Curd Knüpfer
@curdknupfer.bsky.social
Associate professor of political communication @ddc-sdu.bsky.social, University of Southern Denmark.
Focus on digital & right-wing media + parties.
Associate Editor @ International Journal of Press/Politics
Focus on digital & right-wing media + parties.
Associate Editor @ International Journal of Press/Politics
Pinned
Curd Knüpfer
@curdknupfer.bsky.social
· May 21
✨NEW BOOK CHAPTER OUT✨
The Phantom Counter-Public:
Liberal Responsiveness to Far-right Information Networks as the Next Crisis of Public Communication.
doi.org/10.1007/978-...
In: Coleman et al.: Public Communication in Freefall: Revisiting the Work of Jay Blumler.
🧵⤵️
The Phantom Counter-Public:
Liberal Responsiveness to Far-right Information Networks as the Next Crisis of Public Communication.
doi.org/10.1007/978-...
In: Coleman et al.: Public Communication in Freefall: Revisiting the Work of Jay Blumler.
🧵⤵️
This is such an excellent book and a veritable who's-who of #PolComm scholarship, full of prescient observations on the role of journalism, data, race / social identities, and new forms of networked mobilization in the current state of US crisis...
Put it on your syllabi/reading lists!
Put it on your syllabi/reading lists!
January 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM
This is such an excellent book and a veritable who's-who of #PolComm scholarship, full of prescient observations on the role of journalism, data, race / social identities, and new forms of networked mobilization in the current state of US crisis...
Put it on your syllabi/reading lists!
Put it on your syllabi/reading lists!
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
Next Tuesday (13.01) at 12-13 (CET), I will present the paper on how political elites spread conspiratorial discourse across X and Facebook for the ECR online series of @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social. Link below for anyone interested! Event is free of charge, but one needs to register
ecpr.eu/Events/332
ecpr.eu/Events/332
January 6, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Next Tuesday (13.01) at 12-13 (CET), I will present the paper on how political elites spread conspiratorial discourse across X and Facebook for the ECR online series of @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social. Link below for anyone interested! Event is free of charge, but one needs to register
ecpr.eu/Events/332
ecpr.eu/Events/332
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
Looks like an important paper. Showing the link between extreme news and social media and extreme politicians.
Reminds me of @katestarbird.bsky.social ideas on participatory disinformation.
Reminds me of @katestarbird.bsky.social ideas on participatory disinformation.
🚨NEW PAPER
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
The Logic of Connective Faction: How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
Across democratic systems, ideological cleavages increasingly emerge not only between but also within political parties. At the same time, hyperpartisan and digitally networked media ecosystems amp...
doi.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Looks like an important paper. Showing the link between extreme news and social media and extreme politicians.
Reminds me of @katestarbird.bsky.social ideas on participatory disinformation.
Reminds me of @katestarbird.bsky.social ideas on participatory disinformation.
🚨NEW PAPER
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
The Logic of Connective Faction: How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
Across democratic systems, ideological cleavages increasingly emerge not only between but also within political parties. At the same time, hyperpartisan and digitally networked media ecosystems amp...
doi.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:36 AM
🚨NEW PAPER
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
The Logic of Connective Faction:
How Digitally Networked Elites and Hyper-Partisan Media Radicalize Politics
w/ @yunkangyang.bsky.social & @mikecowburn.bsky.social
Online radicalization doesn't just affect the public.
It also reshapes how elites & parties behave. doi.org/10.1080/1058...
In case you missed this:
Full professorship opening up with us at the @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and the University of Southern Denmark!
Please forward to anyone who might be qualified/interested!
Full professorship opening up with us at the @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and the University of Southern Denmark!
Please forward to anyone who might be qualified/interested!
New year, new (job) opportunities: Full professorship in Digital Society and Democracy.
What: excellent conditions, start-up and transition packages, interdisciplinary and supportive environment, wonderful colleagues.
[1/2]
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
What: excellent conditions, start-up and transition packages, interdisciplinary and supportive environment, wonderful colleagues.
[1/2]
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
DIAS Professorship in Digital Society and Democracy
Application deadline: March 15, 2026, 11.59 PM/23.59 CET/CEST.
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:16 AM
In case you missed this:
Full professorship opening up with us at the @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and the University of Southern Denmark!
Please forward to anyone who might be qualified/interested!
Full professorship opening up with us at the @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and the University of Southern Denmark!
Please forward to anyone who might be qualified/interested!
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
January 4, 2026 at 3:14 AM
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
Very informative thread summarising some of the existing literature on whether there is a demand side to democratic backsliding. ⤵️
By way of preparing for teaching and making sense of current events, I spent today trying to synthesise the demand-side literature on democratic backsliding (see figure below). The starting point of most of this literature is simple: Do voters punish politicians who violate democratic norms, or do
January 3, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Very informative thread summarising some of the existing literature on whether there is a demand side to democratic backsliding. ⤵️
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
Nina Jankowicz: “They’re not doing this because they have any evidence of censorship — they lost a Supreme Court case that made those claims… They’re doing this because the group of researchers and advocates have stood up to liars like Donald Trump and the platforms that enable them.”
“Chilling and unconstitutional” — @attorneynora.bsky.social @freepress.bsky.social
U.S. Bars 5 European Tech Regulators and Researchers
www.nytimes.com
December 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Nina Jankowicz: “They’re not doing this because they have any evidence of censorship — they lost a Supreme Court case that made those claims… They’re doing this because the group of researchers and advocates have stood up to liars like Donald Trump and the platforms that enable them.”
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
📣 @pietrocastellig.bsky.social and I are absolutely thrilled to announce that the call for the 5th @ecpr.bsky.social Summer School on ‘Concepts and Methods for Research on Far-Right Politics’ is now open!
🇮🇹 The event will be hosted by @unibo.it, from 6 to 10 July 2026.
🔗 ecpr.eu/Events/353
🇮🇹 The event will be hosted by @unibo.it, from 6 to 10 July 2026.
🔗 ecpr.eu/Events/353
Summer School of the Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy, University of Bologna, 6 – 10 July 2026
European Consortium for Political Research
ecpr.eu
December 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
📣 @pietrocastellig.bsky.social and I are absolutely thrilled to announce that the call for the 5th @ecpr.bsky.social Summer School on ‘Concepts and Methods for Research on Far-Right Politics’ is now open!
🇮🇹 The event will be hosted by @unibo.it, from 6 to 10 July 2026.
🔗 ecpr.eu/Events/353
🇮🇹 The event will be hosted by @unibo.it, from 6 to 10 July 2026.
🔗 ecpr.eu/Events/353
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
FULL PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY
...at the DDC and DIAS, here at the University of Southern Denmark 🇩🇰
...open to various disciplines, including law, economics, political science, communication, journalism, or AI.
More info:
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
...at the DDC and DIAS, here at the University of Southern Denmark 🇩🇰
...open to various disciplines, including law, economics, political science, communication, journalism, or AI.
More info:
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
December 15, 2025 at 12:36 PM
FULL PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY
...at the DDC and DIAS, here at the University of Southern Denmark 🇩🇰
...open to various disciplines, including law, economics, political science, communication, journalism, or AI.
More info:
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
...at the DDC and DIAS, here at the University of Southern Denmark 🇩🇰
...open to various disciplines, including law, economics, political science, communication, journalism, or AI.
More info:
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
COME WORK WITH US ON DIGITAL SOCIETY & DEMOCRACY IN 🇩🇰!
Full Professorship. Fantastic conditions. Highly dynamic team environment. Great colleagues. FUN!
Happy to answer questions and make introductions to the rest of the team...
Full Professorship. Fantastic conditions. Highly dynamic team environment. Great colleagues. FUN!
Happy to answer questions and make introductions to the rest of the team...
Excellent job opportunity: Full professorship in Digital Society and Democracy @ddc-sdu.bsky.social and @d-ias.bsky.social.
Top conditions, environment & colleagues.
Candidates welcome across places and disciplines.
🗓️ DL: March 15, 2026
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Top conditions, environment & colleagues.
Candidates welcome across places and disciplines.
🗓️ DL: March 15, 2026
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
DIAS Professorship in Digital Society and Democracy
Application deadline: March 15, 2026, 11.59 PM/23.59 CET/CEST.
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:18 PM
COME WORK WITH US ON DIGITAL SOCIETY & DEMOCRACY IN 🇩🇰!
Full Professorship. Fantastic conditions. Highly dynamic team environment. Great colleagues. FUN!
Happy to answer questions and make introductions to the rest of the team...
Full Professorship. Fantastic conditions. Highly dynamic team environment. Great colleagues. FUN!
Happy to answer questions and make introductions to the rest of the team...
Cool study on how motivated reasoning shapes politicians' perception of public support for policies.
I would add that, increasingly, skewed perceptions due to the salience of particular online formations (what becomes "loud" and visible online) are likely to also play a role in this.
I would add that, increasingly, skewed perceptions due to the salience of particular online formations (what becomes "loud" and visible online) are likely to also play a role in this.
Politicians often overestimate citizen indifference to policies, likely reflecting scepticism about whether opinions are genuine or just survey responses link.springer.com/article/10.1...
How Politicians (mis)Perceive Policy Salience - Political Behavior
For representation to work well, elected politicians need to have a good grasp not just of which policies citizens support but also of which policies are most salient to citizens. Recent studies have ...
link.springer.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Cool study on how motivated reasoning shapes politicians' perception of public support for policies.
I would add that, increasingly, skewed perceptions due to the salience of particular online formations (what becomes "loud" and visible online) are likely to also play a role in this.
I would add that, increasingly, skewed perceptions due to the salience of particular online formations (what becomes "loud" and visible online) are likely to also play a role in this.
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
Politicians often overestimate citizen indifference to policies, likely reflecting scepticism about whether opinions are genuine or just survey responses link.springer.com/article/10.1...
How Politicians (mis)Perceive Policy Salience - Political Behavior
For representation to work well, elected politicians need to have a good grasp not just of which policies citizens support but also of which policies are most salient to citizens. Recent studies have ...
link.springer.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Politicians often overestimate citizen indifference to policies, likely reflecting scepticism about whether opinions are genuine or just survey responses link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Pssssst... 🤫
You can read/download/cite my contributions on Agenda Surfing and Far-Right Communication FOR FREE via the Preprint versions:
portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publicati...
You can read/download/cite my contributions on Agenda Surfing and Far-Right Communication FOR FREE via the Preprint versions:
portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publicati...
December 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Pssssst... 🤫
You can read/download/cite my contributions on Agenda Surfing and Far-Right Communication FOR FREE via the Preprint versions:
portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publicati...
You can read/download/cite my contributions on Agenda Surfing and Far-Right Communication FOR FREE via the Preprint versions:
portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/publicati...
Gibt viel Erklärungsbedarf zum US Medien System. Hier nochmal beim SRF🇨🇭
Stichwort: Konsolidierung und Fragmentierung als 2 Seiten der gleichen Münze
www.srf.ch/audio/srf-4-...
Stichwort: Konsolidierung und Fragmentierung als 2 Seiten der gleichen Münze
www.srf.ch/audio/srf-4-...
December 11, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Gibt viel Erklärungsbedarf zum US Medien System. Hier nochmal beim SRF🇨🇭
Stichwort: Konsolidierung und Fragmentierung als 2 Seiten der gleichen Münze
www.srf.ch/audio/srf-4-...
Stichwort: Konsolidierung und Fragmentierung als 2 Seiten der gleichen Münze
www.srf.ch/audio/srf-4-...
Here's my entry on
AGENDA SURFING 📰🏄♀
in the now published ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION.
Learn all about how social actors can attach their messaging to previously established agendas to "surf" the waves of public attention. Cool stuff!
www.elgaronline.com/display/book...
AGENDA SURFING 📰🏄♀
in the now published ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION.
Learn all about how social actors can attach their messaging to previously established agendas to "surf" the waves of public attention. Cool stuff!
www.elgaronline.com/display/book...
December 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Here's my entry on
AGENDA SURFING 📰🏄♀
in the now published ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION.
Learn all about how social actors can attach their messaging to previously established agendas to "surf" the waves of public attention. Cool stuff!
www.elgaronline.com/display/book...
AGENDA SURFING 📰🏄♀
in the now published ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION.
Learn all about how social actors can attach their messaging to previously established agendas to "surf" the waves of public attention. Cool stuff!
www.elgaronline.com/display/book...
My day started with a pretty painful rejection for a grant I'd been working on. 💔
Shortly after I received word that my paper with @yunkangyang.bsky.social and @mikecowburn.bsky.social got accepted to Political Communication.
So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
Shortly after I received word that my paper with @yunkangyang.bsky.social and @mikecowburn.bsky.social got accepted to Political Communication.
So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
December 10, 2025 at 5:13 PM
My day started with a pretty painful rejection for a grant I'd been working on. 💔
Shortly after I received word that my paper with @yunkangyang.bsky.social and @mikecowburn.bsky.social got accepted to Political Communication.
So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
Shortly after I received word that my paper with @yunkangyang.bsky.social and @mikecowburn.bsky.social got accepted to Political Communication.
So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
December 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Interview mit ZDF live zum Themenkomplex Medienkonsolidierung in den USA.
TLDW: no good can come of this. Aber: hier sind größere Mächte am Werk als "nur" Trump.
Und: unter normalen Umständen hätte ich sehr starke Zweifel, dass das so durchgeht...
www.youtube.com/live/da3-btX...
TLDW: no good can come of this. Aber: hier sind größere Mächte am Werk als "nur" Trump.
Und: unter normalen Umständen hätte ich sehr starke Zweifel, dass das so durchgeht...
www.youtube.com/live/da3-btX...
Netflix vs. Paramount: Trump-Freund überbietet Netflix bei Warner-Übernahme | ZDFheute live
YouTube video by ZDFheute Nachrichten
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Interview mit ZDF live zum Themenkomplex Medienkonsolidierung in den USA.
TLDW: no good can come of this. Aber: hier sind größere Mächte am Werk als "nur" Trump.
Und: unter normalen Umständen hätte ich sehr starke Zweifel, dass das so durchgeht...
www.youtube.com/live/da3-btX...
TLDW: no good can come of this. Aber: hier sind größere Mächte am Werk als "nur" Trump.
Und: unter normalen Umständen hätte ich sehr starke Zweifel, dass das so durchgeht...
www.youtube.com/live/da3-btX...
I'm back in the top 1% of global Mountain Goats listeners. 🏔️🐐
In case anyone was wondering.
In case anyone was wondering.
December 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
I'm back in the top 1% of global Mountain Goats listeners. 🏔️🐐
In case anyone was wondering.
In case anyone was wondering.
The @ddc-sdu.bsky.social (where I work), has an ongoing collaboration with TrygFonden, which allows us to fund project-based fellowships.
The upcoming cohort has 15(!) colleagues from academia, journalism, & policy coming in.
Cool stuff.
...And the fellowship will continue in 26/27. 👀
The upcoming cohort has 15(!) colleagues from academia, journalism, & policy coming in.
Cool stuff.
...And the fellowship will continue in 26/27. 👀
𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗗𝗗𝗖 𝘅 𝗧𝗿𝘆𝗴𝗙𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁!
We are thrilled to introduce the 15 (!) researchers, journalists, & policy experts from 9 countries to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our time: the impact of digital technologies on democratic societies.
We are thrilled to introduce the 15 (!) researchers, journalists, & policy experts from 9 countries to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our time: the impact of digital technologies on democratic societies.
December 1, 2025 at 11:37 AM
The @ddc-sdu.bsky.social (where I work), has an ongoing collaboration with TrygFonden, which allows us to fund project-based fellowships.
The upcoming cohort has 15(!) colleagues from academia, journalism, & policy coming in.
Cool stuff.
...And the fellowship will continue in 26/27. 👀
The upcoming cohort has 15(!) colleagues from academia, journalism, & policy coming in.
Cool stuff.
...And the fellowship will continue in 26/27. 👀
Now that the 11th annual conference of the International Journal of Press/Politics #IJPP2025 is over, I am back on European ground, & wanted to reiterate that it remains my favorite smaller conference.
So many interesting projects, so broad + international & yet so constructive + focused.
10/10!
So many interesting projects, so broad + international & yet so constructive + focused.
10/10!
Kicking off #IJPP25 with welcoming words by our Editor in Chief @taberez.bsky.social, followed by an excellent keynote by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social on how the rise of illiberal public spheres forces us to reconsider normative assumptions in #polcomm. Focusing on publics, media trust, & disinfo.
November 23, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Now that the 11th annual conference of the International Journal of Press/Politics #IJPP2025 is over, I am back on European ground, & wanted to reiterate that it remains my favorite smaller conference.
So many interesting projects, so broad + international & yet so constructive + focused.
10/10!
So many interesting projects, so broad + international & yet so constructive + focused.
10/10!
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
not good
www.wired.com/story/senato...
www.wired.com/story/senato...
Senators Want Extremism Researchers to Surrender Documents Linked to Right-Wing Grudges
The Senate homeland security committee's chair has asked researchers to turn over troves of documents related to the January 6 attack, vaccines, and more, according to a letter reviewed by WIRED.
www.wired.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:35 AM
not good
www.wired.com/story/senato...
www.wired.com/story/senato...
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
Nachreichen möchten wir außerdem ein Paper von @curdknupfer.bsky.social, Lance W. Bennett & @ulrikeklinger.bsky.social zu Normalisierung durch überproportionale mediale Berichterstattung über disruptive politische Akteur*innen aufgrund eben dieser Disruptivität:
doi.org/10.1093/joc/...
doi.org/10.1093/joc/...
Far-right challenges to liberal democratic press norms: “indexing by proxy” in a German immigration debate
Abstract. This study examines the mechanisms by which illiberal politics make the news by disrupting democratic systems. During the late 20th century, a li
doi.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Nachreichen möchten wir außerdem ein Paper von @curdknupfer.bsky.social, Lance W. Bennett & @ulrikeklinger.bsky.social zu Normalisierung durch überproportionale mediale Berichterstattung über disruptive politische Akteur*innen aufgrund eben dieser Disruptivität:
doi.org/10.1093/joc/...
doi.org/10.1093/joc/...
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
#NeuesausderForschung
Gervais et al. untersuchen den Zusammenhang zwischen autoritärer Persönlichkeit und der Unterstützung politischer Gewalt; u.a. mit einem Fokus auf den Widerspruch zwischen autoritärer Unterwerfung und der Billigung von Gewalt gegen Autoritäten: doi.org/10.1017/S104...
Gervais et al. untersuchen den Zusammenhang zwischen autoritärer Persönlichkeit und der Unterstützung politischer Gewalt; u.a. mit einem Fokus auf den Widerspruch zwischen autoritärer Unterwerfung und der Billigung von Gewalt gegen Autoritäten: doi.org/10.1017/S104...
November 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
#NeuesausderForschung
Gervais et al. untersuchen den Zusammenhang zwischen autoritärer Persönlichkeit und der Unterstützung politischer Gewalt; u.a. mit einem Fokus auf den Widerspruch zwischen autoritärer Unterwerfung und der Billigung von Gewalt gegen Autoritäten: doi.org/10.1017/S104...
Gervais et al. untersuchen den Zusammenhang zwischen autoritärer Persönlichkeit und der Unterstützung politischer Gewalt; u.a. mit einem Fokus auf den Widerspruch zwischen autoritärer Unterwerfung und der Billigung von Gewalt gegen Autoritäten: doi.org/10.1017/S104...