My Research

Technologies like the Internet, social media platforms and generative AI deeply transform our individual lives, the economy, and politics. In my research, I focus on the political aspects of technologies and the mechanisms via which they may affect democracy. In my research I mostly investigate elite behavior and communication or governance mechanisms of digital platforms and ways of regulating them.

Currently, I am working on several projects:

(1) investigating the use of social media communication by German candidates in the 2013, 2017, and 2021 German federal elections (co-authoring with Dr Sebastian Stier)

(2) assessing language used by German MPs in parliamentary speeches and social media posting (solo authoring)

(3) observing the implementation of the Digital Services Act in the European Union and particularly Germany (with Prof. Danie Stockmann)

(4) exploring the role of data analytics and artificial intelligence in political election campaigns (together with Prof. Rachel Gibson, Prof Andrea Römmele and several other members of the DiCED-team)

(5) a cross-platform analysis of party campaign communication during the 2024 European election together with the SPARTA team from the Bundeswehr University

About me

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Hertie School's Center for Digital Governance and an affiliated researcher in the ERC-funded international research project called “Digital Campaigning and Electoral Democracy” (DiCED) at the University of Manchester.

During my PhD at the Hertie School, I also was, for some time, a visiting scholar at the Data Science Institute at the London School of Economics and as a Eurolab grant holder at GESIS - the Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences. In my doctoral dissertation, I investigated the socio-political implications of social media platforms and their risks for democratic fragmentation. In my postdoctoral research, I continue to investigate the intersection of regulation, technology and democratic elections.

Besides, I work as a public and private sector consultant for data strategy and communication. In these roles, I have worked with media consultancies in Germany and the UK and NGOs such as the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) or the Hertie Foundation. More recently, I also contributed to the Data Knowledge Hub on Disinformation in collaboration with the Bertelsmann Foundation.

In my leisure time, I enjoy sports, music (Berlin-stereotypically especially electronic music), and long walks in Berlin´s green spaces. If you are working on related topics or are interested in having a chat, reach out to me on social media or via email!