We know VR in news is flashy, but does it actually work for the audience? 🥽🗞️
New paper "News from Every Angle." My co-authors and I looked at the actual potential (and the hurdles) of bringing VR into the newsroom.
doi.org/10.1080/1520...
#Journalism #VR #MassComm #AcademicSky #MediaStudies
📣 New preprint!
We brought together experts from academia, major video game studios, NGOs, funding bodies, and civil society groups to ask: what should be prioritised when it comes to the future of video games? 🧵
Totally not academic 🫠: My musical alter ego was involved in this song - now released on all major music platforms. #avahaley with "Sunshine in the ocean". It's in the #prog #metal #mathrock #progmetal area, but with some pop undertones. Super excited and also a bit nervous! 🫣😁
Identifying #SyntheticDisinformation: @nilsvief.bsky.social, @boesch.bsky.social, @mshu.bsky.social, Johanna Klapproth, @zwizwasvens.bsky.social, @thorstenquandt.bsky.social, & @christianstoecker.de investigated detection strategies of German elite actors. doi.org/10.5771/2192...
More info 👇
🧮 Quant → tinyurl.com/ERCDanceQuan...
🎙️ Qual → tinyurl.com/ERCDanceQual...
Start Mar 2026 • 65 % E13 TV-L • 5 years • apply until 28.11.2025
Join our ERC team in Münster – one of Europe’s most liveable cities 🏙️
🎓 We’re hiring!
Two researcher / PhD positions in the ERC project DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities at the University of Münster 🇪🇺
🧮 Quantitative: survey, lab + field experiments
🎙️ Qualitative: ethnography, focus groups, interviews
Apply by 28 Nov 2025 👇
#AcademicJobs #ERC #PhD #CommunicationResearch
Big thanks also to her thesis reviewers, @thorstenquandt.bsky.social and @evamayerhoeffer.bsky.social! 🙏 - as well as the defense chair, @hajoboo.bsky.social. We saw very proud supervisors today w/ @anniewald.bsky.social & @nicolarighetti.bsky.social 🤗
✨New Publication in JEPOP✨
How do societal stakeholders understand and detect disinformation?
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The newspaper El Pais commented on our piece on #autocraticattacks on science in @digitaljournalism.bsky.social. They also provided an English version here:
english.elpais.com/science-tech...
Academic freedom is under threat. Senior scholars from 11 countries examine the impact of political interference, censorship, and self-censorship in journalism studies.
➡️Read the commentary: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🌍We invite you to SIGN this article here: bit.ly/afsignatory
#MustRead: Expertise under authoritarian siege: A defense of academic freedom 🙏
This article addresses the growing global assault on academic freedom—a cornerstone of democratic societies now under increasing threat from authoritarian regimes.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Thank you so much, @bschlipphak.bsky.social - still a bit in shock, but also amazed and super grateful about this!
Still confused, but uber-happy. The news came out right after #ICA25 has ended:
The European Research Council #ERC has awarded me an ERC Advanced Grant!
Project DANCE on "Dark Nerd Communities" runs for 5 years with 2.5 million Euros funding. Immensely grateful!
erc.europa.eu/.../erc-2024...
Thank you so much @claesdevreese.bsky.social ! Still a bit shocked, but also super-excited! :-)
Happening now #ica25: how high is the quality of the data you get from the TikTok research API? @mshu.bsky.social , me, @zwizwasvens.bsky.social, Johanna Klapproth, and @thorstenquandt.bsky.social have an answer: it's bad!
Today at #ica25 - panel "Retrospectives on 30 years of digital transformation in the journalism industry and media policy". Interview study with retired top managers and editors. With @hermida.bsky.social, Helle Sjovaag, Raul Ferrer, Mary Lynn Young. CU at Centennial B Regency 3 at 1.30 p.m.
Institute of Communication Studies at @uni-muenster.de very busy at #ICA25 with 23 presentations. Overview here:
www.uni-muenster.de/Kowi/en/mitt...
My first presentation is on Friday in the 25 years retrospective panel of the journals Journalism Studies and Journalism. 😇 CU there.
On Saturday (12 PM) I present a study on the "Gods of Telegram" on behalf of my colleague and first author @annadavydova.bsky.social where we looked into forwarding patterns of patchwork religious groups in Germany.
At the same time, I will be presenting a computational analysis of "The Science of Disinformation and Intervention Strategies" on behalf of my colleague and the first author of the study, Johanna Klapproth.
On Friday (4.30 PM) @thorstenquandt.bsky.social will present our work on the roles of two journals, Journalism and Journalism Studies, for shaping the field of journalism research. This presentation is part of a panel on critical reflections on the 25th anniversary of both journals.
On the way to #ICA25. Team members @mshu.bsky.social, Sofie Beisemann and me will present seven papers, ranging from interviews studies with retired media managers to religious fringe groups on the internet. Also, some disinfo stuff. CU there!
📅 Mark your calendar:
🗓️ Wed, 28 May
🕕 6 p.m. CET / Noon EDT
✅ Online | Free | Registration required
This will be a vital conversation—please share!
#AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech #ScienceUnderPressure #Democracy #JournalismStudies #Disinformation
📍 Topic: Autocratic threats to free speech and academic freedom
How can we respond as researchers, journalists, educators, and citizens?
💬 40 mins input + 50 mins discussion
🌐 Open to all (in English)
🔗 t1p.de/muenster-sym...
🧑🏫 Moderation by Nina Springer (U Münster), journalism professor with expertise in media discourse and political communication.
A truly interdisciplinary panel to discuss the rising pressure on press freedom, science, and open discourse.
🎙️ Final speaker line-up:
✅ Robert Sternberg (Cornell) – one of the most cited scholars in the world
✅ Seth Lewis (U Oregon) – expert in digital journalism and media change
✅ Svenja Ahlhaus (U Münster) – political scientist
✅ Thorsten Quandt (U Münster) – disinformation and digital media scholar
🗣️ The panel is complete!
Our online symposium on Autocratic Threats to Free Speech & Academic Freedom now has its final line-up.
Join four leading scholars from psychology, journalism, political science, and communication studies.
📅 May 28 | 6pm CET
🔗 t1p.de/muenster-sym...
📆 Wed, 28 May | 🕕 6pm CET / Noon EDT
🌐 Online | Free | Open to All
🔗 Register now: t1p.de/muenster-sym...
Let’s talk about how to resist authoritarianism—in academia and beyond.
#AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech #OpenScience
Also featuring:
🎙️ Seth Lewis (Journalism, U Oregon)
🎙️ Svenja Ahlhaus (Politics, U Münster)
🎙️ Thorsten Quandt (Disinformation, U Münster)
An international panel on how we protect academic & press freedom.
🎓 His work spans intelligence, creativity, wisdom, love, hate, leadership—and now, the psychology of autocracy.
In this talk: How authoritarian thinking rises within democratic societies.
A must-hear.
🧠 Sternberg is Professor of Psychology at Cornell, former APA President. Cited over 260,000 times.
Ranked #1 in Human Development & #7 in U.S. psychology (2024).
