Thorsten Quandt

Thorsten Quandt is a Professor of Online Communication at the University of Münster, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Department of Communication Science. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Communication Science from TU Ilmenau (2004) and a habilitation from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2008). He has held visiting professorships at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2014) and has been a faculty member at institutions like the University of Hohenheim and Freie Universität Berlin.

Quandt's research focuses on online communication, digital journalism, and computational analysis of media ecosystems. Notable projects include studying conspiracy theories and ideological movements online, media innovations, and gaming disorder. He leads the Cluster of Excellence project B3-44 on computational methods for analyzing new ideological movements.

His work bridges communication studies and computational social science, addressing topics like dark participation, media trust, and information disorder. Awards include an ERC Advanced Grant (2025), ICA Fellowship (2023), and ERC Starting Grant (2009). He serves on editorial boards of journals like Journal of Communication and Digital Journalism.

Quandt’s research has explored gaming’s psychosocial impacts, digital journalism’s evolution during crises, and media moderation strategies. His recent work emphasizes computational methods and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding digital media’s societal role.