Researchers from the IfK attend the 76th ICA Annual Conference in Cape Town

(03.06.2026) This year’s annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) focuses on ‘Communication and Inequalities in Context’ and will take place from 4 to 8 June 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. Researchers from the IfK Münster will also be represented at this internationally significant conference, where communication scholars from around the world gather annually to discuss current topics in the field.

With this conference theme, the ICA 2026 places the relationship between communication, inequality and societal contextual conditions at the centre of attention. Among other things, the focus is on how communicative processes can reveal, reinforce or even challenge social, political, cultural and technological inequalities. In doing so, the conference addresses key issues in communication studies, ranging from political communication and journalism to digital publics, as well as organisational, scientific and health communication.

The conference will take place from 4 to 8 June and will be accompanied by various pre-conferences, panels and specialist sessions. Among the accepted papers for this year’s ICA conference are several contributions involving researchers from the IfK:

Pre-Conferences

Human-Machine Communication and Inequalities: Contexts, Challenges, and Opportunities. From Chatbots to Commons: Imagining an End to Epistemic Injustice in HMC.
Anne Mollen

The “Dark Side” of Social Conversations Around Science: Contemporary Challenges and Potential Solutions for Science Communication. Degrees of Facticity: Understanding Variation in Scientific Conspiracy Theory Beliefs.
Florian Wintterlin; Julia Metag

The “Dark Side” of Social Conversations Around Science: Contemporary Challenges and Potential Solutions for Science Communication. The Rhythm of Resonance: Tracing Temporal Actor Dynamics and Impulse Shocks of Public Attention in Polarized Discourses Around Science.
Johanna Klapproth; C. Tenove; H. Azarpanah; C. Guyn; H. Tworek; Thorsten Quandt

Conferences

All About TikTok. Beyond the Ballot: A Comparative Cross-national Analysis of Political Communication on TikTok in 27 European Countries.
Johanna Klapproth; Saïd Unger; Thorsten Quandt

BLUE SKY: AI, HMC, and the Question of Sustainability: Generative, Degenerative, Regenerative?
Autumn Edwards; Klaus Bruhn Jensen; Anne Mollen; Sigrid Kannengießer

Can a Push for Transparency Really Solve Journalism’s Biggest Problems? An Experimental Reality Check on Source Transparency.
Nina Springer; Lars-Ole Wehden; Benedikt Uth; Lea von den Driesch; Katharina M. Engelke

Game Studies Poster Session. Mapping the Field of Social Scientific Game Studies: A Computational Approach.
Felix Reer; Saïd Unger; Thorsten Quandt

HIGH-DENSITY: Audience Responses Towards Science Communication. From Undecided Novices to Informed Advocates: Segmenting Swiss Science Communication Audiences by AI Perceptions, Usage, and Information Sources.
Xiran Liu; Mike S. Schäfer; Gerta Lokaj; Daniela Mahl; Sophia Volk; Damiano Lombardi; Julia Metag; Niels G. Mede

HIGH-DENSITY: Contesting Political Meaning. Transnational Far-right Populism on TikTok: Comparative Analysis in Brazil and Germany.
Bruna Távora; Sofie Beisemann; Johanna Klapproth; Svenja Boberg; Luiz H. de Andrade Ranzani; Thorsten Quandt

HIGH-DENSITY: Global Perspectives on Social and Digital Media. Exploring Patchwork Spiritual Online Groups: Proposal for a Research Agenda.
Anna Davydova; Saïd Unger; Thorsten Quandt

HIGH-DENSITY: Journalistic Expertise and Changing Reportorial Norms. When Time Is Ticking, Are Readers Clicking? Exploring the Effects of Displaying Temporal Cues in Online News Article Previews.
Lars-Ole Wehden; Lena M. Küpper; Felix Reer

Multidimensional Risks in Conflict Reporting: Safety, Gender, and Precarity Among Spanish Journalists.
Leire Iturregui Mardaras; María José Cantalapiedra; Silvia Ubillos Landa; Pablo Castro- Abril; Oiane Díaz Echarri; Thomas Hanitzsch; Roy Thowsen Krøvel; Nina Springer; Abit Hoxha; Joan Ramon Rodriguez-Amat; Silvia Chocarro; Noé Cornago

Protest on the News. Protest and Social Movement Coverage as a Means of (De- )Legitimization: A Systematic Literature Review.
Lea von den Driesch

Science in the News. A Content Analysis of German Media Coverage of Chronic Diseases and Climate-Related Weather Events.
Franca Singh; Julia Metag

The Intersection of Science and Political Communication. At the Intersection of Science and Politics: Patterns and Predictors of Science-Policy-Interface Coverage in German News Media.
Lena Zils

The Tension Between Local and Global Journalism: Coverage and Ownership. Doing Journalist: Boundary Markers for Division, Jurisdiction Markers for Belonging.
Lea von den Driesch; Nina Springer; Seth Lewis

Theorizing Inequalities, Dissent and Infrastructures of the Political. Doing Dissent by Acting on Media: Materially Shaping Practices of Contradicting on Online Platforms and Digital Infrastructures.
Christina Haritos; Sigrid Kannengießer; Annett Heft; Margreth P. Lünenborg; Carola Richter

Verification and Fact-Checking Practices among Journalists and Publics. What Is Data? A Conceptual and Empirical Inquiry of the Facets of Data in News Organizations.
Juliane A. Lischka; Anne Mollen; Lisa M. Kristensen; Jessica Kunert; Agustin Ferrari Braun; Torbjørn Rolandsson; Nadia Schaetz; Aske Kammer

The International Communication Association was founded in 1950 and has been associated with the United Nations as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) since 2003. As a professional association headquartered in Washington D.C., the ICA is one of the most important platforms for academic exchange in the field of media and communication research.

Contact person public relations:
Dr Stephan Völlmicke
Telefon: +49 251 83-23006
Telefax: +49 251 83-21310 (Geschäftszimmer IfK)