With a view to the German federal election on 23 February 2025, communication scientists discussed the influence of social media on the election campaign and the outcome of the election. In a virtual press meeting held in German by the Science Media Center on 8 January, Prof. Dr. Judith Möller from the HBI was joined by Prof. Dr. Andreas Jungherr (University of Bamberg) and Dr. Philipp Müller (University of Mannheim). Bastian Zimmermann from the Science Media Center moderated the discussion.
Judith Möller emphasized that social media offer both political actors and their supporters many advantages over traditional media. These include better networking, the possibility of easy participation, the independent creation of content and its personalization.
Citizens’ voting decisions, in turn, depend on a great many factors, according to Judith Möller. The share of the voting decision for which media in general or social media in particular are solely responsible is small. However, even a few percentage points can decide an election, which is why the online election campaign should not be ignored.
Photo by Joseph Mucira on Pixabay (edited).