Digital Observatory of Political Discourse

At a time when online discourse is increasingly controlled by private platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and when fake news risks affecting elections and public health in Europe and the United States, there is a growing need for more transparency in online discourse. DIGIPOL argues that misinformation is one attribute of a larger digital information ecosystem over which we urgently require oversight. It launches a digital observatory of political discourse in the form of an online dashboard that tracks Twitter discourse in real-time. It is highly innovative - instead of an opinion poll, it models political science and media studies concepts (populism, expertise, echo chambers, and political identity) to present complex information on online discourse to policymakers, citizens, platforms, and researchers.