Current Topics and Lively Discussions: Successful "Belief Polarization" Symposium at the IWM

ESocial polarization is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. This dynamic is fuelled by the current media landscape, which encourages the spread of disinformation. Against this backdrop, researchers from interdisciplinary scientific fields presented and discussed their findings on these topics at the IWM’s symposium "Belief Polarization."

Three keynotes by renowned scientists formed the highlight of the three-day event. The lecture by the Australian cognitive psychologist and professor at the University of Bristol, Stephan Lewandowsky, was particularly well received. His keynote focused on the influence of social media on political participation: because nowadays, the dissemination of information is regulated less and less by media companies and increasingly via direct communication between politicians and citizens.

The participants engaged in a lively discussion on these current developments. In doing so, they highlighted the fact that polarization is not primarily attached to topics but sheer group affiliation. “This essentially means that many people no longer merely reject certain contents, but rather refuse to accept those contents altogether if they are presented by the ‘wrong’ group,’ explains PD Dr. Jürgen Buder, who was involved in organising the symposium. Moreover, it was also debated how effective various measures are in curbing polarization. Jürgen Buder adds that "the extent to which external measures, such as regulations or technical means, as well as an improved education of citizens, are helpful was a particularly central topic of the conference."

 The international symposium hosted by the IWM and the University of Tübingen took place from 4 to 6 October. The recordings of the keynotes are available here.