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Reposted by Jana Bernhard-Harrer

Johannes B. Gruber @jbgruber.bsky.social · 8d

@sebstier.bsky.social at #MEDem Conf: computational research of democracy stands in the shoulders of the few enthusiasts who create datasets, software and infrastructure for it. How can we move forward? Short answer: more collaboration & sharing!

How to move forward

Collaborate on improving data coverage
Filling gaps in poliitical text orpora
Collecting online platform data via APls, webscraping and the Digital Services Act
Share open-source software, R packages and infrastructure components
Improve conditions for data sharing
Critically evaluate and improve the application of Al
Requires collaboration and funding at the European level

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Simon Munzert @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social · 9d

Day 1 at #MEDem Conference @gesis.org in Cologne, where I had the chance to share a personal perspective on data infrastructure projects for democracy research. Slides here: simonmunzert.com/medem25/

MEDem @medem.bsky.social · 9d

🚀 Kicking off day 1 of the 3rd #MEDemConference at @gesis.org! From @sldelange.bsky.social discussing radical-right normalization 🗳️ to calls to consolidate democracy data by @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social 📊 — keynotes spotlight why #MEDem matters for democracy.

Sarah de Lange presents at the 3rd MEDem Conference 2025. Behind her, a slide shows the book “The Normalization of the Radical Right” and a quote on how radical-right behavior grows when previously hidden views become socially acceptable.

Simon Munzert speaks at the 3rd MEDem Conference 2025 on the past, present, and future of democracy research.

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MEDem @medem.bsky.social · 11d

They say: once there’s a paper 📝, it’s real…
🎉 #MEDem in #EPS @ecpr.bsky.social

The paper outlines how MEDem will strengthen #OpenScience by making data #FAIR in #DemocracyResearch – and how scholars across Europe are joining forces to build a truly open #ResearchInfrastructure ⚙️

Screenshot of the article “Open science in democracy research: the research infrastructure ‘Monitoring Electoral Democracy’ (MEDem)” published in European Political Science. The header shows the journal name, DOI link, and the label “DEBATE.” Below, the title is followed by the author list: Hajo Boomgaarden, Alexia Katsanidou, Sylvia Kritzinger, Georg Lutz, Johanna Willmann, and Jakob-Moritz Eberl. The abstract explains the aims of MEDem as a European research infrastructure to make democracy research data FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable). Keywords listed include open science, FAIR data, ESFRI roadmap, research infrastructure, democracy research, data harmonization, data linking, and data set search. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-025-00534-8

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MEDem @medem.bsky.social · 9d

🚀 Kicking off day 1 of the 3rd #MEDemConference at @gesis.org! From @sldelange.bsky.social discussing radical-right normalization 🗳️ to calls to consolidate democracy data by @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social 📊 — keynotes spotlight why #MEDem matters for democracy.

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Jakob-Moritz Eberl @jamoeberl.bsky.social · 9d

Somewhat ironically, we have come together to #MakeDemocracyResearchGreatAgain. Always a pleasure – and quite humbling – to see the #MEDemCommunity gather to discuss where @medem.bsky.social should be headed in the coming years. #ResearchInfrastructures ⚙️

MEDem @medem.bsky.social · 9d

🚀 Kicking off day 1 of the 3rd #MEDemConference at @gesis.org! From @sldelange.bsky.social discussing radical-right normalization 🗳️ to calls to consolidate democracy data by @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social 📊 — keynotes spotlight why #MEDem matters for democracy.

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Andrea Wiesner @andreawiesner.bsky.social · 9d

I really enjoyed the inspiring keynote speeches by @sldelange.bsky.social and @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social at the 3rd #MEDemConference at @gesis.org in Cologne! ⭐

MEDem @medem.bsky.social · 9d

🚀 Kicking off day 1 of the 3rd #MEDemConference at @gesis.org! From @sldelange.bsky.social discussing radical-right normalization 🗳️ to calls to consolidate democracy data by @simonsaysnothin.bsky.social 📊 — keynotes spotlight why #MEDem matters for democracy.

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Jakob-Moritz Eberl @jamoeberl.bsky.social · 20d

Allgemein Antwortkategorien from Hell. 🫣

InViennaVeritas @yousitonmyspot.bsky.social · 20d

Danke. Ein Schelm, wer Böses denkt, dass die Option "Die Folgen der Klimaerwärmung (sic!) werden in der Öffentlichkeit untertrieben dargestellt." nicht vorhanden ist.

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · 19d

Ich bin auch sehr gespannt, als wie wissenschaftlich das ganze bei der dazu gehörigen Sendung präsentiert wird, oder ob der ORF transparent über die methodologischen Probleme spricht. Wir haben so tolle Wissenschaftler*innen in Ö, da wäre sicherlich jemand für eine Kooperation offen gewesen.

Jakob-Moritz Eberl @jamoeberl.bsky.social · 19d

Wir haben an den österreichischen Universitäten ausgezeichnete Panel-Befragungen dazu, wie Österreich lebt, denkt und fühlt – alles in Datenarchiven frei zugänglich. Dafür braucht es keine Website-Umfrage im #Boulevardstyle. Mag mir das jemand erklären? Rausgeschmissenes Geld.

ORF FRAGT - Die große ORF-Umfrage 2025

www.orffragt.at

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Marvin Stecker @marvins.bsky.social · Aug 13

If you've recently wondered "What happened in Austria's last federal election" (and a lot happened!), we've got you covered:

Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

🚨 New publication alert! 🚨
"From crisis governance to electoral normality and the longest coalition negotiations: the 2024 Austrian parliamentary election" 🇦🇹🗳️🤝

📄 Read here: doi.org/10.1080/0140...

By Manuel Scharrer, @janabernhard.bsky.social, @marvins.bsky.social, @schnizzl.bsky.social and me

From crisis governance to electoral normality and the longest coalition negotiations: the 2024 Austrian parliamentary election

The 2024 Austrian parliament election reflects both continuity and transformation within the political landscape of the country. Following a turbulent inter-election period marked by multiple crise...

doi.org

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

📄 Read the full paper here: doi.org/10.1080/0140...

A big thank you to everyone who supported this research. 🙏

This work was made possible by AUTNES data - explore it here: data.aussda.at/dataverse/au...

📊 ...and check out the interactive dashboard:
autnesdashboard.univie.ac.at:3838/autnes/

From crisis governance to electoral normality and the longest coalition negotiations: the 2024 Austrian parliamentary election

The 2024 Austrian parliament election reflects both continuity and transformation within the political landscape of the country. Following a turbulent inter-election period marked by multiple crise...

doi.org

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Government Formation 🤝

🕒 After 155 days (the longest in Austrian history) ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS formed the first 3-party coalition since 1947
❌ FPÖ, despite being the largest party, was excluded from government
⚖️ The resulting coalition achieved high satisfaction among its supporters

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Results: 📊

🇦🇹 FPÖ becoming the largest party for the 1st time (rebound from 2019 losses)
💉 FPÖ performed better in areas with low COVID-19 vaccination rates, but limited role of pandemic
📉 Governing parties ÖVP and Greens suffered heavy losses
🌆 Urban-rural and demographic divides deepened

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Campaign: 📢

😴 Despite a turbulent lead-up, the 2024 campaign was surprisingly uneventful
♻️ Key voter issues included inflation, migration, social policies, and climate
🌊 A severe flood shifted focus to crisis management, boosting climate-related discourse

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

Background: 📜

🏝️ The 2019 "Ibiza affair" toppled the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition
🌍 Crises: COVID-19, low vaccination rates, and inflation from the Ukraine war dominated the term.
⚖️ Tensions: Leadership scandals and policy disputes strained the ÖVP-Green coalition but it lasted the full term

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

Key findings: 🧐

💡 Migration re-emerged as a key voter issue.
💡 FPÖ became the largest party for the first time but stayed out of government.
💡 After record-long talks, ÖVP, SPÖ & NEOS formed Austria's first 3-party coalition since WWII.
More detail in thread 👇🧵

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Christina Gahn @christinagahn.bsky.social · Aug 13

🚨 New publication alert! 🚨
"From crisis governance to electoral normality and the longest coalition negotiations: the 2024 Austrian parliamentary election" 🇦🇹🗳️🤝

📄 Read here: doi.org/10.1080/0140...

By Manuel Scharrer, @janabernhard.bsky.social, @marvins.bsky.social, @schnizzl.bsky.social and me

From crisis governance to electoral normality and the longest coalition negotiations: the 2024 Austrian parliamentary election

The 2024 Austrian parliament election reflects both continuity and transformation within the political landscape of the country. Following a turbulent inter-election period marked by multiple crise...

doi.org

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 12

Whoops — tagged the wrong person in my last post 🤦‍♀️ Sorry about that! Meant to tag @ellamaclaughlin.bsky.social , whom you definitely should follow for more updates on her work!

Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 12

😅 Late to share this one (summer + other projects got in the way), but this #aBitOfCCS episode with @ellamcloughlin.bsky.social is too good to skip.

How do you measure something as complex as uncertainty in political speech? 🎙️

🎧 Listen here: aboutccs.net/abitofccs/
#PoliticalSpeech #CSS

#aBitOfCCS – What is it about CCS

aboutccs.net

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 12

😅 Late to share this one (summer + other projects got in the way), but this #aBitOfCCS episode with @ellamcloughlin.bsky.social is too good to skip.

How do you measure something as complex as uncertainty in political speech? 🎙️

🎧 Listen here: aboutccs.net/abitofccs/
#PoliticalSpeech #CSS

#aBitOfCCS – What is it about CCS

aboutccs.net

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 12

In this episode, we talk about:
🇺🇸🇬🇧🇩🇪🇳🇱 how politicians express uncertainty
🔍 building dictionaries for latent concepts
🤯 the challenges of computational research on political language

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 12

😅 Late to share this one (summer + other projects got in the way), but this #aBitOfCCS episode with @ellamcloughlin.bsky.social is too good to skip.

How do you measure something as complex as uncertainty in political speech? 🎙️

🎧 Listen here: aboutccs.net/abitofccs/
#PoliticalSpeech #CSS

#aBitOfCCS – What is it about CCS

aboutccs.net

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aytalina @aytalina.bsky.social · Aug 8

It was a truly precious experience to talk and write about social bias in CSS in a safe and inclusive space @cais-research.bsky.social generously provided 🙏
Grateful to these badass scholars @ahrabhikat.bsky.social, @janabernhard.bsky.social, and @valeriehase.bsky.social for the amazing collab 🙌

Center for Advanced Internet Studies @cais-research.bsky.social · Aug 8

🔍 A glimpse into research life at CAIS
This week, @ahrabhikat.bsky.social is hosting three fantastic guests at CAIS – all experts in Computational Social Science (CSS):
@aytalina.bsky.social - University of Vienna
@janabernhard.bsky.social - University of Vienna
@valeriehase.bsky.social - LMU Munich

Picture of the participants sitting around a table at a conference room at CAIS

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 8

It is a Model. It is predicting tokens (words or parts of words). It is not smart or thinking or reasoning. No matter how confident the predicted text is, and how well it predicts answers to all you questions, remember blueberries taste delicious and have three bs. 🫐🫐🫐

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Axel Bruns @snurb.info · Aug 7

In, uh, fairness, he probably means 'a PhD-level expert talking about a field they know nothing about'.

Like, say, a PhD in clinical psychology talking about social media, or an economist talking about humans.

J. Emory Parker 🏳️‍🌈 @jaspar.bsky.social · Aug 7

“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.

Theo Sanderson @theo.io · Aug 7

(real, one-shot :p )

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Valerie Hase @valeriehase.bsky.social · Aug 8

Very excited to be at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies @cais-research.bsky.social this week to talk about bias in CSS.

Thanks to @ahrabhikat.bsky.social for hosting us 👩‍💻.

Center for Advanced Internet Studies @cais-research.bsky.social · Aug 8

🔍 A glimpse into research life at CAIS
This week, @ahrabhikat.bsky.social is hosting three fantastic guests at CAIS – all experts in Computational Social Science (CSS):
@aytalina.bsky.social - University of Vienna
@janabernhard.bsky.social - University of Vienna
@valeriehase.bsky.social - LMU Munich

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Jana Bernhard-Harrer @janabernhard.bsky.social · Aug 8

Our recommendations for future surveys:

1️⃣ Measure trust more fully – numbers alone can oversimplify.
2️⃣ Design better open-ended Qs – clear prompts, min. word limits, full sentences.
3️⃣ Research more – test across contexts & understand how people interpret different formats.

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