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External Links

Linked projects, research centres and networks

The following projects and research centres are formally linked to DiCED.

SPARTA

SPARTA – Society, Politics and Risk with Twitter Analysis – is an interdisciplinary project located at the Universität der Bundeswehr in Munich, Germany. It brings together a team of social and computer scientists to build a state-of-the-art infrastructure that enables large scale analyses of real time and historical Tweets. Moreover, the Twitter lab will become a space for scientists to take advantage of cutting-edge NLP approaches for social media analytics – even with low or no code experience. To test and develop the analysis pipelines, SPARTA focuses on two distinct use cases: First, starting from the German federal election campaign of 2021, the project investigates new forms of digital campaigning, including novel actors and types of (mis-)information involved, as well as their consequences for elections and electoral behavior across political contexts. To that end, it engages both in nowcasting, particularly of voters’ sentiments, and retrospective analyses of malicious accounts, networks and interactions. Second, historical Tweets will be used to analyse dynamics within riots and similar forms of violence. The project is interested in understanding the individual-level dynamics and networks behind mobilisation as well as discourses and ideologies surrounding the violence. To begin with, the project studies the Capitol Hill Riots and particularly the various discourses surrounding the violence here, and will subsequently expand analyses to include broader comparisions to other cases.

To visit the website, go to: https://dtecbw.de/sparta 

DATADRIVEN

DATADRIVEN: Data-driven campaigns: intended and unintended consequences for democracy

This project studies if data-driven campaigns using online microtargeting techniques are a threat to democracy. The consortium will focus on both the intended and unintended consequences of data-driven targeting and digital persuasion. In light of ongoing political and societal turmoil, investigating how citizens may be persuaded in a turbulent age and in a changing media landscape has never been more important. The studies will focus on micro (consequences for citizens), meso (consequences for political elites), and macro level effects (consequences for democracy).

 

The project’s main research questions are:

  • How do organizations shape election campaigns by targeting potential voters online during elections
  • What are the constitutional and legislative frameworks shaping the extent and nature of data-driven campaigning in European countries?
  • How are data-driven targeting practices perceived?
  • To what extent do data-driven targeting practices actually affect voters?

 

More information about DATADRIVEN can be found here.

CSMaP

The CSMaP, the Center for Social Media and Politics, was founded in 2012. Formerly known as the SMaPP Lab (The Social Media and Political Participation Lab), CSMaP was founded in 2012. CSMaP supports research in three core areas: (i) the relationship between social media and politics, (ii) innovative ways to use social media data to study politics, and (iii) developing open-source tools that facilitate the use of social media data for the study of politics. The core mission of CSMaP is to study how social media use affects politics. To do so, researchers at CSMaP examine what information people consume on social media, and how it influences both their attitudes and behaviour.

 

The Political Targeting & Privacy Network

The Political Targeting & Privacy Network is a network of international scientists concerned with the topic of political microtargeting, its volume, effects, and normative implications. Our members come from various disciplines like Psychology, Communication Science, Political Science or Law and continuously contribute to the body of knowledge regarding microtargeting. By connecting us and our research, we aim to understand the nature of targeted ads and their influence on individuals.

More information can be found here.

 

Projects and Research Centres focusing on Digital Campaigning and Elections

Like DiCED, the projects and research centres listed below focus on the study of digital campaigning and elections.

David Lazer and the Lazer Lab

More information will be added here shortly.

The Digital Society Project

The Digital Society Project (DSP) aims to answer some of the most important questions surrounding interactions between the internet and politics. They fulfil this aim by providing high-quality, publicly available, data describing the intersection between politics and social media in countries around the world. While there is great demand for such data, reliable measures of key indicators, with wide global and temporal coverage, are largely unavailable.

Their cross-national data cover topics such as:

  • online censorship
  • polarization and politicization of social media
  • disinformation campaigns
  • coordinated information operations
  • foreign influence in and monitoring of domestic politics.
  • Candidate social media presence
The University of Manchester