On September 15, 2026, Tim Vos, Professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, will give a talk on “Rethinking research on journalistic roles”.

The Online Communication Lab is represented with numerous contributions at this year’s 11th European Communication Conference (ECREA 2026). From September 9 to 11, 2026, communication and media scholars will meet in Brno, Czech Republic, to discuss current research and developments in the field.

From 19 to 21 August 2026, the OCL welcomed colleagues from the Media Culture & Policy Lab at KU Leuven for a joint workshop in Münster. The workshop focused on shared research interests including gaming, well-being, mis- and disinformation, conspiracy narratives, and the exchange of methodological approaches. 

With funding from the Volkswagen Foundation, a new international research project on the strategic use of historical narratives in digital media will begin shortly. Together with partners in Italy and Spain, the research team will investigate how far-right actors instrumentalize history for political purposes and what this means for democratic public discourse.

The article “Epistemic Authority in the Digital Public Sphere”, co-authored by Thorsten Quandt, has received the 2026 ASCoR Denis McQuail Award. The award goes to first author Anne Bartsch.

A successful #ICA26 is behind us, and we look back on exciting presentations, inspiring discussions, and the Top Poster Award received by Felix Reer, Saïd Unger, and Thorsten Quandt.