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New replication study examines the influence of digital media on democracy

© [AI] ChatGPT / MPG adapted from the press release

The research team systematically replicated the methodology of the original study and used an updated dataset with studies up to March 2024. The results confirm the findings of the original study: Digital media have many problematic effects on democratic processes, in addition to positive ones. On the one hand, they promote political participation and facilitate access to information. On the other hand, they increase polarization, mistrust in institutions, and populist movements.

New multi-author preprint about who should govern online environments

In this multi-author paper, spearheaded by Friederike Stock, and as part of the Junior Researcher Program with young researchers from 26 different countries and the project was supervised by Philipp Lorenz-Spreen. Little is known about who users themselves think should control their online environments, and under what circumstances. In our preregistered study, participants across 26 countries (N = 11,686) decided between combinations of three possible choice architects—governments, platforms, and individuals—and three objectives—societal, commercial, and personal—in seven real-world contexts. Across all countries, people strongly prefer to set their own rules for their online choice architectures. Find the full preprint here.