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@florian-toepfl

Professor of Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe and the Post-Soviet Region, PI of ERC consolidator project RUSINFORM on Russia's informational influence abroad. All opinions private.

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27.11.2024
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Latest posts by @florian-toepfl

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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Publication alert: We have a new publication on "Disrupting or invigorating an anti-democratic counterpublic? How highly active commenters engage on RT Germanโ€™s Facebook page"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

03.02.2026 14:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Publication alert: We have a new publication on "Disrupting or invigorating an anti-democratic counterpublic? How highly active commenters engage on RT Germanโ€™s Facebook page"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

03.02.2026 14:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Co-authored with @florian-toepfl.bsky.social, our new Europe-Asia Studies article is out in open access. Using 350 self-published CVs (2013-2021) from Prigozhinโ€™s IRA โ€œtroll farmโ€, we map staffing, task divisions, a five-level hierarchy, 2014 recruitment surge. doi.org/10.1080/0966...

09.01.2026 10:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Europe should embrace the idea of going it alone The more the EU has to pay for ingratiation with Trump, the less convincing its strategic rationale for doing so

Ready or not, "Europe should embrace the idea of going it alone." www.ft.com/content/1da0...

11.01.2026 21:24 ๐Ÿ‘ 34 ๐Ÿ” 12 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

My Op-ed @theguardian.com on #Ukraine, the Paris declaration & unrealistic hopes for a ceasefireโฌ‡๏ธ

11.01.2026 21:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
American Economic Association: JOE Listings - August 1, 2025 - January 31, 2026

My university, Kyiv School of Economics, is hiring postdocs & professors of all levels! Join the best economics department in Ukraine, with excellent colleagues, modern campus and make an impact teaching the new generation of Ukrainians!
Link: www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....
#EconSky #econjobmarket

11.12.2025 12:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 30 ๐Ÿ” 18 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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Der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine in den deutschen Medien: Kritik des MaรŸstabs โ€žausgewogene Bewertungโ€œ in Inhaltsanalysen - Publizistik Content analyses of the presentation of conflicts in the media are often conducted to empirically examine the accusation of one-sidedness. This raises the question of how the demand for a balanced ass...

Als Tipp, weil ich das Paper gerade im Examensseminar bespreche: Ein exzellentes Paper und must-read fรผr alle, die Kriegsberichterstattung inhaltsanalysieren. Uns fehlen aktuell vergleichbare normative Reflektionen zum Umgang mit rechtsextremen Akteuren: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

11.12.2025 09:09 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine in den deutschen Medien: Kritik des MaรŸstabs โ€žausgewogene Bewertungโ€œ in Inhaltsanalysen - Publizistik Content analyses of the presentation of conflicts in the media are often conducted to empirically examine the accusation of one-sidedness. This raises the question of how the demand for a balanced ass...

Als Tipp, weil ich das Paper gerade im Examensseminar bespreche: Ein exzellentes Paper und must-read fรผr alle, die Kriegsberichterstattung inhaltsanalysieren. Uns fehlen aktuell vergleichbare normative Reflektionen zum Umgang mit rechtsextremen Akteuren: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

11.12.2025 09:09 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Diskursive Normalisierung der AfD: โ€žDemokratische Parteien haben den Prozess beschleunigtโ€œ Rechtsextremes Gedankengut ist in Deutschland sagbarer geworden. Hier erklรคrt eine Forscherin, ob sich dieser Trend jetzt noch umkehren lรคsst.

๐Ÿ“ฐ Dr. Teresa Vรถlker zeigt, wie politische Debatten zur Normalisierung der AfD beitragen. Wenn demokratische Parteien rechte Narrative รผbernehmen, verschiebt sich der Rahmen unserer Demokratie. Deswegen der Appel: wachsam bleiben und Haltung zeigen.
๐Ÿ‘‰ www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft...

09.12.2025 11:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Time to ask: In whose interests is American foreign policy being conducted?

29.11.2025 13:49 ๐Ÿ‘ 1879 ๐Ÿ” 684 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 92 ๐Ÿ“Œ 25
WSJ
Gentry Beach, a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. and campaign donor to his father, has been in talks to acquire a stake in a Russian Arctic gas project if it is released from sanctions. Another Trump donor, Stephen P. Lynch, paid $600,000 this year to a lobbyist close to Trump Jr. who is helping him seek a Treasury Department license to buy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from a Russian state-owned company.

WSJ Gentry Beach, a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. and campaign donor to his father, has been in talks to acquire a stake in a Russian Arctic gas project if it is released from sanctions. Another Trump donor, Stephen P. Lynch, paid $600,000 this year to a lobbyist close to Trump Jr. who is helping him seek a Treasury Department license to buy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from a Russian state-owned company.

One sign that he may be serious is that some of his most-trusted friends, sanctioned billionaires from his St. Petersburg hometown-Gennady Timchenko, Yuri Kovalchuk and the Rotenberg brothers, Boris and Arkady-have sent representatives to quietly meet American companies to explore rare-earth mining and energy deals, according to people familiar with the meetings and European security officials. That includes reviving the giant Nord Stream pipeline, sabotaged by Ukrainian tactical divers, and under European Union sanctions.
Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil met with Russia's biggest state energy company, Rosneft, to discuss returning to the massive Sakhalin gas project if Moscow and Washington gave the green light.

One sign that he may be serious is that some of his most-trusted friends, sanctioned billionaires from his St. Petersburg hometown-Gennady Timchenko, Yuri Kovalchuk and the Rotenberg brothers, Boris and Arkady-have sent representatives to quietly meet American companies to explore rare-earth mining and energy deals, according to people familiar with the meetings and European security officials. That includes reviving the giant Nord Stream pipeline, sabotaged by Ukrainian tactical divers, and under European Union sanctions. Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil met with Russia's biggest state energy company, Rosneft, to discuss returning to the massive Sakhalin gas project if Moscow and Washington gave the green light.

Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putinโ€™s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments.

๐ŸŽ www.wsj.com/world/russia...

29.11.2025 12:42 ๐Ÿ‘ 3137 ๐Ÿ” 1525 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 109 ๐Ÿ“Œ 126
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The ibidem-Verlag Book series "Ukrainian Voices" on Amazon: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

29.11.2025 16:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€˜Life matters more than your walletโ€™: Meduza takes a look at the Kremlinโ€™s new media guidelines for spinning Russiaโ€™s tax hikes โ€” Meduza Russiaโ€™s new budget includes tax hikes that the Kremlin knows will anger the public. Soย the Putin administration has issued detailed instructions toย state-run and pro-government media onย how toย frame ...

A schoolbook example of a propaganda campaign. Banal and and very likely effective at the same time. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

20.11.2025 21:29 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Jeffrey Epstein claims he gave Russians insight into Trump Newly released emails show the late convicted sex offenderโ€™s extensive network of foreign contacts, whom he corresponded with about Trumpโ€™s policy decisions.

There's always a Russian connection ... "Jeffrey Epstein claims he gave Russians insight into Trump. Newly released emails show the late convicted sex offenderโ€™s extensive network of foreign contacts, whom he corresponded with about Trumpโ€™s policy decisions." www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

12.11.2025 20:49 ๐Ÿ‘ 35 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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The Right-Wing Attack on Wikipedia The free internet encyclopedia is widely used to train AI. Thatโ€™s why conservatives are trying to dethrone it.

New from me: โ€œworking the refsโ€ has come for Wikipedia. The same type of attacks alleging anti-conservative bias that right wing politicians have make about social media are coming for the encyclopedia โ€” because of its critical role in shaping AI answer engines.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

12.11.2025 21:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 364 ๐Ÿ” 187 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 10 ๐Ÿ“Œ 8

For the government to remain on X is now unconscionable.

29.10.2025 09:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 145 ๐Ÿ” 52 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 13 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Out now: key data from the third wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study. 75 countries, >32,350 journalists, >300 researchers, seven years of successful collaboration. Many thanks to all who contributed to this project!
www.worldsofjournalism.org/reports-wjs3/

27.10.2025 20:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 15 ๐Ÿ” 12 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

That there will likely be no Trump-Putin meeting in the near future does not change the fact that Putinโ€™s psychological operation to disrupt the Tomahawk deliveries to Ukraine has been, so far, a success. That disruption was the only thing that actually mattered.

21.10.2025 18:10 ๐Ÿ‘ 47 ๐Ÿ” 16 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...

Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for the next two years." www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

21.10.2025 18:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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1/Die Berlinskaja Prawda bietet heute ihren Leser*innen eine besondere รœberraschung an: eine Kurzreise "Auf den Spuren Wilhelm Piecks". Ich vermute, nur wenige werden sich daran stรถren - wer war Pieck schon. Ein alter Mann mit immer guter Laune, den alle mochten... Kann man doch

21.10.2025 19:08 ๐Ÿ‘ 82 ๐Ÿ” 20 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Trump will den Krieg seit Amtsantritt einfrieren. Die Ukraine ist seit Monaten dazu bereit. Doch Russland verhindert Frieden. Putin will mehr ukrainisches Staatsgebiet, als er erobern konnte. Ohne echten Druck der USA wird er weiter mit Gewalt versuchen, sein Ziel zu erreichen.

20.10.2025 16:20 ๐Ÿ‘ 259 ๐Ÿ” 44 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 11 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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media world vs. real world ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ

09.10.2025 17:46 ๐Ÿ‘ 51 ๐Ÿ” 31 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

why don't I see any critical coverage of this in Germany?

09.10.2025 07:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 22 ๐Ÿ” 8 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Opinion | Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.

Excellent read with many leading academics cited. On how Trump provokes violence to gain control. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...

07.10.2025 20:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Opinion | Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.

Excellent read with many leading academics cited. On how Trump provokes violence to gain control. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...

07.10.2025 20:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Historian Timothy Garton Ash on the 'new West' after 'Trump shock'
Historian Timothy Garton Ash on the 'new West' after 'Trump shock' YouTube video by Kyiv Independent

youtube.com/watch?v=Nmen...

06.10.2025 20:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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"Europeans, let's wake up!" โ€” Defend Democracy โ€œWe have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.โ€ President Macron on the occasion of German Unity Day, 3 October 2025.

"We've been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies." - Macron defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

04.10.2025 12:43 ๐Ÿ‘ 358 ๐Ÿ” 119 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 8 ๐Ÿ“Œ 6
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'A risky situation' โ€” The critical state of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, explained The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains disconnected from the Ukrainian electricity grid and without external power for the 10th consecutive day, creating an increasingly "risky" situation...

It seems likely that Russia will use the nuclear power plant in the next days and weeks to put pressure on Ukraine, in a very risky game.

kyivindependent.com/its-a-risky-...

03.10.2025 21:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Sitzen zwei Dikatoren in Europa beisammen und jammern, wie schlecht es ihnen geht: "Gestern saรŸ ich den ganzen Tag mit Putin zusammen und wir haben darรผber nachgedacht, wie wir diese schwierigen Zeiten รผberstehen kรถnnen.โ€

27.09.2025 20:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 46 ๐Ÿ” 15 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Over the last century, many democracies have started down the road to autocracy.

Some managed to turn around. What did these 'U-turns' have in common?

Political economist @marinanord.bsky.social & colleagues' conclusions are clear and succinct.

Full research summary: www.v-dem.net/media/public...

21.09.2025 17:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 32 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3