Media and Politics, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten
3:31:36
3:31:36
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3:31:36
Here we go! A deep dive into the year's latest trends in social media and politics, as well as predictions for the future. We cover various platforms' year in review recaps, Telegram and Belarus, Facebook's change to Meta and the Silicon Valley "Founder", artificial intelligence and the virtual politician, Web 3 and Parler, and the enduring role of…
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Right-Wing Alternative Media and Republican Party Social Media Engagement, with Dr. Curd Knüpfer and Mike Cowburn
36:38
36:38
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36:38
Dr. Curd Knüpfer (Assistant Professor) and Mike Cowburn (PhD Candidate), from the JFK Institute for North American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, discuss their research on right-wing alternative media. We start out by discussing what right-wing alternative media are, and how they are transnationally linked across Western democracies. Then, we…
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Digital Political Communication and Social Media Campaigning in Germany, with Juri Schnöller
40:05
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40:05
Juri Schnöller, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Cosmonauts & Kings, discusses the latest trends in German digital political communication. We chat about the role of digital political consultants in Germany, the important role of messenger apps like Signal and Telegram, and how social media influencers are impacting coronavirus communication. We…
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ISIS Radicalization, Counter-Extremism, and Visual Propaganda on Social Media, with Dr. Tamar Mitts
39:36
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Dr. Tamar Mitts, Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, shares her research on ISIS radicalization and it's relationship to social isolation, anti-Muslim sentiment, and counter-extremism programs. We discuss Dr. Mitts' Twitter dataset that uses spatial algorithms to identify ISIS sympathizers' locations and …
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Covid Mask Wearing in Politicians' Social Media Images and Emotions in German Politics, with Dr. Mirya Holman
41:00
41:00
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41:00
Dr. Mirya Holman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Tulane University, shares her latest research on how politicians depict mask wearing through their social media images. We discuss how computer vision can be used to detect masks in images, as well as what factors correlate with politicians' depicting masks. Later in the episode, we disc…
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Social Media and Political Polarization in the United States, with Prof. Chris Bail
43:23
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Professor Chris Bail, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Duke University, discusses his latest book Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing. Professor Bail shares findings from three studies on political polarization covering field-experiments, qualitative interviews, and lab experiments. We discuss how s…
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Digital Ads for Registering and Mobilizing Black and Hispanic Voters, with Tatenda Musapatike
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Tatenda Musapatike, Founder and CEO of the Voter Formation Project, shares her insights on using social media to mobilize non-white voters. In her prior role at Acronym, Tatenda led the Expand the Electorate project, which used digital ads to register and mobilize Black and Latinx voters in 8 target states. In this episode, we discuss the results o…
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Tech Advocacy for Children's Digital Rights and the Twisted Toys Campaign, with Baroness Beeban Kidron
35:48
35:48
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Baroness Beeban Kidron, Chair of the 5Rights Foundation, guests to discuss the recently launched Twisted Toys campaign. We chat about the role of awareness campaigns for tech advocacy, how policymakers respond to children's data protection issues, and the creative design process behind the Twisted Toys campaign. Check out Twisted Toys here!…
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Political Marketing, Digital Strategy, and Social Media for the Andrew Yang 2020 Campaign, with Andrew Frawley
1:02:23
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Andrew Frawley, former Director of Marketing at Yang2020, shares his experience running marketing and digital strategy for Andrew Yang's 2020 campaign. Andrew discusses the role of social media for outsider campaigns, challenges in establishing growth on social media, and the role of podcasts for political campaigns. We also discuss campaign slogan…
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Modern Political Campaigns and Social Media in the United States, with Dr. Michael D. Cohen
48:10
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Dr. Michael D. Cohen, CEO of Cohen Research Group and Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, discusses his new book Modern Political Campaigns: How Professionalism, Technology, and Speed Have Revolutionized Elections. We talk about how communication technologies have shifted political campaigns from being party-centered to candidate-centered. We als…
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Social Media Communication in the EU, with Tom Moylan
43:58
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Tom Moylan, Communication Strategist at the Directorate-General for Communication at the European Commission, shares his personal reflections on EU digital communication. We discuss the value that social media can bring in communicating the European Union to citizens, as well as how EU institutions have evolved their communication strategy over tim…
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