Methodology

New ZeMKI Working Paper on Longitudinal Social Media Engagement

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The publication titled “A Longitudinal Approach to the Analysis of Social Media Engagement” examines anger-driven climate-skeptic content during the 2021 German elections. It emphasizes longitudinal models over cross-sectional ones, revealing that anger boosts far-right message sharing while hindering environmentalist posts. Findings also caution against inflated estimates from cross-sectional analysis, stressing the value of longitudinal research for accurate political communication insights.

Research

Exploring Religious Users in Online Political Spaces

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The study investigates the role of religious users in online political discourse around abortion during Italy’s 2022 election. Despite representing only 1.08% of users, they generated significant engagement, often discussing religious themes and restrictive policies. Their relationship with right-wing parties is complex, revealing selective support aligned with moral values.

Conferences

Mainstreaming Anti-Feminism: Presentation at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT) Research Workshop 2025

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On 12 November 2025, I presented at the ECAT Research Workshop on the impact of anti-feminism and online influence on youth. Highlighting systemic risks, the discussion centered on toxic online communities, especially within the “manosphere,” which promotes male victimization and hostility towards women. Monitoring this content’s reach is vital for societal understanding and safety.

Teaching

Tracking Dutch Election Misinformation with CooRTweet

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I contributed today to The Moderation of Misinformation by Social Media Platforms During Election Season Data Sprint, led by Richard Rogers, Digital Methods Initiative, University of Amsterdam – Media Studies. In my presentation, I highlighted key issues in coordinated networks and detection methodologies, focusing on CooRTweet, which I developed with Paul Balluff, and its interface,

Research

Unpacking Visual Persuasion: Insights from the 2021 German Elections (Power BI Project)

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How do visuals shape political discourse? In a recent work for PolarVis I have developed an interactive Power BI report to explore how environmental-related images influenced public reactions during the 2021 German federal elections. Images are powerful tools for persuasion. They can evoke strong emotions, simplify complex ideas, and rapidly spread messages across vast networks.

Research

Ten Years Investigating Traditionalism and Anti-Gender Mobilizations Online

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Over the past decade, one of the central strands of my research has focused on the rise and diffusion of anti-gender traditionalism across digital platforms. By introducing computational methods and digital trace data—still relatively new in this field—I have examined how anti-gender movements, from grassroots cultural resistance in Italy to the transnationalization of CitizenGo’s conservative

Research

New Publication: CooRTweet – An R Software Tool for Coordinated Behavior Detection

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New publication! We present our multi-modal, multi-platform R software for analyzing coordinated networks—designed to remain resilient to ongoing changes in data access and to offer analytical flexibility—in the paper “CooRTweet: A Generalized R Software for Coordinated Network Detection“, now out in Computational Communication Research. Free access here: https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2025.1.7.RIGH. Although CooRTweet is a relatively new tool,

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