Professor Axel Bruns
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Communication
Biography
Prof. Axel Bruns is an Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor in the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. His books include Are Filter Bubbles Real? (2019) and Gatewatching and News Curation: Journalism, Social Media, and the Public Sphere (2018), and the edited collections Digitizing Democracy (2019), the Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics (2016), and Twitter and Society (2014). His current work focusses on the study of user participation in social media spaces, and its implications for our understanding of the contemporary public sphere, drawing especially on innovative new methods for analysing 'big social data'. He served as President of the Association of Internet Researchers in 2017–19. His research blog is at http://snurb.info/, and he tweets at @snurb_dot_info.Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Communication
Keywords
Internet studies, social media, journalism studies, digital methods, polarisation, public sphere theory, media and communication studies, big data, online communities, produsage
Research field
Communication and Media Studies, Journalism and Professional Writing
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
Past President of the Association of Internet Researchers
Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences
Publications
Research outputs by year
- Bruns, A., (2023). From 'the' Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Towards an Empirically Founded Model of Contemporary Public Communication Spaces. Communication Theory, 33(2-3), 70–81. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/241789
- Glazunova, S., Ryzhova, A., Bruns, A., Montana-Nino, S., Beseler, A. & Dehghan, E. (2023). A platform policy implementation audit of actions against Russia's state-controlled media. Internet Policy Review, 12(2). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/240584
- Bruns, A., Angus, D. & Graham, T. (2021). Twitter Campaigning Strategies in Australian Federal Elections 2013–2019. Social Media and Society, 7(4). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/227082
- Bruns, A., Harrington, S. & Hurcombe, E. (2020). 'Corona? 5G? Or Both?': The dynamics of COVID-19/5G conspiracy theories on facebook. Media International Australia, 177(1), 12–29. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203086
- Bruns, A., (2019). Are filter bubbles real? Polity Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131674
- Bruns, A., (2018). Gatewatching and news curation: Journalism, social media, and the public sphere (Digital Formations, Volume 113). Peter Lang Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215471
- Bruns, A., Enli, G., Skogerbo, E., Larsson, A. & Christensen, C. (2016). The Routledge companion to social media and politics. Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/91813
- Weller, K., Bruns, A., Burgess, J., Mahrt, M. & Puschmann, C. (2014). Twitter and society [Digital Formations, Volume 89]. Peter Lang Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/66321
- Hartley, J., Burgess, J. & Bruns, A. (2013). A companion to new media dynamics. John Wiley and Sons Australia. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/54382
- Bruns, A., (2008). Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and beyond: From production to produsage. Peter Lang Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/17677
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Axel, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Recipient of a Nationally Competitive Research Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Australian Laureate Fellowship for the project Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate (FL210100051, 2022-2026, $3,518,080)
- Type
- Appointment to Prestigious Positions
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Elected President of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), the leading organisation in this field of research. This role is for two years from Oct. 2017 to Oct. 2019, and follows two years in the role of Vice-President (Oct. 2015 to Oct. 2017).
- Type
- Fellowship of a Learned Academy or Membership of AIATSIS
- Reference year
- 2024
- Details
- Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
- Type
- Recipient of a Nationally Competitive Research Fellowship
- Reference year
- 2013
- Details
- ARC Future FellowTitle: Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public SphereExternal Reference: FT130100703Years:2013-2017Funding Awarded: $870,398
- Type
- Fellowship of a Learned Academy or Membership of AIATSIS
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Editorial Board Member, Social Media + Society journal
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- International Editorial Board Member for New Media & Society
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Editorial Board Member of Information, Communication & Society
- Type
- Appointment to Prestigious Positions
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Elected Vice-President of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), the leading organisation in this field of research. This role is for two years from Oct. 2015 to Oct. 2017, and then converts automatically into the role of President (to Oct. 2019).
- Type
- Committee Role/Editor or Chair of an Academic Conference
- Reference year
- 2002
- Details
- General Editor of M/C - Media and Culture (http://www.media-culture.org.au/), publisher of M/C Journal, M/C Reviews, M/C Dialogue, and the M/Cyclopedia of New Media. I am a co-founder of the highly regarded academic online publisher M/C Media and Culture, and since 1998 have served in M/C in a number of roles. Through its four publications, M/C has a high international profile and regularly attracts contributors of national and international standing. As General Editor, I am responsible for the overall direction of the four M/C publications and represent M/C internationally; I also oversee staffing of the publications, and ensure the maintenance of rigorous academic standards. M/C Journal is listed on the DEST register of refereed journals, and the M/C Journal site is regularly archived by the National Library of Australia as an online resource of national significance (see http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-10308).
Selected research projects
- Title
- Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- FL210100051
- Start year
- 2022
- Keywords
- Title
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- CE200100005
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Evaluating the Challenge of 'Fake News' and Other Malinformation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP200101317
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP160100205
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Journalism Beyond the Crisis: Emerging Forms, Practices and Uses
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP160101211
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- FT130100703
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- public sphere; social media; big data
- Title
- Social media in times of crisis: learning from recent natural disasters to improve future strategies
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP120100627
- Start year
- 2012
- Keywords
- Natural Disasters; Social Media; Communication; Media; Internet
- Title
- New Media and Public Communication: Mapping Australian User-Created Content in Online Social Networks
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP1094281
- Start year
- 2010
- Keywords
- User Created Content; New Media; Public Communication; Internet Studies; Social Networks; Web 2
- Title
- ARC Centre of Excellence - Australian Creative Innovation System
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- SR0590002
- Start year
- 2005
- Keywords
- Creative Industries; Digital Content; Creative Workforce; Intellectual Property; Innovation; International Creative Markerts
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
- Digital publics
- Critical data studies in news and media
- Evaluating the challenge of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation
- Measuring and Comparing News Polarisation
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.
Current supervisions
- Populist Publics and Public Sphere(s): Analysing the Discursive Dynamics of Emerging Digital publics on Social Media in India
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Timothy Graham, Dr Ehsan Dehghan - Cosmopolitanism in Transnational Digital Publics
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ehsan Dehghan, Dr Sofya Glazunova - Mapping the dynamics of partisanship and polarisation within online news-sharing spaces: A case study of environmental discourses and information flows in Australia
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ehsan Dehghan, Ms Samantha Vilkins - Mapping The Online Conversation About Sexual Violence in Indonesia
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Michelle Riedlinger, Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess - YouTube’s News Conundrum: An Examination of ‘authoritative sources‘ in YouTube’s Recommendations
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Timothy Graham, Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess - ‘Battling’ bad actors or ‘inoculating’ against falsity? Evaluating the implications of language use around the problem of misinformation and disinformation in Australia since 2016
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez - Markers of Polarisation: A Discourse Analysis of the Spectrum of Polarised Language
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Michelle Riedlinger, Dr Katharina Esau - PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez, Dr Tariq Dos Santos Choucair - PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Daniel Angus, Dr Sebastian Svegaard - No tool is a box: Unpacking embedded knowledge to address tool/language barriers
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Daniel Angus
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Networked Discursive Alliances: Antagonism, Agonism, and the Dynamics of Discursive Struggles in the Australian Twittersphere (2020)
- Measuring the Networked Public - Exploring Network Science Methods for Large Scale Online Media Studies (2019)
- Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict - The Strategies of Operators and the Tactics of Users (2019)
- Contesting Rumours on Social Media during Acute Events: the 2014 Sydney Siege and 2015 Tianjin Blasts (2018)
- Broadcast, Promote, Respond, Engage: Competing Understandings Of The Purpose And Value Of Social Media In An Emergency Management Organisation (2017)
- Collaboration, Connections and Consequences - A study of cultural intermediation within the ABC Pool institutional online community (2013)
- Mapping Intermedia News Flows: Topical Discussions in the Australian and French Political Blogospheres (2011)
- The Uses of Multilingualism in Digital Culture: The Case of Inter-Language Linking (2011)