Mimi Mihăilescu
In an unexpected twist to Romania’s 2024 presidential election, Călin Georgescu, virtually unknown a year ago, has emerged as a serious contender. Georgescu's ascent has been marked by antisemitic rhetoric, anti-Western discourse, and a sophisticated disinformation strategy. This, argues Mimi Mihăilescu, reveals the vulnerabilities of modern politics to social media manipulation. Read more
Nikolina Klatt
Where there is authoritarianism, there is disinformation. Nikolina Klatt and Vanessa Boese-Schlosser examine the use of disinformation in authoritarian governance and highlight how autocrats use it to maintain their grip on power. But they also caution that disinformation is not exclusive to autocratic governance: spreading deceitful narratives harms democracies Autocratic disinformation tactics Limiting transparency is […] Read more
Steven Youngblood
Mis- and disinformation are an existential threat to democracy. Steven Youngblood shows how the principles of peace journalism can combat its corrosive effects Read more
Aleksandra Spalińska
Elon Musk’s takeover throws Twitter’s future into question. Drawing from Albert Hirschman’s 1970 work on organisational decline, Aleksandra Spalińska explains how the high costs of leaving means a full exit from the platform is not a viable option for every Twitter user Read more
Matthew Barnfield
Political scientists use experimental methods to study cause-and-effect relationships in politics. Sometimes these approaches involve exposing people to false information about their political reality. Matthew Barnfield argues that this practice of misinformation is not only unethical, but also an ineffective way of learning about the political world Read more
Marco Bitschnau
Most people hold deep-seated misperceptions about immigration, painting its nature, effects, and governance in excessively dark colours. This reflects concerns about out-group threat and tends to be resistant to correction efforts. It is also, argue Marco Bitschnau and Philipp Lutz, highly problematic for democracies Read more
Annemarie Walter
During the coronacrisis, conspiracy theories have proliferated, and politicians who use them for political gain are – at least partly – to blame. Let the January attack on the US Capitol be a warning to Europe, write Annemarie Walter and Hugo Drochon Read more
The Loop
Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
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