Research Unit Media and Public Spheres

Welcome to the Media and Public Spheres Division

The team at the Media and Public Spheres division investigates the emergence, dissemination, and impact of far-right extremist, right-wing populist, and anti-democratic communication and mobilization in digital public spheres.

Our research focuses on media infrastructures, platform functionalities, and strategies of mobilization, including disinformation, coordinated campaigns, and transnational networks. We employ internationally comparative designs, consider political and media opportunity structures, and integrate multi-method and interdisciplinary perspectives. A key emphasis is the application and development of computational social science methods for data collection and analysis.

For more details on our research projects, which explore media infrastructures, mobilization strategies, and discourse dynamics, please visit our research website.

The Media and Public Spheres division also coordinates the thematic cluster “Far-right extremist discourse, media and strategies in public spheres”. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Team
Research

News

16.09.2026

IRex at Summer School on Digital Public Spheres in Vienna

Our research team in Vienna: Dr. Kilian Bühling and Mareike Stürenburg showcased their ongoing…

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15.09.2026

Announcement: Dr. Kilian Buehling elected as Vice Chair of ECREA's Political Communication section

11th European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education…

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