Thursday Seminars by Jakob Ohme

How to study platform influences on digital democracies

Abstract

Digital platforms do not merely host democratic debate — they structure visibility, shape information flows, and influence how political opinions are formed. To understand these effects, we need theory-driven and longitudinal approaches that trace communicative processes over time, combining digital trace data, sequence-based analyses, and innovative data access methods. This talk presents a theoretical perspective on how to study the influence of digital platforms by using data donation exposure trajectories gathered around the 2025 German federal election. 

Bio

Jakob Ohme leads the interdisciplinary Digital News Dynamics research group at Weizenbaum Institute, which explores the impact and dissemination of professional journalism on digital platforms versus other sources such as influencers or artificial intelligence. Jakob’s work emphasizes the changes digital and mobile communications bring to news consumption and political engagement, particularly across different generations. He is dedicated to advancing digital methodologies in political communication and journalism research, notably through the innovative use of digital trace data. Jakob is also a co-principal investigator in the #DSA40 Collaboratory, focusing on collaborative access to platform data under the EU’s Digital Services Act. He previously held positions at the University of Amsterdam’s ASCoR and at the University of Southern Denmark, where he earned his PhD.