Lehr- und Forschungsschwerpunkte
Lehrschwerpunkt
- Journalismusforschung
Forschungsschwerpunkte
- Alternative Medien
- Desinformation
- Computational Methods
- Journalismusforschung
- Wissenschafts- und Hochschulforschung
Vita
Studium der Soziologie und Geschichte in Jena, anschließend Masterabschluss in Soziologie und Sozialforschung in Bremen. 2019-2021 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter im BMBF-Projekt "Aufbruch, Abbruch oder Durchbruch? Einflussfaktoren auf wissenschaftliche Karriereverläufe in den Natur- und Sozialwissenschaften (ABD)" an der Universität Stuttgart. 2021-2025 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter im BMBF Projekt "HybriD - Echtzeiterkennung von Desinformationskampagnen in Online-Medien" im Team von Thorsten Quandt. Seit 2026 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter im ERC Projekt "DANCE – Dark Nerd Communities: A multi-method exploration of toxic degradation in the adolescent technosphere" im Team von Thorsten Quandt.
Akademische Ausbildung
- Soziologie und Sozialforschung (M.A.)
- Soziologie und Geschichte (B.A.)
Beruflicher Werdegang
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der WWU Münster
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der Universität Stuttgart
Lehre
Publikationen
- Wu, Shangyuan, Quandt, Thorsten und Unger, Saïd, . A study of alternative media from the Global South/ non-Western perspective: Scrutinizing how “alternativeness” varies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East [Preprint]. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism., S. 1–19. ISSN 1464-8849. doi: 10.1177/14648849261452333.
- Quandt, Thorsten, Klapproth, Johanna, Unger, Saïd und Boberg, Svenja, . Generative AI and Disinformation: A Systematic Examination of Challenges and Opportunities for Public Communication. In: Regina Luttrell und Nicholas David Bowman, Hrsg., Provoking Generative AI Futures: Merging Theory and Praxis. London: Routledge, S. 117–134. ISBN 9781032783895. doi: 10.4324/9781003487623.
- Triebel, Steffen, Erhard, Lukas, Unger, Saïd, Wieczorek, Oliver, Brem, Alexander und Heiberger, Raphael, . Start Me Up: How the Initial Fit Between Researcher and Organization Predicts Outstanding Performance in Academia [Preprint]. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.6278346.
- Vief, Nils, Bösch, Marcus, Unger, Saïd, Klapproth, Johanna, Boberg, Svenja, Quandt, Thorsten und Stöcker, Christian, . Synthetic disinformation detection among German information elites – Strategies in politics, administration, journalism, and business. Studies in Communication and Media. 14(4), S. 596–623. ISSN 2192-4007. doi: 10.5771/2192-4007-2025-4-594.
- Unger, Saïd, Klapproth, Johanna, Boberg, Svenja, Bösch, Marcus, Vief, Nils, Stöcker, Christian und Quandt, Thorsten, . Features of disinformation: An expert interview study on the perception of disinformation among societal elites in government, politics, journalism and industry. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. 35(3), S. 472–494. ISSN 1745-7289. doi: 10.1080/17457289.2025.2514199.
- Quandt, Thorsten, Boberg, Svenja, Klapproth, Johanna und Unger, Saïd, . XX. Journalismus, Fake News und Desinformation. In: Thomas Hanitzsch und Wiebke Sehl Annika Loosen, Hrsg., Journalismusforschung. 1. Auflage. Baden-Baden: Nomos. NomosHandbuch, S. 407–422. ISBN 978-3-7489-3229-1. doi: 10.5771/9783748932291.
- Heiberger, Raphael, Hofstra, Bas und Unger, Saïd, . Professors in the Media: Dynamics of Cumulative Advantage, Reputation, and Gender. European Sociological Review. 42(2), S. 284–300. ISSN 0266-7215. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcaf037.
- Schwemmer, Carsten, Unger, Saïd und Heiberger, Raphael, . Automated image analysis for studying online behaviour. In: Jan Skopek, Hrsg., Research Handbook on Digital Sociology. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Research Handbooks in Sociology series, S. 278–291. ISBN 978 1 78990 675 2. doi: 10.4337/9781789906769.
- Klapproth, Johanna, Unger, Saïd, Pohl, Janina, Boberg, Svenja, Grimme, Christian und Quandt, Thorsten, . Immunize the Public against Disinformation Campaigns: Developing a Framework for Analyzing the Macrosocial Effects of Prebunking Interventions. In: Tung X. Bui, Hrsg., Proceedings of the 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). Honolulu: ScholarSpace, S. 2411–2420. ISBN 978-0-9981331-6-4.
- Unger, Saïd, Erhard, Lukas, Wieczorek, Oliver, Koß, Christian, Riebling, Jan und Heiberger, Raphael, . Benefits and detriments of interdisciplinarity on early career scientists’ performance. An author-level approach for U.S. physicists and psychologists. PloS one 17(6), S. 1–20. ISSN 1932-6203. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269991.
- Wieczorek, Oliver, Unger, Saïd, Riebling, Jan, Erhard, Lukas, Koß, Christian und Heiberger, Raphael, . Mapping the field of psychology: Trends in research topics 1995–2015. Scientometrics. 126(12), S. 9699–9731. ISSN 0138-9130. doi: 10.1007/s11192-021-04069-9.
Vorträge
- Davydova, Anna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Exploring Patchwork Spiritual Online Groups: Proposal for a Research Agenda”. 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Cape Town, .
- Reer, Felix; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Mapping the Field of Social Scientific Game Studies: A Computational Approach”. 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Cape Town, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Beyond the Ballot: A Comparative Cross-national Analysis of Political Communication on TikTok in 27 European Countries”. 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Cape Town, .
- Davydova, Anna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : „"Du nimmst mit, was für dich übereinstimmt und lässt stehen, was nicht zu dir passt": esoterischer Glaube auf TikTok“. 71. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Dortmund, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : „Mit Medien gegen Medien: Das Anti-Media Escalation Model“. 71. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Dortmund, .
- Davydova, Anna; Unger, Saïd : „Esoterik definiert die Grenze: Eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse zur Rolle der esoterischen Inhalte bei der Grenzziehung zwischen Mainstream und Alternative“. Journalismus und Grenzen - Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe "Journalistik/Journalismusforschung", Münster, .
- Unger, Saïd; Gruber, Johannes, Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Quandt, Thorsten : “Gaslight, Gather, Gatekeep? - Comparing access strategies for research on TikTok Data.” 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, .
- Heiberger, Raphael; Hofstra, Bas; Unger, Saïd, : “Professors in the Media: Dynamics of Reputation, Cumulative Advantage, and Gender”. 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, .
- Davydova, Anna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Gods of Telegram: A mixed methods exploration of patchwork religious groups on Telegram”. 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, .
- Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Shaping the Field: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Role of Journalism and Journalism Studies”. 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “The science of disinformation and intervention strategies: Revealing the potential for interdisciplinary perspectives on a rising research field”. 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, .
- Quandt, Thorsten; Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd : „Resilienz gegen Desinformationen: Entwicklung effektiver Interventionsstrategien“. Nationale Konferenz IT-Sicherheitsforschung 2025, Berlin, .
- Unger, Saïd; Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Alternative epistemic authorities - A mixed methods approach to referencing practices of users in alternative online publics ”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
- Davydova, Anna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Exploring patchwork religious groups – computational analysis of new ideological movements”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana , .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Features of disinformation: An interview study on disinformation perceptions with political, governmental, journalistic and economic decision-makers in Germany”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Hijacking information flows through initiating topic drifts: Analyzing temporal patterns of how counterpublic actors shift discourses about climate protests by inserting disinformation narratives”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
- Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Quandt, Thorsten : “Against the mainstream but for what? – An automated content analysis of worldviews in alternative online communities towards climate change”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Beisemann, Sofie; Unger, Said; Klapproth, Johanna; Davydova, Anna; Quandt, Thorsten : “Luring TikTok-Users into the right-wing rabbit hole via housekeeping and lifestyle content? Exploring #tradculture communities on TikTok”. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Institutionalizing Coping Strategies in a Changing Disinformation Environment? A Two-Wave Qualitative Panel Study with Political and Governmental Elites in Germany”. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Gold Coast, .
- Wu, Shangyuan; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Defining ‘Alternative Media’ in the Non-West: Uncovering Variations of ‘Alternativeness’ in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East”. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) (International Communication Association), Gold Coast, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Navigating cross-platform crisis coverage: Temporal patterns of topic dynamics in the information flow between news media and social media platforms”. 74th Annual International Communication Association Preconference “A Computational Turn in Journalism: Opportunities and Challenges in a Cross-Disciplinary Field”, National University of Singapore, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Fine-Tuning disinformation detection between journalist and machine: Introducing a human-in-the-loop framework for conceptualizing artificial intelligence-based detection strategies against disinformation campaigns in journalism practice”. 74th Annual International Communication Association Preconference “A Computational Turn in Journalism: Opportunities and Challenges in a Cross-Disciplinary Field”, National University of Singapore, .
- Quandt, Thorsten; Unger, Saïd; Wu, Shangyuan : “The mainstreaming of ‘Alternative Media’. Transformations and limitations of a core concept in journalism research.” 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) (International Communication Association), Gold Coast, .
- Grimme, Christian; Klapproth, Johanna; Stampe, Lucas; Lütke Stockdiek, Janina; Unger, Said; Quandt, Thorsten : “Human-AI Collaboration on Disinformation Campaign Detection in Social Media”. AI Research EXPO by CeNoS & InterKI, Münster, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : „Wettlauf um die Wahrheit? Eine Analyse der Diffusionsdynamiken von Prebunking Interventionen und Desinformationskampagnen in sozialen Netzwerken“. 69. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Erfurt, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Said; Quandt, Thorsten : „‚Und wenn wir uns als Politiker in diesem Moment nicht zurückhalten, […] dann schaden wir aber grundsätzlich dem ganzen System‘. Eine qualitative Befragung von politischen Entscheidungsträger:innen zur Normalisierung von Desinformation in politischen Debatten“. 69. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Erfurt, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Said; Klapproth, Johanna; Boesch, Marcus; Stöcker, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “#Stolzmonat: How German right-wing actors hijacked the pride-movement to spread patriotic and anti-queer narratives on TikTok”. 69. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Erfurt, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Pohl, Janina; Unger, Saïd; Stampe, Lucas; Boberg, Svenja; Grimme, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “Breaking Boundaries: Cross-Platform Analysis of User and Information Dynamics in the Case of German Climate Change Discussion”. 5th Symposium on Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media, Amsterdam, .
- Unger, Saïd; Klapproth, Johanna; Pohl, Janina; Boberg, Svenja; Grimme, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “Resisting Interventions: An agent based model of the effect of tie-dissolution on the diffusion of disinformation and prebunking interventions”. 5th Symposium on Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media, Amsterdam, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Saïd; Boesch, Marcus; Klapproth, Johanna; Stöcker, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “Hijacking #Pride: How right-wing actors in Germany tried to piggyback on the pride-movement to spread patriotic and anti-queer narratives on TikTok ”. 5th Symposium on Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media, Amsterdam, .
- Unger, Saïd; Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : „Alternative news, alternative experts? A topic model based comparison of epistemic authority between journalism and the Querdenken counter publics on Telegram.“ Jahrestagung der Fachgruppen Wissenschaftskommunikation und Journalistik/Journalismusforschung der DGPuK 2023, Passau, .
- Unger, Saïd; Wu, Shangyuan; Quandt, Thorsten : „"Alternative Media" as mainstream A longitudinal analysis of an evolving concept across time and space “. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppen Wissenschaftskommunikation und Journalistik/Journalismusforschung der DGPuK 2023, Passau, .
- Unger, Saïd; Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Quandt, Thorsten : “(Re)constructing Science – (Pseudo-)Science narratives in journalism and counter publics”. Future of Journalism Conference, Cardiff, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Crisis journalism as a pawn in the disinformation war? An automated content analysis of news media coverage on the Russian Invasion and its discussion in counterpublics”. Future of Journalism Conference, Cardiff, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Svenja Boberg; Thorsten Quandt : “Crisis coverage in journalism and counterpublics: Analyzing the shift of climate change narratives in polarized news flows”. Future of Journalism Conference, Cardiff, .
- Unger, Saïd; Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Quandt, Thorsten : “Tool Demo: topiconR - A tool for extracting characteristic words and documents from topicmodels and labeling them.” 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Toronto, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Attacked by Disinformation – Threat Perception and Coping Strategies towards Disinformation Campaigns by Political Elites in Germany”. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Toronto, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Pohl, Janina; Boberg, Svenja; Grimme, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “Countering Disinformation Campaigns: Analyzing Information Diffusion and Macrosocial Effects of Temporally Dynamic and Platform-Specific Intervention Strategies”. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Toronto, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : „Demokratische Destabilisierung durch Desinformation? Eine Analyse der Bedrohungswahrnehmung und Bewältigungsstrategien politischer Eliten in Deutschland“. 68. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Bremen, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Pohl, Janina; Boberg, Svenja; Grimme, Christian; Quandt, Thorsten : “Immunize the Public against Disinformation Campaigns: Developing a Framework for Analyzing Macrosocial Effects of Prebunking Interventions”. 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Maui, Hawaii, .
- Klapproth, Johanna; Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “Targeted as counterpart? Analyzing actor constellations in alternative news media Facebook Posts”. 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, .
- Unger, Saïd; Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Quandt, Thorsten : “Between information laundering and emotionalization: Analyzing the sharing and embedding of alternative and mainstream news media articles in counter public telegram channels”. 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, .
- Boberg, Svenja; Klapproth, Johanna; Unger, Saïd; Quandt, Thorsten : “The Alternative Media Repertoire: An Analysis of Shared Alternative and Mainstream Media Content in Counterpublic Telegram Channels”. International Conference of the Research Association NRW, Bonn, .
- Quandt, Thorsten; Boberg, Svenja; Unger, Saïd; Klapproth, Johanna : “Scenarios of dark participation in online counter publics: Comparing anti-Corona movements on Telegram and Twitter”. Media and Publics, Roskilde, .
- Unger, Saïd; : „Soziale Netzwerkanalyse von Koautorschaft“. Quantitative Wissenschaftsforschung und Computational Social Science, Online, .
