FAU Doctoral Candidate joins DigiMeet 2025

With 150 registrations from 16 different countries, the virtual Digitalisation Research and Network Meeting (DigiMeet) 2025 took place on November 6, providing a successful opportunity for researchers to connect and exchange ideas. The program featured parallel tracks on regulation, AI governance, and network discourses.

Lama Ranjous, a PhD researcher at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and a member of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) graduate center presented a paper on the evolving role of social media platforms in conflict. Her presentation ,”Social Media Platforms: From Carriers of Activism to Documenting and Mediating Violence in Syria” detailed how social media in Syria transitioned from being simple “carriers of activism” to serving a complex dual function. They became essential tools for documenting atrocities while simultaneously being used as instruments for mediating the violence itself, including disseminating propaganda and coordinating actions.

The event was hosted by bidt together with the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), the Leibniz Institute for Media Research – Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI), and the Weizenbaum Institute (WI). The day concluded with a group debate on “Visions for the ideal digital platform of the future”, and what could be done to achieve these visions.