Prof. Dr. Florian Töpfl
Lehrstuhlinhaber
Forschungsinteressen
In seinen aktuellen Forschungsarbeiten untersucht Prof. Dr. Florian Töpfl den informationellen Einfluss russischer Eliten auf ausländische Medienpublika. In früheren Projekten beschäftigte er sich mit den Beziehungen zwischen neuen Medien und Politik in nicht-demokratischen Regimen, wobei der geographische Fokus hierbei auf Russland und der postsowjetischen Region lag.
Außerdem interessiert sich Prof. Dr. Töpfl für die politische Kommunikation von antidemokratischen Gegenöffentlichkeiten in westlichen Demokratien.
Zur Erforschung dieser Themengebiete bedient sich Prof. Dr. Töpfl qualitativer, quantitativer und neuer computergestützter sozialwissenschaftlicher Methoden der Datensammlung und -analyse.
Sprechzeiten
- nach Vereinbarung
Seit Oktober 2020
- Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Politische Kommunikation mit Schwerpunkt auf Osteuropa und die postsowjetische Region an der Universität Passau
Seit November 2019
- Leiter des ERC-Consolidator-Projektes The Consequences of the Internet for Russia’s Informational Influence Abroad (RUSINFORM) an der Universität Passau
Oktober 2014 bis Oktober 2019
- Leiter der Emmy-Noether-Forschungsgruppe Mediating Semi-Authoritarianism: The Power of the Internet in the Post-Soviet Region an der Freien Universität Berlin
Oktober 2017 bis März 2018
- Vertretungsprofessor (W3) am Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung an der Ludwig-Maximilians-University in München
Oktober 2012 bis September 2014
- Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowim Department of Media and Communications an der London School of Economics and Political Science
- Titel des Projektes: Mediating Semi-Authoritarianism – The Power of the Internet in Russia (MESAPORUS)
Juli 2012 bis Mai 2017
- Habilitation im Fach Kommunikationswissenschaft an der Ludwig-Maximilians-University in München
- Titel des Projektes: Mediating Semi-Authoritarianism. The Power of the Internet in Russia (Fachmentorat: Michael Meyen, Barbara Pfetsch, Carsten Reinemann)
September 2011
- Visiting Research Fellowship im Sociology Department an der Higher School of Economics in Sankt Petersburg
Februar 2011 bis September 2012
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München
August 2010 bis Oktober 2010
- Visiting Research Fellowship am Aleksanteri Institute for Russian and Eastern European Studies in Helsinki
September 2009 bis Mai 2010
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow am Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies an der Columbia University in New York
April 2009 bis August 2009
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München
November 2005 bis Juli 2009
- Promotion im Fach Politikwissenschaft an der Universität Passau
- Titel der Dissertation: Media Systems in Transition. How Do Pluralistic Media Systems Emerge – and Why Not? (Kommittee: Heinrich Oberreuter, Ralf Hohlfeld)
Mai 1998 bis Mai 2005
- Diplomstudium in International Business and Eastern European Cultural Studies an der Universität Passau
- Sprachen: Russisch, Tschechisch, Italienisch
Weitere Informationen finden Sie im Curriculum Vitae von Prof. Dr. Florian Töpfl.
2024
Kravets, D., Beseler, A., Toepfl, F., & Ryzhova, A. (2024). The Kremlin-Controlled Search Engine Yandex as a Tool of Foreign Propaganda. Russian Analytical Digest, 313, 11–15. https://css.ethz.ch/en/publications/rad/rad-all-issues-and-articles/details.html?id=/n/o/3/1/no_313_russian_foreign_propaganda_in_occ
Ryzhova, A., & Toepfl, F. (2024). The Consequences of Evidence- Versus Non-Evidence-Based Understandings of the “Truth”: How Russian Speakers in Germany Negotiate Trust in Their Transnational News Environments. The International Journal of Press/Politics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241257872
- Beseler, A., & Toepfl, F. (2024). Conduits of the Kremlin’s Informational Influence Abroad? How German-Language Alternative Media Outlets Are Connected to Russia’s Ruling Elites. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0). Advanced Online Publication. doi.org/10.1177/19401612241230284
2023
- Kravets, D., Ryzhova, A., Toepfl, F., & Beseler, A. (2023). Different platforms, different plots? The Kremlin-controlled search engine Yandex as a resource for Russia’s informational influence in Belarus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journalism. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231157845
- Toepfl, F., Ryzhova, A., Kravets, D., & Beseler, A. (2023). Googling in Russian Abroad: How Kremlin-Affiliated Websites Contribute to the Visibility of COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories in Search Results. International Journal Of Communication, 17, 1126–1146. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19423/4042
2022
- Toepfl, F., Kravets, D., Ryzhova, A., & Beseler, A. (2022). Who are the plotters behind the pandemic? Comparing Covid-19 conspiracy theories in Google search results across five key target countries of Russia’s foreign communication. Information, Communication & Society, 26(10), 2033-2051. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2065213
- Kling, J., Toepfl, F., Thurman, N., & Fletcher, R. (2022). Mapping the website and mobile app audiences of Russia’s foreign communication outlets, RT and Sputnik, across 21 countries. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review, 3(6). https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-110
- Zerback, T., & Toepfl, F. (2022). Forged examples as disinformation: The biasing effects of political astroturfing comments on public opinion perceptions and how to prevent them. Political Psychology, 43(3), 399-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12767
2021
- Kravets, D., & Toepfl, F. (2021). Gauging Reference and Source Bias Over Time: How Russia’s Partially State-Controlled Search Engine Yandex Mediated an Anti-Regime Protest Event. Information, Communication & Society, 25(15), 2207-2223.
- https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1933563
- Litvinenko, A., & Toepfl, F. (2021). The (Non-)Adoption of Participatory Newsroom Innovations under Authoritarian Rule: How Comment Sections Diffused in Belarus and Azerbaijan (1998–2017). Digital Journalism, 9(4), 384-405. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1888137
- Toepfl, F., & Litvinenko, A. (2021). Critically Commenting Publics as Authoritarian Input Institutions: How Citizens Comment Beneath their News in Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. Journalism Studies, 22(4), 475-495.https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1882877 [Link to a free post-peer-review version]
2020
- Kunst, M., Toepfl, F., & Dogruel, L. (2020). Spirals of speaking out? Effects of the “suppressed voice rhetoric” on audiences’ willingness to express their opinion. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 64(3), 397-417.https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1796390 [Link to a free post-peer-review version]
- Zerback, T., Toepfl, F., & Knoepfle, M. (2020). The disconcerting potential of online disinformation: Persuasive effects of astroturfing comments and three strategies for inoculation against them. New Media & Society, 23(5), 1080-1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820908530[Link to a free depository version]
- Toepfl, F. (2020). Comparing authoritarian publics. The benefits and risks of three types of publics for autocrats. Communication Theory, 30(2), 105-125. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtz015 [Link to a free depository version]
2019
- Litvinenko, A., & Toepfl, F. (2019). The “Gardening” of an Authoritarian Public at Large: How Russia’s Ruling Elites Transformed the Country’s Media Landscape After the 2011/12 Protests “For Fair Elections”, Publizistik, 64, 225-240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-019-00486-2[Link to a free depository version]
- Zavadski, A., & Töpfl, F. (2019). Querying the Internet as a mnemonic practice: how search engines mediate four types of past events in Russia. Media, Culture & Society, 41(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443718764565[Link to a free depository version]
2018
- Töpfl, F. (2018). From connective to collective action: Internet elections as a digital tool to centralize and formalize protest in Russia. Information, Communication & Society, 21(4), 531-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1290127[Link to a free depository version]
- Toepfl, F., & Litvinenko, A. (2018). Transferring control from the backend to the frontend: A comparison of the discourse architectures of comment sections on news websites across the post-Soviet world. New Media & Society, 20(8), 2844-2861. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817733710[Link to a free depository version]
- Toepfl, F., & Piwoni, E. (2018). Targeting dominant publics: How counterpublic commenters align their efforts with mainstream news. New Media & Society, 20(5), 2011-2027. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817712085[Link to a free depository version]
- Toepfl, F. (2018). Innovating consultative authoritarianism: Internet votes as a novel digital tool to stabilize non-democratic rule in Russia. New Media & Society, 20(3), 956-972. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816675444[Link to a free depository version]
2016
- Toepfl, F. (2016). Beyond the Four Theories: Toward a discourse approach to the comparative study of media and politics. International Journal of Communication, 10(2016), 1530–1547. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/4669[Link to a free depository version]
2015
- Toepfl, F., & Piwoni, E. (2015). Public Spheres in Interaction: Comment Sections of News Websites as Counterpublic Spaces. Journal of Communication, 65(3), 465–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12156[Link to a free depository version]
2014
- Toepfl, F. (2014). Four facets of critical news literacy in a non-democratic regime: How young Russians navigate their news. European Journal of Communication, 29(1), 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323113511183[Link to a free depository version]
2013
- Toepfl, F. (2013). Why do pluralistic media systems emerge? Comparing media change in Russia and the Czech Republic after the collapse of Communism. Global Media and Communication, 9(3), 239-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742766513504176[Link to a free depository version]
- Toepfl, F. (2013). Making Sense of the News in a Hybrid Regime: How Young Russians Decode State TV and an Oppositional Blog. Journal of Communication, 63(2), 244–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12018[Link to a free depository version]
2012
- Toepfl, F. (2012). Blogging for the Sake of the President: The Online-Diaries of Russian Governors. Europe-Asia Studies, 64(8), 1437-1461. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2012.712261[Link to a free depository version]
2011
- Toepfl, F. (2011). Managing Public Outrage. Power, Scandal, and New Media in Contemporary Russia. New Media & Society, 13(8), 1301-1319. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444811405021[Link to a free depository version]