Felicia Loecherbach (University of Amsterdam): Inside the Feed: Data Donation and Political Behaviour on Social Media

• 23.06.2026
• 18:30 Clock
• Bremen Press-Club • Schnoor 27

Abstract

This talk discusses how data donation infrastructures can be used to study political behaviour on social media platforms. It introduces data donation as a way to access user-centric traces of political information exposure and engagement that are otherwise difficult to obtain, and reflects on key conceptual and methodological challenges such as sampling, validity, and ethics. Drawing on ongoing work, the presentation outlines how donated platform data can be linked to survey measures of attitudes and behaviour, and sketches opportunities for future collaborative projects in the broader field of political communication and platform research.

Bio

Felicia Loecherbach is an Assistant Professor of Political Communication and Journalism at the University of Amsterdam (AScoR) and Faculty Research Affiliate at the Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University. As ZeMKI Research Fellow she explores user perceptions of algorithmic curation and information diversity, collaborating with the Labs Digital Communication and Information Diversity and Political Communication and Innovative Methods. Loecherbach’s research applies computational methods to study digital media environments, with a focus on news diversity, algorithmic curation and data donation methodologies. She has published in leading journals such as Journalism, Digital Journalism and Internet Policy Review. Her work has been recognized with awards including the KHMW Keetje Hodshon Dissertation Prize, and she has secured competitive research funding from the Dutch Research Council. Loecherbach serves as Secretary of the Computational Methods Division of the International Communication Association and sits on the editorial board of Computational Communication Research. She is also active in teaching advanced methods courses, including automated image analysis.