Global Media Journal – German Edition: open access, peer-reviewed journal (no APCs), specializing in international and transcultural media studies
Nadja-Christina Schneider (2025). Transkulturelle Medien und Kommunikation
Copyright (c) 2026 Christine Horz-Ishak https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Norms, Power Relations and Injustices in Digitality: Global Perspectives. An Introduction to the Special Section on Content Moderation
This introduction to the Global Media Journal – German Edition’s Special Section on content moderation critically examines the governance challenges of regulating online content in the digital age. It argues that the removal of content deemed illicit, detrimental or otherwise unacceptable by established standards is often framed as neutral gatekeeping even though it operates within contested power dynamics that lack rigorous and sound frameworks to assess its real-world impacts on freedom of expression, safety, and social justice. The authors highlight historical parallels to pre-modern censorship struggles following the invention of the printing press, emphasising that digital public spheres require forms of robust civility, not mere technical fixes. Current practices of content moderation reveal deep tensions: platforms increasingly employ automated systems for this endeavour, yet this risks amplifying harmful content and creating ethical dilemmas, while low-wage, high-stress labour conditions for human moderators (“clickworkers”) expose systemic exploitation. The Special Section addresses these gaps through four case studies.
Special Section: Norms, Power Relations and Injustices in Digitality
Copyright (c) 2026 Christoph Böhm, Prof. Dr. phil. Oliver Zöllner https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Critical Dialogue on the Cosmopolitan Turn in Communication Studies
This discussion engages with the collective volume Cosmopolitan Communication Studies: Toward Deep Internationalization. The editors and contributors call for a cosmopolitan reorientation of communication studies that transcends enduring Eurocentric biases. The proposed cosmopolitan approach advocates for inclusivity, context sensitivity, and the recognition of non-Western knowledge production as intellectually generative rather than derivative. By foregrounding comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives, the volume seeks to make deep internationalization a practical and ethical academic endeavor. The dialogue with scholars from around the world underscores cosmopolitanism not merely as methodology but as a mindset—aiming to reduce epistemic violence, resist authoritarian instrumentalization, and foster genuine global interconnectedness in the production of communication scholarship.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anke Fiedler, Cherian George, Winston Mano, Melanie Radue, Carola Richter, Ylva Rodny-Gumede, Michael Yao Wodui Serwornoo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Silvio Waisbord (2025). An Introduction to Journalism: Thinking Globally.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mira Keßler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Priorities Were Chosen by Donors” - A Critical Review of International Media Assistance in Afghanistan (2001-2021)
This study presents findings from research on international media development strategies and practices in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. Based on qualitative interviews with 35 Afghan journalists in Afghanistan, the research offers a retroactive assessment of key patterns in International Media Assistance. The findings indicate that prevailing media assistance strategies, as perceived by interviewees, were largely aimed at changing attitudes and behaviors through media programs. This reflects a media-centric paradigm in which people are viewed as passive recipients of information rather than active agents of change. Interviewees also noted that the international community underestimated the divide between liberal urban communities and conservative rural communities. Media programs often targeted liberal, urban youth, further jeopardizing social cohesion in Afghanistan. Future programs should prioritize citizen engagement in public affairs through the media to help counter the widespread perception that decisions are made elsewhere. Participatory approaches should also include conservative communities, as a sole focus on liberal urban elites has been seen as deepening social divisions.
Copyright (c) 2025 Hazrat Bahar, Anja Wollenberg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Saad Mohseni with Jenna Krajeski (2024). Radio Free Afghanistan: A Twenty-Year Odyssey for an Independent Voice in Kabul
Copyright (c) 2026 Hazrat Bahar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Carola Richter, Melanie Radue, Christine Horz-Ishak, Anna Litvinenko, Hanan Badr und Anke Fiedler (Eds.) (2025). Cosmopolitan Communication Studies – Toward Deep Internationalization
Copyright (c) 2025 Jeffrey Wimmer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Freedom to Remain Silent? German Communication Studies in the Context of the Middle East Discourse
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the widespread bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, Germany’s political public sphere has been in a concerning state. Recent reports show a sharp rise in antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and other racist incidents. Civil society actors have increasingly complained about repression against critics of Israeli warfare and German arms deliveries. German media have also faced fierce criticism for their Gaza coverage. Although communication studies’ central topics are affected, and universities have become prominent sites of public controversy, the German communication studies community has hardly contributed to the discussion with either empirical research or normative statements. This discussion, held as part of the 70th annual conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) in Berlin, explores how this reluctance can be explained. The main reasons identified during the discussion were a lack of regional expertise regarding the Middle East, weaknesses in research infrastructure, personal knowledge gaps and biases, and a fear of accusations of anti-Semitism and repression, particularly among precariously employed academics.
Copyright (c) 2025 Christian Strippel, Kai Hafez, Carsten Reinemann, Mandy Tröger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Václav Štětka, Sabina Mihelj (2024). The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies
Copyright (c) 2025 Karolína Bieliková https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Hossein Kermani (2025). Twitter Activism in Iran: Social Media and Democracy in Authoritarian Regimes
Copyright (c) 2025 Mitra Shamsi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Structuring the Infosphere Online: Web Search Engines as Protagonists of Content Moderation
The World Wide Web (WWW) is an open data space on the Internet. The number of websites accessible on the WWW is so vast that web search engines are essential as structuring and orientation tools for its use. However, content moderation does not occur only within social media; it has also long been practised in the context of web search engines, above all by Google as the dominant provider. This article analyses the process behind the creation of web search engine results pages—from the crawling of the WWW to the presentation of search results to the user—and identifies where automatic-algorithmic and manual content moderation are employed to improve the user experience. It emphasises that this not only creates technical biases but also deliberately influences the results of web searches from a political and corporate perspectives. Web search engines also play a special role due to their gatekeeping function with respect to the WWW, as they represent key nodes in the infosphere.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jonathan D. Geiger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Genderwashing in Digital Platforms’ Self-Regulation: A Case Study of Decisions by the Meta Oversight Board
Online gender‑based violence curbs women’s rights while generating profit for digital platforms due to the high engagement generated by such content. This dynamic exemplifies the gender-related legal issues raised by digital platform business models. These harmful practices are scrutinised by legal and social science scholarship and addressed within a broad regulatory discourse encompassing both soft and hard law measures and social media self-regulating initiatives. The latter is especially representative of the development of terms and conditions and the creation of “quasi-judicial” boards, which operate as regulatory intermediaries. One such body is Meta’s Oversight Board—an independent board that reviews Meta’s decisions about Facebook, Instagram, and Threads content. This research analyses two gender-related binding decisions by the Board to assess: (i) the legal values, norms, and principles applied in gender-sensitive rulings and (ii) whether these decisions led to effective protection, remediation, and infrastructural changes within Meta’s services. The article argues that Meta’s responses remain largely superficial, using human rights discourse to legitimise actions without addressing the core issue—its infrastructure. These measures often serve as symbolic gestures rather than substantive reforms and may amount to forms of genderwashing, ultimately exacerbating rather than mitigating harms experienced by women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ users online.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mariana Magalhães Avelar, Luana Mathias Souto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Content Moderation zwischen Anstandsdame, Schiedsrichter und Zensor? Zu Formen der Kommunikationskontrolle und ihren Folgeproblemen
This article examines content moderation (CM) from a systems theoretical perspective as a form of communication control. Rather than pursuing normative or legal classifications, CM is understood as a practical problem within communicative systems. Three historical social figures – “chaperone”, “referee”, and “censor” – serve as heuristic reference points to illustrate different modes and problems of communication control: from interactive monitoring to organizational rule enforcement to societal regulation of what may be said. It becomes apparent that communication control always encounters conflicts of interest that mirror the frequently observed problems of content moderation: between visibility and invisibility, norm setting and norm enforcement, and inclusion and exclusion. The logic of digital communication (asynchrony, anonymity, and range) further intensifies these conflicts. The study concludes that CM must be understood as a practice whose conflicting goals cannot be conclusively resolved, but whose management itself becomes a persistent societal task.
Copyright (c) 2026 Lukas Beckmann, Sebastian Suttner, Björn Wiegärtner https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Journalistic Counter-Public in Poland in the Journal Krytyka Polityczna
Established in 2002, the Krytyka Polityczna constitutes an important example of journalistic counter-public in post-socialist Poland. The journal's self-conception illustrates how both the experience of underground publishing in the Polish People's Republic and the sweeping restructuring of the Polish media system after 1989 have lasting effects on today's media landscape. Their context-based understanding of counter-public was reconstructed in a content analysis of selected issues from the years 2007 to 2016. The findings show that the journal strives for a pluralistic and discursive public sphere wherein Krytyka Polityczna speaks on behalf of the Polish left, who – according to them – is lacking their own narratives in the struggle for interpretive authority. To this end, essayistic and artistic content plays a central role. The journal is also closely connected to the group's other projects, increasingly professionalised and informed by international (theory) discourses, which are translated into the Polish context.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kira Welker https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Thussu, Daya Kishan. (2024). Changing Geopolitics of Global Communication
Copyright (c) 2024 Kai Hafez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Constructing the 'Foreign': Stereotypes in Western Reporting on China and India
Foreign reporting plays a significant role in shaping our perspectives on other countries. However, reporting on non-Western countries is still heavily influenced by Western perspectives, which can lead to distortions, one-sided portrayals, and stereotyping. This study aims to analyze the emergence of stereotypes in U.S. and German reporting on China and India. To this end, two leading national daily newspapers from the USA (Washington Post and New York Times) and Germany (Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) were examined for their coverage of China and India. The results reveal that stereotypes are more prevalent in the reporting on India across all newspapers. Both countries used political stereotypes to a similar extent, with economic stereotypes being the second most common in coverage of China, while stereotypes about the population dominated the articles on India.
Special Graduate Section: Foreign and War Reporting
Copyright (c) 2024 Gianna Albrecht, Judith Gayler, Marla Hanenberg, Steven Hermanutz, Susanne Ködel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Jerónimo, Pedro. (Ed.). (2024). Local Journalism, Global Challenges. News Deserts, Infodemic and the Vastness in Between
Copyright (c) 2024 Matthias Künzler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Power Dynamics in War Reporting: Interrelations Between Local Producers and German Correspondents Covering the War in Ukraine
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine underscores the crucial role of local producers in war reporting. This study examines the power dynamics between local producers and German foreign correspondents covering the war in Ukraine. Drawing on ten qualitative, semi-structured interviews with members from both groups, this article employs a field-theoretical approach to analyse mutual expectations, power asymmetries, and their reflection. It particularly focuses on how role perceptions, professional identities, and journalistic practices are negotiated under wartime conditions. The findings reveal a complex network of relationships: while foreign correspondents retain ultimate editorial authority, they simultaneously rely on the cultural capital and expertise of local producers. This interdependency creates a tension between professional collaboration and structural inequality. Foreign correspondents rarely engage in critical reflection on these hierarchies, whereas some local producers actively seek to improve their professional standing – whether through individual professionalisation efforts or collective initiatives such as unionisation. This study highlights the often-overlooked role of local producers in international war reporting and calls for a critical reassessment of existing power structures.
Copyright (c) 2024 Hanna Blume, Leonie Götz, Pauline Hille, Anna Kushnir, Luca Lang, Lene Rügamer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Between Location Decisions and Decisive Locations: German Reporting from West Asia and North Africa
The foreign reporting of German media reflects a distinctly unequal view of the world, characterized by significant disparities in the frequency and manner of coverage across different countries and regions. This article examines the relationship between the locations of foreign correspondents of German media and the focus of their reporting, using the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region as an example. The study employed desk research methods to first map the distribution of all permanently stationed correspondents in WANA by German media. This was followed by an analysis of the reporting from three selected correspondents, focusing on the countries featured in their reports. Findings reveal an uneven distribution of 39 correspondents, with a concentration in a few countries such as Israel and Egypt, while vast areas of the region receive minimal or no coverage. Drawing on news factor theory, the study argues that locations with high conflict density and international significance are prioritized. However, traditional news factors alone do not fully account for the uneven distribution. Logistical and security-related factors also significantly influence coverage decisions. A closer analysis of the reporting demonstrates that correspondents’ locations heavily shape the diversity of topics and geographic focus. Reports predominantly center on the countries where the correspondents are stationed, leading to a narrowed scope of coverage across the broader region.
Copyright (c) 2024 Lena Rückerl https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Transparenz und De-Platforming als Strategien der Debatte im digitalen öffentlichen Raum
Digital debates often seem to be characterized by hate, violence (and its glorification), and fake news, which is why we need to consider regulatory mechanisms as formal structures for political public spheres. Depending on our ideas of an ideal digital public sphere, we need to negotiate a balance between—and the conflict of—different positions and identities, broad participation by citizens, and, all in all, appropriate forms of interaction. Our contribution looks, from a democracy theory perspective, at suitable strategies for regulating debate in the public digital space and, as a first step, identifies the principles of deplatforming and transparency. Deplatforming makes it possible to deny access and a platform to radical, inhuman actors and positions. Transparency aims to represent a broad range of different positions and the associated counterarguments. Both approaches structure the public sphere and may be guided by different ideals of the public sphere. In our article, we explain both principles and classify them in terms of democratic theory. By embedding them in deliberative and radical democratic perspectives on the public sphere and its digital transformation, we ask: Do the two strategies tend to promote conflict or consensus? What is the significance of the two strategies in terms of democratic theory?
Copyright (c) 2026 Sarah Rebecca Strömel, Lea Watzinger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ukrainian Public Diplomacy During the Russian Full-Scale Invasion (February 2022 – June 2023)
Since 2014, Ukraine has started its public diplomacy (PD) activities to counter Russian aggression, intensifying these efforts in 2022 following the full-scale invasion. Despite this, much of Ukraine’s PD remains understudied, with existing research either outdated or primarily focused on specific aspects. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of how Ukrainian public diplomacy is developed and implemented within a war-related context by comparing official PD strategy documents with the practices of state PD actors, particularly those targeting Germany. Using a case study method, this research incorporates document analysis and interviews with Ukrainian diplomats and PD practitioners. The findings illustrate how the key actors of Ukrainian public diplomacy operate, highlighting their goals, target audiences, narratives, and the challenges they face. The study reveals the contextual nuances of public diplomacy efforts in Germany. While core PD goals remain unchanged, practitioners have shifted focus, adapting narratives and refining their target audiences to address war-related issues. In line with increased international attention on Ukraine, communication efforts have been intensified to bridge gaps in global understanding of the war and to combat foreign public attention fatigue.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mariia Dumanska https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Islandization to Joint Internationalization: A Conversation About a “Deep” Internationalization in Communication Studies Between Anne Grüne, Herman Wasserman, Afonso de Albuquerque and Marwan M. Kraidy
This debate was part of the conference “Internationalizing German Communication Studies: Learning from the World” in Erfurt, Germany, in March 2024. It featured an in-depth dialogue with scholars from South Africa, Brazil and Qatar about approaches to internationalization in their respective academic communities. The aim was to learn about the current state of internationalization in communication studies around the world, particularly in places often termed the “Global South”, and to understand their discourses, respective challenges, and opportunities for internationalization. The comparative perspective applied here allows for a deeper understanding of power asymmetries, language and translation issues, and the pros and cons of intellectual autonomy. It also addresses how to overcome “islandization” on the path to a true and just, or a “deep” internationalization in communication studies.
Copyright (c) 2024 Anne Grüne, Herman Wasserman, Afonso de Albuquerque, Marwan Kraidy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Internationalizing German Communication Studies: Learning From the World. A Conversation Between Carola Richter, Anna Litvinenko, Subekti Priyadharma and Hanan Badr
The following debate was set up as a roundtable during the conference “Internationalizing German Communication Studies: Learning from the World” in Erfurt, Germany, in March 2024. It features three scholars originally from Russia, Indonesia and Egypt, who have been socialized both in their native and the German communication studies community and thus can refer to both “worlds” in terms of a critical analysis, but also regarding academic best practices for a deep internationalization in communication studies. The debate aims to share their (subjective) experiences and to gather ideas of what could be improved and what should be continued regarding a cosmopolitization of study programs, university structures, and research foci in German communication studies institutes.
Copyright (c) 2024 Carola Richter, Anna Litvinenko, Subekti Priyadharma, Hanan Badr https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Lünenborg, Margreth & Röttger-Rössler, Birgitt (Eds.). (2023). Affective Formation of Publics. Places, Networks, and Media
Copyright (c) 2024 Brigitte Hipfl https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Rothenberger, Liane, Löffelholz, Martin & Weaver, David H. (Eds.). (2023). The Palgrave Handbook of Cross-Border Journalism
Copyright (c) 2024 Johanna Mack https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Media Regulation and LGBTQ Representation: Analyzing the Impact of Hungary’s "Pedophile Law" in the EU Context
This paper examines the Hungarian legislation, colloquially referred to as the “pedophile law,” and its implications for media regulation and LGBTQ rights. The law, which restricts the promotion of homosexuality and gender reassignment to minors, has sparked considerable controversy and prompted an infringement procedure by the European Commission. Through a critical analysis of this legislation and its enforcement mechanisms, this study discusses the tension between national sovereignty in media regulation and EU principles of human rights and non-discrimination. It also explores how the ambiguity of certain EU legal frameworks can be exploited by member states to justify and enact discriminatory measures under the pretext of child protection, with broader implications for democratic governance in Central and Eastern Europe.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zsuzsa Detrekoi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Russian Collective Identity Construction in State Media During Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
In the evolving landscape of communication technology, the interplay between media and collective identity becomes crucial due to its ability to shape the socio-political dynamics of nations. This article aims to address the role of collective identity construction in Russian state media, arguing that it is a highly manipulated process in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that aims to shape the way the events are perceived by the Russian population. Through narrative analysis, the article aims to explore how the subject of Russian collective identity is constructed in the political talk show Evening with Vladimir Solovyov during the timeframe of one and a half years starting from the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The identified narratives constitute a complex structure that contributes to the construction of a particular Russian collective identity. While addressing different themes, overall, they shape public perceptions towards uniting individuals around particular ideas beneficial to the state and legitimising the actions of the Russian regime.
Copyright (c) 2024 Polina Eremenko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Journalism on the Digital Frontline and the Mental Health of Investigators: Risks, Tactics, and Resources
This paper deals with those working on the digital frontline, namely journalists, researchers and investigators who view, evaluate, and potentially use digital content such as eyewitness media for their reporting. Viewing such content often also means being exposed to gruesome or disturbing material of all types. This can take its toll on the mental wellbeing of investigators. This paper outlines existing research in the domain and provides tips and advice on how so-called vicarious or secondary trauma caused by working with user-generated content can be avoided, or at least kept to a minimum. It also points to the potential harm that can be done. Another aim is to give the topic more prominence and encourage further research in this field.
Copyright (c) 2024 Jochen Spangenberg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Constructing the Establishment - Foreign Enemy Conspiracies: A Comparative Analysis of the Media Framing in the USA and Egypt
Conspiracy theories present a relevant phenomenon in society and are studied within different disciplines. One of the aspects of analyzing conspiracy theories is understanding the pattern whereby social movements utilize the media to construct and spread those narratives. In that regard, social movements frame certain events as part of a conspiracy. By applying an international comparative approach, this study examines the media framing of events as a conspiracy theory in the USA and Egypt. The study focuses on political conspiracies targeting the local elite or political establishment as serving foreign enemies. Qualitative framing analysis is applied to analyze news segments (n = 140), 80 articles, and 60 videos from the Egyptian Islamist media and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) conservative media in the USA. The results show a huge similarity in the frames utilized by the media in both countries in constructing conspiracy theories. The Egyptian and American media constructed conspiracy narratives about claimed secret collusion between the elite leaders and foreign enemies. Whereas the Egyptian media morally framed the conspiracy as treason, the American media framed it as part of corruption. Moreover, the historical continuity in the Egyptian conspiracy theories was more obvious than in the theories in the USA. The empirical analysis shows that conspiracy theories are strategically used in the media to achieve certain political goals.
Copyright (c) 2024 Tamer Farag https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Marsh, Vivien (2023). Seeking Truth in International TV News: China, CGTN and the BBC
Copyright (c) 2023 Lu Wei Rose Luqiu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0