From September 4 to 5, 2025, the University of Innsbruck, Austria, hosts the ECREA Political Communication Section Interim Conference. There, researchers from across Europe discuss current trends, theories, and findings in political communication research. Under the motto “Connecting,” the focus will be on how political messages are communicated, interpreted, and implemented across platforms and contexts.
As part of program panel I, session C “Incivility & Counterspeech,” CAIS researchers Ahrabhi Kathirgamalingam and Max Wehrle from the research program “Societal Cohesion in Digital Media Environments”, together with Anna Maria Planitzer from the University of Vienna, present on Thursday, September 4, their research project titled “Collective Voices: Understanding Counter-Speech Strategies for Safer Digital Spaces”.
About the research project
Digital platforms are increasingly affected by norm-violating content, and while explicit content is deleted by platforms, addressing legal but harmful speech remains a challenge. Effectively managing such borderline speech is crucial for preserving the integrity of digital spaces. One approach is counter-speech, which aims to mitigate the harm of content. This work-in-progress specifically focuses on volunteer groups engaged in organized counter-speech, also known as collective civic moderation (CCM), which has gained prominence globally (e.g., No Hate Speech Movement, #IamHere Network). Counter-speech strategies, including asking questions, providing factual information, and using a positive tone, vary greatly depending on the context. Yet little is known about which factors influence their choice of strategy. Understanding these dynamics, however, is essential for developing effective interventions. To do so, the team studies 1,011 documented interventions from ten trained counters-speakers of an initiative responding to incivility in news comment sections over five months.
The full program and further information on the conference are available online:
https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/congress/ecreapolcomm25