#509 Christian Hoffmann: Social Media, Fake News, and Political Polarization
RECORDED ON MAY 6th 2021.
Dr. Christian Pieter Hoffmann is Professor of Communication Management and Political Communication at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany. In addition, he is responsible for teaching in the field of political communication in cooperation with the Institute for Political Science. Dr. Hoffmann is a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Singapore Management University, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz and the University of Applied Sciences Zurich. His research interests include strategic communication management, financial communication and political communication – with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities provided by new media.
In this episode, we talk about social media, political communication, fake news and misinformation, and political polarization. We start with the benefits and challenges of social media. We talk specifically about Facebook escapism. We distinguish between fake news, political disinformation, and political misinformation, and discuss if they really are widespread phenomena. We also address political polarization, and what might be its causes. We ask if the way people engage with politics online differs from how they do it in their offline lives.
Time Links:
Intro
The benefits and challenges of social media
Facebook escapism
Fake news, political disinformation, and political misinformation (in traditional and alternative media)
Political polarization
Online and offline political engagement
Do we need more media literacy?
Follow Dr. Hoffmann’s work!
Follow Dr. Hoffmann’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/2RmQ5ZL
Communicationmanagement.de: https://bit.ly/3vP1gcr
Financialcommunication.org: https://bit.ly/3uvdDdO
Digital-participation.org: https://bit.ly/3h6QfiW
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3xObewy
Twitter handle: @cphoffmann