Measuring opinion power and diversity on the Internet: Towards a new conception of regulating media concentration

Project description

The project was dedicated to the question of how a contemporary measurement and regulation of opinion power on the Internet can be designed.

The aim of three sub-projects was to develop proposals on how the opinion power of intermediaries (e.g. social media, search engines, other politically relevant providers) can be determined and taken into account in the context of regulation.

The aim was to develop

1. elaborated and tested instruments for the identification of non-journalistic providers with political relevance,
2. procedures for the automated estimation of opinion power and diversity measurement in the area of ​​intermediaries,
3. and resulting recommendations for a contemporary regulation of media opinion power.

The first sub-pilot project found that ensuring diversity through regulation requires a focus on both providers and audiences. The researchers proposed an integrative opinion power monitoring system that considers content and usage diversity. In the second sub-project, they distinguished three degrees of opinion power:

1. First-degree opinion power includes opinion-forming processes that can influence actors content-wise;
2. Second-degree opinion power describes the ability to determine how diversely the content is used;
3. Third-degree opinion power describes concrete media effects.

The team concluded that in determining opinion power, both reach and content diversity must be considered. The last sub-pilot project designed a continuous opinion monitoring system consisting of:

1. The need to focus on current political information;
2. The focus on media brands in a cross-media perspective.

The aim of this approach is to depict the complexity of determining opinion power in the opinion-forming process and to identify potential threats.

The project was completed by 30 June, 2023.

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