The Berlin Media Effects Lab is located in the “Villa" in Berlin Dahlem (Otto-von-Simson-Strasse 3, 14195 Berlin), where we conduct various types of empirical studies, particularly in the following research areas:
- Media effects in digital arenas
- Political communication
- Social media influencers (SMI)
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Misinformation
- Political polarization
- Political scandals
At the Berlin Media Effects Lab, part of the Media Effects Research Unit at Freie Universität Berlin led by Dr. Christian von Sikorski, we study media effects, particularly in digital arenas such as social media, with a focus on political communication and media psychology.
In times of political crises, societal change, and a rapidly evolving media landscape, communication science and media effects research are becoming increasingly important. Political information is increasingly mediated through digital channels, most notably social media platforms and, more recently, AI-powered conversational agents such as chatbots. This development raises pressing societal questions that the Media Effects Research Unit at Freie Universität addresses in research and teaching, including:
- How do (social) media influence political polarization, (anti-)democratic attitudes, and intergroup relations, and which interventions could reduce these effects?
- What political effects arise from new digital communicators such as social media influencers, particularly regarding knowledge dissemination and trust in traditional media?
- How does the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into communication processes affect media users, and how do people interact with communicative AI?
- What are the consequences of the scandalization of political actors in media coverage?
- How do individuals evaluate the epistemic authority of emerging sources of news and political information, and to what extent do these channels contribute to political learning in increasingly "polluted" (misinformation/disinformation) media environments?
The Media Effects Research Unit has an international focus and collaborates regularly with universities in Europe (e.g., Amsterdam, Vienna, Oxford) and the United States (e.g., Ohio State University) and elsewhere.
CONTACT
Christian von Sikorski, PhD
Professor of Communication
Free University of Berlin
Department of Communication
Garystr. 55, 14195 Berlin, Germany