Jan Rau at re:publica 2025: Digital platforms and democratic discourse

Jan Rau, ZeMKI member, will give a lecture on 27 May 2025 at 7:15 pm at re:publica 2025 in Berlin on the topic “Beyond the anger machine: How digital platforms can promote democratic discourse” 

In his presentation, Jan Rau will shed light on how digital platforms amplify anger and conflict through mechanisms of the attention economy and thus make democratic discourse more difficult. These effects promote hyperpolarization and strengthen authoritarian forces. In light of this, the lecture will discuss how regulations such as the Digital Services Act and alternative platform architectures can offer potential for a more democratic digital public sphere. 

The lecture will take place on May 27th from 19:15-19:45 in the ‘Lightning Box 1’.

Abstract: 

In the digital attention economy, it is often less important what is said than how much visibility and engagement – i.e. likes, shares, comments – it gets. We know from research that content that conveys anger and conflict attracts the attention of users particularly easily. These are artificially amplified by the platforms and political communicators adapt accordingly.

This is problematic for democracy: although it thrives on controversy and dissent, it also needs people to come together. The mechanisms described above promote hyperpolarization, make civil discourse more difficult and strengthen authoritarian forces.

The Digital Services Act obliges large platforms in the EU to identify systemic risks such as hyperpolarization and to implement countermeasures. The talk will shed light on the emerging space of opportunity to make the digital public sphere more democratic and discuss how alternative platform architectures can create new mechanisms of attention distribution.