Research team
Expertise
Willem Buyens studies the role of different types of actors in the dissemination of and access to news in the digital context. He examined how strategic actors, such as politicians, influence what news their followers see on social media and looks at the influence of algorithms on perceptions of news. His research offers insights for journalism and political communication, and contributes to the understanding of the democratic role of news in a digital world.
Networked News Exposure: How public figures and their networks impact exposure to news on social media.
Abstract
On social media, individual users shape news production, distribution, and consumption. Public figures - such as politicians, journalists, social media influencers, entertainers and entrepreneurs - play a key role by engaging with online news content. Their interactions can influence which news reaches their followers, shaping how audiences perceive and engage with the news. This project examines these public figures as online news curators, exploring how they form content-based networks and how those networks impact news exposure and consumption in the digital age. Thus, the project will generate essential insights into the networked spread of the news on social media and its effects on individual users. The project will collect original survey, experimental, and content analysis data in Flanders and Austria, and employ mobile experience sampling methods to get a detailed account of news exposure on social media in Flanders. Using quantitative methods and social network analysis, this project will 1) map and analyze the characteristics of news curator networks, 2) model their impact on individual news repertoires, and 3) assess how social media network cues influence personal network-building. Taken together, these findings will reveal how social media users construct their online networks and how those networks shape news consumption and engagement.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Van Aelst Peter
- Fellow: Buyens Willem
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project