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.
🧵⤵️
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
4 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐏𝐡𝐝, 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜, 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫) 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐃𝐂!!! 😯🤩
The DDC is expanding its team with *4* new opportunities for researchers passionate about the intersection of AI, media, democracy, & society.
Deadline: 📅 Feb 15 for 3 of these roles!
The Professorship deadline follows in March.🧵👇
The DDC is expanding its team with *4* new opportunities for researchers passionate about the intersection of AI, media, democracy, & society.
Deadline: 📅 Feb 15 for 3 of these roles!
The Professorship deadline follows in March.🧵👇
Postdoc position(s) at The Digital Democracy Centre
Application deadline: February 15th, 2026, 23:59 CET/CEST.
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:12 PM
4 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐏𝐡𝐝, 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐜, 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫) 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐃𝐂!!! 😯🤩
The DDC is expanding its team with *4* new opportunities for researchers passionate about the intersection of AI, media, democracy, & society.
Deadline: 📅 Feb 15 for 3 of these roles!
The Professorship deadline follows in March.🧵👇
The DDC is expanding its team with *4* new opportunities for researchers passionate about the intersection of AI, media, democracy, & society.
Deadline: 📅 Feb 15 for 3 of these roles!
The Professorship deadline follows in March.🧵👇
Have we considered that there might just have been too many snakes?
January 21, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Have we considered that there might just have been too many snakes?
I wrote this almost 10 years ago and, unfortunately, it still holds up:
January 20, 2026 at 10:31 AM
I wrote this almost 10 years ago and, unfortunately, it still holds up:
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
"The wealth and power of oligarchs far exceed their *Gilded Age* peak."
Gabriel Zucman on the shocking concentration of extreme wealth in the United States….
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
January 19, 2026 at 5:31 PM
"The wealth and power of oligarchs far exceed their *Gilded Age* peak."
We have a fantastic cohort of fellows joining us in 2026.
So many important topics ranging from gendered violence against journalists, DSA implementation, media reporting of deep fakes, the upcoming Danish elections, ...
Looking forward to meeting everyone in person, here at @ddc-sdu.bsky.social.
So many important topics ranging from gendered violence against journalists, DSA implementation, media reporting of deep fakes, the upcoming Danish elections, ...
Looking forward to meeting everyone in person, here at @ddc-sdu.bsky.social.
First (digital) meeting of our 2026 TrygFonden X Digital Democracy Centre (SDU) Fellowship cohort this morning.
Lots of smiling faces, excited to get to work on some of the most pressing issues affecting democratic societies in the digital age.
Read more about them here:
www.sdu.dk/en/forskning...
Lots of smiling faces, excited to get to work on some of the most pressing issues affecting democratic societies in the digital age.
Read more about them here:
www.sdu.dk/en/forskning...
January 16, 2026 at 10:16 AM
We have a fantastic cohort of fellows joining us in 2026.
So many important topics ranging from gendered violence against journalists, DSA implementation, media reporting of deep fakes, the upcoming Danish elections, ...
Looking forward to meeting everyone in person, here at @ddc-sdu.bsky.social.
So many important topics ranging from gendered violence against journalists, DSA implementation, media reporting of deep fakes, the upcoming Danish elections, ...
Looking forward to meeting everyone in person, here at @ddc-sdu.bsky.social.
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
🚨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...
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
If a new app was produced which had, as its core features, the generation of sexual deep fake images of children and calls for a violent global far-right revolution, then not only would it be swiftly banned, but you wouldn't have a single mainstream politician willing to associate themselves with it
January 9, 2026 at 10:30 AM
If a new app was produced which had, as its core features, the generation of sexual deep fake images of children and calls for a violent global far-right revolution, then not only would it be swiftly banned, but you wouldn't have a single mainstream politician willing to associate themselves with it
✨Get yourself some FREE BOOK CHAPTERS!!! 🤩⤵️
(Temporarily open access)
(Temporarily open access)
The 📚 Encyclopedia of Political Communication 📚 is now out in the wild, and a first awesome batch of entries is available in open access!
Read them, love them, use them for your courses! 🔥
Check the 🧵 below to access them
Plz repost for maximum diffusion
Read them, love them, use them for your courses! 🔥
Check the 🧵 below to access them
Plz repost for maximum diffusion
January 8, 2026 at 1:44 PM
✨Get yourself some FREE BOOK CHAPTERS!!! 🤩⤵️
(Temporarily open access)
(Temporarily open access)
My chapter on Far-right Communication is currently open access!
...Along with some other fantastic entries.
Check them out!
(And maybe go ahead and download them... while you can.)
...Along with some other fantastic entries.
Check them out!
(And maybe go ahead and download them... while you can.)
January 8, 2026 at 1:43 PM
My chapter on Far-right Communication is currently open access!
...Along with some other fantastic entries.
Check them out!
(And maybe go ahead and download them... while you can.)
...Along with some other fantastic entries.
Check them out!
(And maybe go ahead and download them... while you can.)
The concept of clickdatorship pairs really well with our observations on an emerging "logic of connective faction".
bsky.app/profile/curd...
bsky.app/profile/curd...
New, from me: The Trump administration isn’t just using social media to shape a narrative. They view the world through a social media lens in a way that is plausibly corrupting their judgment and undermining their performance.
Welcome to the clicktatorship. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/life-under...
Welcome to the clicktatorship. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/life-under...
Life Under a Clicktatorship
What happens to government when everything is content?
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:50 PM
The concept of clickdatorship pairs really well with our observations on an emerging "logic of connective faction".
bsky.app/profile/curd...
bsky.app/profile/curd...
Come work with us!
New PhD / Postdoc positions here at the Digital Democracy Centre! 👇
New PhD / Postdoc positions here at the Digital Democracy Centre! 👇
PLEASE SHARE
📣 Multi-position (PhD and postdoc) call for an interdisciplinary project on "AI in the News Ecosystem: Navigating Trust and Authenticity”
Project @ddc-sdu.bsky.social (Digital Democracy Centre (SDU)).
Multiple positions with different backgrounds and profiles.
Links in🧵
#commsky
📣 Multi-position (PhD and postdoc) call for an interdisciplinary project on "AI in the News Ecosystem: Navigating Trust and Authenticity”
Project @ddc-sdu.bsky.social (Digital Democracy Centre (SDU)).
Multiple positions with different backgrounds and profiles.
Links in🧵
#commsky
January 8, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Come work with us!
New PhD / Postdoc positions here at the Digital Democracy Centre! 👇
New PhD / Postdoc positions here at the Digital Democracy Centre! 👇
Reposted by Curd Knüpfer
🚨NEW PAPER
Going Local? Localized Rhetoric in Congressional Communications
Is congressional comms really nationalized?
Analyzing 9M+ social media posts from Members of Congress, I show that local messaging is still common & strategic. New ML + domain sharing data
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Going Local? Localized Rhetoric in Congressional Communications
Is congressional comms really nationalized?
Analyzing 9M+ social media posts from Members of Congress, I show that local messaging is still common & strategic. New ML + domain sharing data
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Going Local? Localized Rhetoric in Congressional Communications
In the face of the purported nationalization of political discourse in the United States, to what extent do congressional representatives still engage locally through their public communications? B...
www.tandfonline.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:11 AM
🚨NEW PAPER
Going Local? Localized Rhetoric in Congressional Communications
Is congressional comms really nationalized?
Analyzing 9M+ social media posts from Members of Congress, I show that local messaging is still common & strategic. New ML + domain sharing data
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Going Local? Localized Rhetoric in Congressional Communications
Is congressional comms really nationalized?
Analyzing 9M+ social media posts from Members of Congress, I show that local messaging is still common & strategic. New ML + domain sharing data
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Part of journalism's core social functions, is to hold decision makers accountable for their actions.
Occasionally, this will amount to public shaming.
Great work on that front by the Financial Times:
www.ft.com/content/ad94...
Occasionally, this will amount to public shaming.
Great work on that front by the Financial Times:
www.ft.com/content/ad94...
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
www.ft.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:03 AM
Part of journalism's core social functions, is to hold decision makers accountable for their actions.
Occasionally, this will amount to public shaming.
Great work on that front by the Financial Times:
www.ft.com/content/ad94...
Occasionally, this will amount to public shaming.
Great work on that front by the Financial Times:
www.ft.com/content/ad94...
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.