Dr. Tobias Mast is head of the research programme “Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces” at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut since January 2022. His team investigates the rules under which new forms and practices of social understanding and self-assurance emerge in digital communication spaces, and especially in social networks. After studying law at the University of Freiburg with a focus on information and media law, he completed his doctorate at the HBI with a thesis on the state’s public information activities from August 2015 until Ende of January 2019. He completed his legal clerkship at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court with stations at the Press Chamber of the Hamburg Regional Court, an internationally active commercial law firm and the Federal Constitutional Court. He then worked as a research assistant at the Federal Constitutional Court. A list of his publications and presentations can be accessed here (in German).

Lukas Barbutev is a research assistant at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at the University of Hamburg, building on his earlier bachelor’s studies in the same field completed at the Free University of Bolzano. With a strong foundation in interdisciplinary studies encompassing economics and social sciences. He is passionate about exploring the intersection of these disciplines in today’s digital age.

Josefine holds a BA in Cultural Studies with a minor in Digital Media. Her academic focus on Postcolonial Studies and cultural analysis has been crucial for her professional path in the media development sector. It has provided her with various tools to understand the significance of historically determined power dynamics when situating any global event nowadays. She considers this recognition an essential part of every effort to communicate, since it acknowledges the connection between truth and power.

In the future she would like to work on solutions for the rising political polarization from a trans-disciplinary perspective including media production, reception and the increasingly globalized infrastructure of the information space.

Josefine has had special learning experiences through living in different countries. She is looking forward to pursuing her Masters in Canada with great anticipation, learning about new habits, exchanging recipes and creating communities.