A_11 Polarization Dynamics on Social Media

This work package (WP) examines current dynamics of politicization and polarization on social media, their emergence, and their effects. It is based on the observation that digital media in particular function as opportunity structures for politically extreme actors and, due to their attention economy, promote the use of emotional, affective, and conflict-oriented language. With regard to the relationship between digital, radicalized fringe communities, the public sphere, and the offline environment, the project tests the assumption that these are not independent phenomena. Rather, the guiding hypothesis is that there are, in some cases, close and reciprocal interactions between these spheres. These interactions are strategically exploited by digital “polarization entrepreneurs” and can foster societal polarization dynamics beyond “digital fringe communities”.

In doing so, the work package addresses both guiding questions of Priority Area 4: Politicization of Difference. On the one hand, it examines how various issues gain salience offline through the online communication of radicalized groups and become increasingly contested. On the other hand, it analyzes how these dynamics contribute to (perceived) tendencies of social division and influence democratic processes.

After an initial period of enthusiasm regarding the democratic potential of the internet, social media have increasingly been associated with threats to democratic cohesion since at least the mid-2010s. The rise of conflict-driven communication, the spread of disinformation, and the increased visibility of marginal voices that sometimes promote highly confrontational positions and discursive practices cannot be clearly attributed to a single political camp. However, actors who are hostile to democracy — particularly those on the radical right, as well as antisemitic and conspiracy-ideological actors who benefit from contemporary crises — appear to be especially successful in using digital media as a central arena for action. Whether migration policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, or climate issues, the digital mobilization strategies of anti-democratic actors are expanding and characterized by overlapping constellations of actors and themes.

In particular, networks have emerged via social media platforms such as Telegram, messaging services, and alternative news websites that have been successfully used for ideological production and dissemination as well as for mobilizing offline protests. The attention economy of the internet and the culture of outrage on social media platforms appear to facilitate these dynamics. Targeted campaigns against marginalized groups, individuals, and institutions of the democratic order illustrate the networking, radicalization, and normalization of radical right and conspiracy-ideological actors and content. Conspiracy narratives, disinformation, and anti-scientific narratives become part of crisis discourses that restrict the scope of action of democratic institutions and undermine social cohesion. All of this can foster systematic, cross-thematic attitudinal conflicts and the mutual isolation of opposing camps across society as a whole.

In terms of content, this work package is closely connected to the other work packages within the priority area that examine the politicization dynamics of gender issues (A_09) and participation in war (A_10) and their consequences for democratic processes. Unlike those work packages, however, this WP is not focused on a single topic but instead adopts a broader perspective on the specific mechanisms and functioning of digital communication. By synthesizing the different approaches of the aforementioned work packages, the project seeks to analyze the relationship between online and offline protest mobilization dynamics and to enable comparisons across different politicization issues.

Within this work package, a cross-platform monitoring system will be developed to examine discursive practices, actor groups, and interaction patterns associated with processes of polarization and fragmentation. This infrastructure will enable the investigation of the following questions: What relationships exist between online and offline dynamics? What spatial patterns characterize radical right and conspiracy-ideological online mobilization, and where and under what conditions are they particularly successful? Which emerging events and issues are taken up? What role do digital platforms play in the increase of emotionalized and conflict-oriented language in digital spaces? To what extent do fringe communities influence public discourse? And finally: What opportunities emerge for viable concepts of a digital democratic counter-public?