David Alders

@davidalders.bsky.social

Project manager at Stiftung Mercator. Interested in democracy and the digital public sphere.

Leaving X. German parties leaving, collectively, is more than a symbolic exit. It is a chance to reassess how and where political communication happens. A platform’s relevance is not inherent. It is constructed through user behavior. And when influential users walk, the relevance begins to erode.

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Is social media dying? How much did Twitter change as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation? Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has changed Here are the key take-aways 🧵 Full paper out now in in JQD:DM!

Shifts in U.S. Social Media Use, 2020–2024: Decline, Fragmentation, and Enduring Polarization | Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media

journalqd.org

I think it’s absolutely amazing that after only 10 months of hard work we have one of the @eurosky.social team tell the French parliament about Eurosky on live TV. 🥰 Thx @robin.berjon.com for your hard work and thx to everyone who has supported @eurosky.social so far!!!

Robin Berjon@robin.berjon.com · 5mo ago

At 2pm Paris time today I'll be testifying in the French Parliament about digital sovereignty. Watch it live at videos.assemblee-nationale.fr/direct.php!

Tonight, we adorn our European institutions with the colours of Ukraine. Two colours, carrying the spirit of courage. 
Two colours, burning with resistance. Four years into Russia’s full-scale war, these colours are shining brighter than ever Slava Ukraini.

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There have been increasingly shrill accusations against the EU over its digital legislation, based on accusations of "censorship" by defenders of "free speech" -- including, so it appears, the right to peddle an AI app that seemingly produces child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 1/9

It's early days and it will take many people and orgs together but we'll get there. My personal target: 50% of European social media users on open platforms by 2030.

Friends, I did it. I'm posting this from #Eurosky. 🚀🇪🇺♥️ I have not joined a beta test since *1997* - but for the sake of you all, and for a future of open social media that is Big Tech-free and fully European, I had a go. It's working fine. Watch this space!!

Sherif EA@sherif.eurosky.social · 6mo ago

Hello! Update on eurosky[.]social accounts. - PDS is ready with backups and observability - We've onboarded a small number of testers to see how things are holding up - We'll start sending invites to folks who registered in the next few days We're doing this slowly, here's why 👇 #eurosky

Europeans should be able to shape their own online spaces, which is why we’ve been working with public service media in Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany over four years. Now, open, decentralized protocols like Activity Pub and AT Protocol represent a new avenue for European digital sovereignty.

By (trying to) shift the debate to the content level and constructing alleged censorship vs. freedom of expression scenarios, they try to distract from what it is really about: power and control over the structural levers of modern information systems e.g. algorithms, design or visibility control.

„Allen Anfeindungen zum Trotz legte sie ihre Positionen nüchtern dar, erklärte Widersprüchlichkeiten im bestehenden Recht, statt laute Kontroversen zu eröffnen. Ihr Rückzieher ist ein Schlag für alle, die an einem ausgeruhten demokratischen Diskurs interessiert sind.“ www.mdr.de/nachrichten/...

Kommentar: Union hat sich für rechte Cancel Culture einspannen lassen | MDR.DE

Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf steht nicht mehr als Kandidatin für das Bundesverfassungsgericht zur Verfügung. Sie will damit weiteren Schaden verhindern. Dabei sind es ihre Gegner, die einen Scherbenhaufen ...

mdr.de

Portugal is taking online disinformation and fake news seriously. As part of a broader attempt to encourage media literacy, it’s offering 15-18 year olds a free digital subscription to a range of respected newspapers and magazines as well as online upstarts that don’t spread lies. (Monocle)