ASCoR

This work is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Andreas Schuck from our Programme Group Political Communication & Journalism and Prof. David Amodio from the Social Psychology Programme Group, and is funded by the Research Priority Area (RPA) Real Emotions.

We are pleased to #welcome 🎉 our new postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Anke Stoll.

Dr. Anke Stoll is investigating how human bias - particularly the political leaning of annotators - may shape the decision-making of algorithms for facial expression recognition.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Join us on 6 Nov for the AISSR Lecture by Renee DiResta, @noupside.bsky.social, author of the book 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴. On how social media reshapes power & politics. Co-hosted by @ascor.bsky.social

➡️ Register here: aissr.uva.nl/content/even...

Vacancy — Postdoctoral researcher Communication Science at AI, Media & Democracy Lab Do you want to be part of the AI, Media & Democracy Lab? We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a profile in communication science.

📅Deadline: November 1st, 2025
🔗Read More: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

🚨#Jobalert

The AI, Media & Democracy Lab is seeking a #postdoctoral researcher with a background in communication science to investigate how the introduction of AI is changing the relationship between media, users, and technology, and what effects this has on democratic engagement.

We are pleased to #welcome 🎉 our new PhD candidate, Teresa Valle!

Teresa is working on the project “Visual Politics and the Emergence of Angry Publics”. Her research focuses on visual political communication and how visuals may be used to represent and elicit political anger.

We are pleased to #welcome 🎉 our new PhD candidate, Michael van Straelen!

His research examines how people engage in political conversations with generative AI, how they perceive these tools, and how such interactions influence their political views and ideological (de) polarisation.

We are pleased to #welcome 🎉 our new PhD candidate, Jade van Dorth!

Jade's #PhD project examines adolescents’ synthetic relationships with conversational AI, exploring their prevalence, causes, and effects on companionship, empowerment, isolation, and autonomy.

Vacancy — PhD Position: Algorithmic Persuasion on TikTok: A Differential Vulnerability Perspective Do you want to contribute to research on marketing communication on TikTok that may empower consumers to resist persuasion and reduce harmful consequences? Are you passionate about advertising, algori...

📅Deadline: 9 October 2025
🔗Read more: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

🚨 #Jobalert

We’re seeking a motivated PhD candidate passionate about advertising, algorithms & social media to join our project “Algorithmic Persuasion on TikTok: A Differential Vulnerability Perspective” at the Persuasive Communication Program Group.

Vacancy — PhD Project "Addressing Craving in the City" Do you want to contribute to research that aims to address craving in the city? Are you interested in how personalized help at the right time and place can help to combat nicotine use among young peop...

📅Deadline: 5 October 2025

🔗Read more: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

🚨 #Jobalert

We’re looking for a motivated #PhD candidate to join our project “Addressing Craving in the City: Using system insights for personalized context-driven interventions to combat nicotine use,” focusing on personalized, context-driven interventions to tackle smoking and vaping.

We are pleased to #welcome 🎉 our new #PhD candidate, Tasha de Vries.

Her PhD project, titled ‘Questioning Synthetic Advertising in a Synthetic World,’ conceptualizes the notion of synthetic advertising and explores how consumers engage with it within a synthetic environment.

We #congratulate🎉 @claesdevreese.bsky.social on receiving this year’s Carlsberg Foundation Research Prize for his extensive and internationally acclaimed research into the role played by algorithms and artificial intelligence in democratic processes.

Profile photo of Nick Kerkhoff

We are pleased to #welcome🎉 our new PhD candidate, Nick Kerkhoff.

His research examines the conditions under which upward social comparisons with greenfluencers promote pro-environmental behaviors among emerging adults. The project is funded by the NWO Doctoral Grant for Teachers.

Vacancy — Postdoctoral Position on Estimation and Implications of Invisible Languages on the Internet University of Amsterdam’s Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) invites applications for a fully funded Postdoctoral Researcher on our ‘Invisible Languages’ project. The postdoc appointee...

📅Deadline: 30 Sept 2025
🔗Read More: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

🚨#Jobalert

We are looking for a fully funded #Postdoc researcher for our “Invisible Languages” project. The role involves mapping the global presence of 7,000+ languages, co-developing community interventions with international partners, and advancing LLM frameworks for under-resourced languages.

Emma van der Goot Awarded Rubicon Grant 2025 - ASCoR Emma van der Goot has been awarded the Rubicon Grant 2025 from NWO and ZonMw.

🎉We #Congratulate ASCoR researcher @emmavandergoot.bsky.social, who has been awarded the Rubicon Grant 2025 from NWO and ZonMw for the project “Between criticism and complicity: how should journalists cover the uncivilized and misleading speeches of politicians?”.

Read more 👇

🚨 #Jobalert

Join us as a #PostDoc in the Horizon Europe project TWON (Twin of Online Social Network)! You'll work in the Political Communication & Journalism group, as well as in the Computational Communication Science Amsterdam Lab.

📅Deadline: 28 July 2025

🔗Read More: tinyurl.com/mswjxnaj

Minh Hao Nguyen Awarded NWO Veni Grant for Project “Disconnection in an Always-Connected Society: A Novel Perspective on Digital Inequality” - ASCoR Minh Hao Nguyen Awarded NWO Veni Grant

🎉We #congratulate Minh Hao Nguyen, who has recently been awarded an #NWO Veni grant for her pioneering research project “Disconnection in an Always-Connected Society: A Novel Perspective on Digital Inequality”.

Read more about the project 👇

Amber van der Wal Awarded NWO Veni Grant for Project “Turning Algorithms for Good: Using Humor to Protect Youth from Harmful Social Media Content” - ASCoR Amber van der Wal Awarded NWO Veni Grant

🎉We #congratulate @ambervdwal.bsky.social, who has recently been awarded an #NWO Veni grant for her innovative multi-method project “Turning Algorithms for Good: Using Humor to Protect Youth from Harmful Social Media Content”.

Read more about the project 👇

Eva van Reijmersdal receiving Insights Scientist of the Year 2025 Award

🎉We #congratulate Eva van Reijmersdal on winning the Insights Scientist of the Year 2025 award for her research on Influencer Marketing. The award is issued by the Dutch Data & Insights Network D&IN Insights. The jury praised the impact of her work on science, practice, and regulations.

DeMoCraft receives €6.6 million grant for research into democratic moral craftsmanship - ASCoR DeMoCraft receives €6.6m for research into democratic moral craftsmanship. How do politicians stay strong in crises? New knowledge and tools aim to future-proof governance.

🎉 DeMoCraft receives €6.6 million grant for research into democratic moral craftsmanship 🎉

From ASCoR's side, @christianburgers.bsky.social & @shjjacobs.bsky.social are involved.

Read more about the grant through this link: ascor.uva.nl/shared/uva/e...

Stepping on Toes? Role Dynamics between Journalists and Lobbyists Regarding Big Tech’s Accountability Agenda - Alexandra Schwinges, Irina Lock, Toni G. L. A. van der Meer, Rens Vliegenthart, 2025 The expanding political role of Big Tech(nology) corporations has triggered concerns about the role of the media in holding corporate power to account. This stu...

Schwinges, A., Lock, I., van der Meer, T. G. L. A., & Vliegenthart, R. (2025). Stepping on Toes? Role Dynamics between Journalists and Lobbyists Regarding Big Tech’s Accountability Agenda. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 30(3), 705–726. doi.org/10.1177/1940...

Alexandra Schwinges received the ASCoR Baschwitz Young Scholar Award for the article (see below):

Hyperpartisan, Alternative, and Conspiracy Media Users: An Anti-Establishment Portrait While there is growing academic attention to readers of hyperpartisan, alternative, and conspiracy (HAC) media, our understanding of these sites has developed in separate bodies of work. We make a ...

Ernesto de León received the ASCoR Baschwitz Faculty Award for the article:

de León, E., Makhortykh, M., & Adam, S. (2024). Hyperpartisan, Alternative, and Conspiracy Media Users: An Anti-Establishment Portrait. Political Communication, 41(6), 877–902. doi.org/10.1080/1058...

Alexandra Schwinges receives ASCoR Baschwitz Young Scholar Award

🎉 We #congratulate @alexschwinges.bsky.social and @ernesto-deleon.com, winners of the ASCoR Baschwitz Awards 2024! Each year, the Baschwitz Article of the Year and the Young Scholar Award are presented during the Departmental Meeting of Communication Science.

Felicia also gave an interview about her research and the importance of news diversity for our democracy — read it here (in Dutch)

Felicia Loecherbach

🎉 We #congratulate @feloe.bsky.social on receiving the KHMW Keetje Hodshon Prize for her dissertation “Diversity of News Consumption in a Digital Information Environment” (VU, 2023), awarded by the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW).

I am truly honored and grateful for this #MobileComm award! It's so great to see that my MA thesis is being recognized in the field 🔥 #ica25 @ascor.bsky.social