Research
Explore the core research areas of the Political Communication Research Group at the University of Vienna, Austria. Our research investigates how political elites, media organizations, and citizens interact in society, with a focus on digital technologies, diversity of voices, science communication, and the quality of political journalism. Through qualitative, quantitative, and computational social science methods, our Vienna-based team develops evidence-based insights to understand and advance political communication theory and practice.
AI and Digital Technologies in Political Communication
This research area explores the role of AI and digital tools in shaping modern political discourse, with a current focus on automated content moderation, computational propaganda, and data-driven election campaigns. This research investigates both the benefits and ethical challenges of AI, including issues of digital humanism and the need for AI literacy, especially among young people navigating online political spaces. Key projects aim to promote responsible and transparent use of AI in fostering informed political engagement.
Researchers affiliated with this area:
Diversity of Voices in Political Communication
This research area explores how gender, intersectionality, and social identity shape political messaging and audience perceptions, aiming to uncover diverse perspectives within political discourses. It investigates differential media effects, particularly how factors like incivility impact engagement and opinion formation across varied demographic groups.
Researchers affiliated with this area:
The Politics of Science Communication
This research area delves into the complex role of scientific evidence within political debates, examining how scientific uncertainty and politicized science can influence public opinion and policy. We also address the spread of misinformation in science communication, particularly within digital platforms, and explore "third mission" activities where scientific institutions engage directly with the public to bridge knowledge gaps. Affiliated researchers aim to enhance transparency and trust in science by improving how scientific information is communicated and understood in political contexts.
Researchers affiliated with this area:
Quality of Political Communication and Political Journalism
This research area examines how factors such as misinformation and polarization affect public engagement with news and political discourse. This field also studies how incivility and emotive content influence the news, as well as perceptions of credibility and democratic participation. Researchers and projects in this area currently work to understand and address challenges to media integrity and public trust in political journalism, such as emotionality and news avoidance.
Researcher affiliated with this area:
Publications
2025
Kermani, H. (2025). Computational propaganda. In A. Nai, M. Grömping, & D. Wirz (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication (pp. 245-249). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Kermani, H. (2025). Connective action. In A. Nai, M. Grömping, & D. Wirz (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication (pp. 266–270). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Kermani, H., Bayat Makou, A., & Behzadian Nejad, R. (2025). Decoupled agendas under repression: Social media and state media during COVID-19 in I. Frontiers in Communication, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1598405
Kermani, H., Neyazi, T. A., & Lecheler, S. (2025). The limits of computational propaganda: Investigating underexplored platforms and contexts. Political Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2025.2595596
Roney, C., Wiesner, D., Riedl, A. A., & Eberl, J.-M. (2025). Rally and Recalibrate: Political Dynamics of Audience Expectations of Journalism During Times of Crisis. The International Journal of Press/Politics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612251375203
Betakova, D., Boomgaarden, H., & Lecheler, S. (2025). The role of choice architecture in mitigating news avoidance. Digital Journalism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2562143
Schäfer, S., Gorski, L., Greber, H., & Lecheler, S. (2025). Solutions that move us?The role of responsibility framing in audience reactions to sustainability stories. Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2538127
Westlund, O., Carlson, M., Hamada, B., Helberger, N., Lecheler, S., & Lewis, S. C. (2025). Public knowledge and expertise under authoritarian siege: A defense of academic freedom from digital journalism studies. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2527997
Aaldering, L., & Lecheler, S. (2025). Trick of the traits: A conceptual replication of the trait ownership hypothesis. Acta Politica: international journal of political science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-025-00390-w
Hartmann, D., Wang, S. M., Pohlmann, L., & Berendt, B. (2025). A systematic review of echo chamber research: comparative analysis of conceptualizations, operationalizations, and varying outcomes. Journal of Computational Social Science, 8, Article 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-025-00381-z
Hartmann, D., Oueslati, A., Staufer, D., Pohlmann, L., Munzert, S., & Heuer, H. (2025). Lost in Moderation: How Commercial Content Moderation APIs Over- and Under-Moderate Group-Targeted Hate Speech and Linguistic Variations. In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Article 175 ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713998
Kermani, H. (2025). The art of delirium: Social media suppression in authoritarian regimes. Communication Theory, 35(4), 197-216. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtaf006
Mothes, C., Mellado, C., Boudana, S., Himma-Kadakas, M., Nolan, D., Mcintyre, K., Kozman, C., Hallin, D. C., Amiel, P., Brin, C., Chen, Y.-N. K., Davydov, S., De Maio, M., Dingerkus, F., El-Ibiary, R., Frías Vázquez, M., Glück, A., Garcés-Prettel, M., Humanes, M. L., ... Van Leuven, S. (2025). Spurring or blurring professional standards? The role of digital technology in implementing journalistic role ideals in contemporary newsrooms. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(1), 88-119. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990241246692
Kermani, H. (2025). Twitter activism in Iran: Social media and democracy in authoritarian regimes. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-81538-6
Weikmann, T., Greber, H., & Nikolaou, A. (2025). After Deception: How Falling for a Deepfake Affects the Way We See, Hear, and Experience Media. International Journal of Press/Politics, 30(1), 187-210. Article 1940-1612. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241233539
Pachinger, P., Goldzycher, J., Planitzer, A. M., Neidhardt, J., & Hanbury, A. (2025). A disaggregated dataset on English offensiveness containing spans. In Proceedings of the 4th Workshop on Perspectivist Approaches to NLP. Association for Computational Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2025.nlperspectives-1.1
Asadi Pour, F. (2025). Perceptions of gender portrayals in movies and series: Their perceived effects on gender identities and sexual orientation . MedienJournal. Zeitschrift für Medien- und Kommunikationsforschung, 49(3), 9-37. https://doi.org/10.60764/1025-9473.2025.03.2
Roney, C., Anziano, E., Fage-Butler, A. (Ed.), Ledderer, L. (Ed.), & Nielsen, K. H. (Ed.) (2025). Portraying Pesticides: An Application of Construal-Level Theory in Online News Coverage of Glyphosate. In Science Communication and Trust Palgrave Macmillan.
Uth, B., Stehle, H., Wilhelm, C., Detel, H., & Podschuweit, N. (2025). The journalism-audience relationship in digital media environments: A theoretical literature review. Journalism, 26(1), 45-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231221611
Uth, B., Stehle, H., Wilhelm, C., Detel, H., & Podschuweit, N. (2025). The journalism-audience relationship in the digital age: A theoretical literature review. Journalism, 26(1), 45-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231221611
Greber, H., Aaldering, L., & Lecheler, S. (2025). The Worthwhileness of Immersive Journalism - Taking on an Audience Perspective. Journalism Practice, 19(1), 20-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2177711
Minihold, S., Lecheler, S., Gibson , R., de Vreese, C., & Kruikemeier, S. (2025). Understanding digital campaign competence: Conceptualizing data-driven political advertising literacy. Mass Communication and Society , 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2312202
2024
Boyer, M. M., Lecheler, S., & Aaldering, L. (2024). Don’t Throw the Frame Out With the Bathwater: How Episodic News Frames Can Prevent Identity-Motivated Reasoning. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(4), 933-954. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221097057
Reinhardt, A., Mayen, S. M., & Wilhelm, C. (2024). Uncovering the missing pieces: Predictors of nonresponse in a mobile experience sampling study on media effects among youth. Social Science Computer Review, 42(6), 1464-1478. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393241235182
Greber, H., Lecheler, S., Aaldering, L., de Haan, Y., Kruikemeier, S., Goutier, N., & de Bruin, K. (2024). Uncovering the audience perspective: A qualitative analysis of experiences and evaluations of two immersive journalism productions in the Netherlands. Journalism, 25(11), 2383-2401. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231214675
Minihold, S., Lecheler, S., & de Vreese, C. (2024). Exploring digital campaign competence: the role of knowledge in data-driven election campaigns. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2024.2416012
Vliegenthart, R., Vrielink, J., Dommett, K., Gibson , R., Bon, E., Chu, X., de Vreese, C., Lecheler, S., Matthes, J., Minihold, S., Otto, L., Stubenvoll, M., & Kruikemeier, S. (2024). Citizens’ acceptance of data-driven political campaigning: A 25-country cross-national vignette study. Social Science Computer Review, 42(5), 1101-1119. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393241249708
Wilhelm, C., & Detel, H. (2024). Great expectations? A taxonomy for expectancy research in journalism studies. Journalism, 25(10), 2171-2190. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231204150
Greber, H., Lecheler, S., & Aaldering, L. (2024). Informing Immersed Citizens: The Impact of Interactivity on Comprehending News in Immersive Journalism. Media and Communication , 12(2024), 1-18. Article 8571. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.8571
Schäfer, S., Greber, H., Sülflow , M., & Lecheler, S. (2024). A Matter of perspective: An experimental study on potentials of constructive journalism for communicating a crisis. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(3), 774-796. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221095751
Masullo, G. M., Wilhelm, C., Lee, T., Gonçalves, J., Riedl, M. J., & Stroud, N. J. (2024). Signaling news outlet trust in a Google Knowledge Panel: A conjoint experiment in Brazil, Germany, and the United States. New Media and Society, 26(9), 5379-5402. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221135860
Lecheler, S., Katja, G., & Aaldering, L. (2024). Disinformation and the Brussels bubble: EU correspondents’ concerns and competences in a digital age. Journalism, 25(8), 1736-1753. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231188259, https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231188259
Kermani, H., & Hooman, N. (2024). Hashtag feminism in a blocked context: The mechanisms of unfolding and disrupting #rape on Persian Twitter. New Media & Society, 26(8), 4750-4784. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221128827
Schäfer, S., Rebasso, I., Boyer, M. M., & Planitzer, A. M. (2024). Can We Counteract Hate? Effects of Online Hate Speech and Counter Speech on the Perception of Social Groups. Communication Research (CR), 51(5), 553-579. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231201091
Mayen, S. M., Reinhardt, A., & Wilhelm, C. (2024). Instruments for Measuring Youth Digital Media Use: A Comparison of App- and Web-based Mobile Experience Sampling Tools. MedienPädagogik. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, (60), 93-119. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/60/2024.04.25.X
Schäfer, S., Betakova, D., & Lecheler, S. (2024). Zooming in on topics: An investigation of the prevalence and motives for selective news avoidance. Journalism Studies, 25(12), 1423-1440. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2338114
Mellado, C., Márquez Ramírez, M., Van Leuven, S., Jackson, D., Mothes, C., Arcila-Calderón, C., Berthaut, J., Blanchett, N., Boudana, S., Chen, K. Y. N., Davydov, S., De Maio, M., Fahmy, N., Ferrero, M., Garcés, M., Hagen, L., Hallin, D. C., Humanes, M. L., Himma-Kadakas, M., ... Viveros Aguilar, D. (2024). Comparing journalistic roleperformance across thematic Beats: A 37-country study. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(1), 97-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990231173890
Kermani, H., Bayat Makou, A., Tafreshi, A., Mohamad Ghodsi, A., Atashzar, A., & Nojoumi, A. (2024). Computational vs. qualitative: Analyzing different approaches in identifying networked frames during the Covid-19 crisis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(4), 401-415. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2023.2186566
Weikmann, T., & Lecheler, S. (2024). Cutting through the hype: Understanding the implications of deepfakes for the fact-checking actor-network. Digital Journalism, 12(10), 1505-1522. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2194665
Uth, B., Stehle, H., Wilhelm, C., Detel, H., & Podschuweit, N. (2024). Die Journalismus-Publikum-Beziehung als Herausforderung für den politischen Journalismus. Eine Literaturanalyse zu Verständnis und Modellierungen. In C. Nuernbergk, J. Haßler, J. Schützeneder, & N. F. Schuhmacher (Eds.), Politischer Journalismus: Konstellationen – Muster – Dynamiken (pp. 147-162). Nomos Verlag. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748939702-147, https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748939702-147