5th Economics of Media Bias Workshop

The 2022 edition, hosted at the WZB Berlin Social Research Center, was the first workshop after the coronavirus pandemic. The first session covered topics related to the impact of social interactions on polarization and misinformation, as well as the long-term effects of fact-checking and media literacy interventions in debunking fake news. In Session 2, researchers explored the political persuasion of local television news bias and the role of search engines in creating filter bubbles during the 2020 US elections. Session 3 covered media coverage’s impact on pandemic behavior and the electoral influence of newspapers in Switzerland. The conference dealt with explicit measures of media bias, with a presentation on the BBC, Brexit, and balanced reporting in Session 4. Session 5 focused on subscription revenue and broadcaster behavior on YouTube and examined how Fox News played a pivotal role in the Tea Party movement.

The second day commenced with Session 6, exploring trust in the state and its correlation with news media coverage, and a study on responsible interactive behavioral design in apps. Session 7 investigated the impact of regulations on online hate speech and gender stereotypes in user-generated content. A guided city center tour provided a cultural interlude, followed by a keynote address by Alois Stutzer on media attention and political accountability. Session 8 concluded the workshop with discussions on favor exchanges and pro-government media bias, as well as the impact of online competition on local newspapers. The workshop was supported by the Berlin Social Science Center and Jönköping International Business School.