🤖💬 Can AI tell the difference between toxic speech and emotionally charged political debate?

Liliia Mairova and Ariq Suryo Hadi P. provide some interesting insights in the next blogpost of the Observatory:

politics.i2sc.net/blogposts/to...

💡 Our analysis of TikTok posts during the campaign reveals a clear pattern—intensified activity leading up to the vote, followed by a steep decline afterward. Campaign season mattered. So did TikTok.

But here’s the paradox: despite this growing presence, only 787 of 2,664 Bundestag candidates had a TikTok account. So we asked: did those candidates use the platform strategically, or was their presence superficial?

🔍 While much research has focused on Facebook and Twitter/X, TikTok's reach in Germany has quietly surpassed both. With 22.9 million users, it now boasts the second-largest TikTok audience in the EU, trailing only France

📢 New on the Observatory of Online Politics blog!

🎯 TikTok and its role in the 2025 German Elections
By @rosanavarrete.bsky.social & Ariq Suryo Hadi P.

Read more
politics.i2sc.net/blogposts/ti...

🛎️ New Publication 🛎️

How did public and party priorities interact during the 2024 European Parliament elections?

In our new @wepsocial.bsky.social article, Daniela Braun, @giucarny.bsky.social @rosanavarrete.bsky.social @annreinl.bsky.social and I find some connections

tinyurl.com/yhc4ae8m

🧵

80 years after Liberation Day, far-right parties are the strongest parties in the polls in the UK, France, and Germany. For every politician the most pressing question should be how to save liberal democracy. Yet, small minded partisan tactics prevail. The far right gets normalized and empowered.

We’re thrilled to see growing interest in our work, especially as a newly established Observatory. Our ultimate goal is to contribute to a healthier, more robust democracy by studying how politics unfolds online. Let’s keep the conversation going :)

Lügen lohnt sich: Wer im Internet die Unwahrheit sagt, hat oft Erfolg in der Politik. Über längere Zeiträume sind die Folgen von Falschaussagen noch nicht wissenschaftlich beobachtet worden. Dies will die „Beobachtungsstelle für Online-Politik“ an der Saar-Uni ändern (© privat): tinyurl.com/2339gxbz

Our team is growing—more brains, more ideas, and just the right amount of chaos. Looking forward to the work ahead! 😄📊

As expected:
- X usage in Canada continues to decline: 42% in 2020, 40% in 2022, and 37% in 2025.

- There are fewer left-leaning Canadians on X than center and right-leaning Canadians.

Stay tuned for more details in our upcoming report the “State of Social Media in Canada 2025” (ETA 04/2025)

Some quick and dirty QTA on gender and political communication in Germany and Spain 👇🏻👇🏻

For more, follow @o3pol.bsky.social ;)

To sum up, gender issues get a boost around International Women’s Day, and for the rest of the year attention is lower.We find also a steady level of discussion all year long, despite some variability. Gender topics remain a regular part of their online communication.

In Germany, politicians show similar levels of attention to gender issues. In Spain, politicians from social-liberal forces are more attentive to these issues than those from the main conservative party (PP). Members of the far-right populist party, VOX, pay the same attention as progressive forces

In his research comparing Germany and Spain, we see that, YES, the average amount of attention given to gender issues during the week of 8 March is higher than the rest of the year. Also, the attention to these topics is quite stable over time,

On March 8 each year, politicians and parties flood social media with messages about gender equality- what happens the rest of the year?

@giucarny.bsky.social gives us some insight into politicians' online engagement with gender-related issues over time

politics.i2sc.net/blogposts/8m...

The Observatory of Online Politics is on Bluesky! 🌍🔍

We track online politics, study disinformation & digital chaos—sometimes for better, often for what on earth is happening now? 🤯

Follow for insights, analysis & the occasional existential crisis of democracy. 🏛️📲

(No, Elon doesn’t own us. Yet.)