ISABELLE FREILING portrait
  • Faculty Affiliate, Global Change and Sustainability Center
  • Assistant Professor, Communication

Presentations

  • Yeo, S. K., Cacciatore, M. A., Freiling, I., McKasy, M., Su, L. Y.-F., Siskind, S. R., & Caven, J. (2023, December 13). That’s Funny: The Role of Humor in Risk and Benefit Perceptions and Support for Geothermal Energy. Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) conference, Washington, D.C. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 12/2023.
  • Yeo, S. K., Cacciatore, M. A., Freiling, I., Su, L. Y.-F., Zhang, J. S., Choi, S. I., & McKasy, M. (2023, August 7–10). Knowledge gaps: Media attention and factual, surveillance, and perceived science knowledge among White, Black, and Hispanic audiences. Annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Washington, D.C. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 05/2023.
  • Allen, H. W, Freiling, I., Yeo, S. K., & Cacciatore, M. A. (2023, August 7–10). Reaching Audiences for Science Communication: The Role of Socio-Demographics in Attention to Science Content on Social Media. Annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Washington, D.C. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 05/2023.
  • Saumer, M., Matthes, J., Freiling, I., & Hasewinkel, M. C. (2023, July 4–6). Anspruch und Wirklichkeit bei Citizen Social Science: Ein Plädoyer für realistische Ansätze am Beispiel eines EU-Projekts [Aspiration and reality in citizen social science: A plea for realistic approaches using the example of an EU project]. Kommunikationswissenschaftliche Tage 2023 conference, Austrian Communication Association, Klagenfurt, Austria. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 03/2023.
  • Saumer, M., Matthes, J., Freiling, I., & Hasewinkel, M. C. (2023, April 19–21). Working with marginalized citizen scientists: Lessons from a multi-country evaluation study. Annual Austrian Citizen Science Conference, Linz, Austria. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 02/2023.
  • Freiling, I., Stubenvoll, M., & Matthes, J. (2023, May 25–29). Support for misinformation regulation on social media: It’s the perceived harm of misinformation that matters, not the perceived amount. 73rd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Toronto, Canada. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 01/2023.
  • Freiling, I., Villanueva, I. I., & Scheufele, D. A. (2023, May 25–29). (Meta)Theorizing public spheres in an era of preference-based media effects. 73rd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Toronto, Canada. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 01/2023.
  • Freiling, I. & Matthes, J. (2023, May 25–29). Perceived climate change misinformation on social media: Why people choose to correct it and what correction does with them. 73rd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Toronto, Canada. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 01/2023.
  • Reiter, F. & Freiling, I. (2023, May 25–29). “I Believe It’s True”: How Mainstream Media and Right-Wing Alternative Media Use Fuel Belief in Climate Change Truth Claims. 73rd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Toronto, Canada. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 01/2023.
  • Invited talk "Communicating science in a social media world: The risk of (not) intervening against 'misinformation,'" German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Virtual. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/2023.
  • Participation in panel "Open Science in Communication Research," annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Washington, DC. Other, Accepted, 01/2023.
  • Norvoll, R., Crook, D., Freiling, I., Saumer, M., Matthes, J., Gebert, J., Mihok, B., Butkevičienė, E., Brattbakk, I., Procentese, F., Gatti, F., & Bergmann, M. (2022, October 5–8). Empowerment and innovation through co-creative youth citizen social science - An interactive session organized by the H2020 YouCount project. Biannual Conference of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), Berlin, Germany. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/2022.
  • Invited participation in panel "Open Science," annual conference of the Media Use and Research Division of the German Communication Association, Düsseldorf, Germany. Other, Presented, 06/2022.
  • Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., & Scheufele, D. A. (2022, May 26–30). The infodemic ‘infodemic:’ Toward a more nuanced understanding of truth-claims and the need for (not) combatting misinformation. 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2022.
  • Perreault, G., Pearce, K. E., Bowman, N. D., Oeldorf-Hirsch, A., Horstman, H., Kingsley Westerman, C., Freiling, I., Dubois, E., Kaur, S., Dorrance Hall, E., Denes, A., Baykurt, B., Wirz, D. S., Bowe, B. J., Henrichsen, J., Friedlander, J., & Goodwin, C. (2022, May 26–30). The Fulbright experience in communication. Blue Sky Workshop. 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2022.
  • Matthes, J., Nanz, A., Kaskeleviciute, R., Reiter, F., Freiling, I., Neureiter, A., Stubenvoll, M., Sherrah, S., Juricek, S., Munzir, A. A., & Noronha, I. (2022, May 26–30). The Way We Use Social Media Matters: A Panel Study on Passive vs. Active Social Media Use, News Avoidance, and Affective Polarization. 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2022.
  • Invited participation in roundtable "Open Communication Scholarship: Two Years Later," 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Paris, France. Other, Presented, 05/2022.
  • Matthes, J. & Freiling, I. (2022, April 2–26). Practical Challenges of Citizen Social Science: A Call for a Modest View [Poster session]. Engaging Citizen Science Conference 2022, Aarhus, Denmark. Poster, Presented, 04/2022.
  • Calice, M. N., Beets, B., Bao, L., Scheufele, D. A., Freiling, I., Brossard, D., Feinstein, N. W., Handelsman, J., Heisler, L., & Tangen, T. (2021, November 16–19). Public engagement: Scientists' lived experiences and perspectives underscore barriers and a changing culture in academia. Science & You Conference, Metz, France. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2021.
  • Stubenvoll, M., Freiling, I., & Matthes, J. (2021, September 21–22). Resistant and Misinformed: Understanding the Psychological Drivers of COVID-19 Misperceptions. 3rd Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2021.
  • Invited talk, with Joerg Matthes "Co-evaluating citizen social science – across cases and countries and across citizens and professional scientists," European Citizen Science Association, Working Group on Empowerment, Inclusiveness & Equity Webinar “Setting up Youth-Citizen Social Science: How to work in inclusive ways?” Virtual. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2021.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. K., Chen, K., & Scheufele, D. A. (2021, August 4–7). Science of open (communication) science: Toward an evidence-driven understanding of quality criteria in communication research. Annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 08/2021.
  • Calice, M. N., Freiling, I., Scheufele, D. A., Brossard, D., Newman, T. P., & Xenos, M. A. (2021, July 27–28). When educated whites don’t see a problem: Divides in public opinion on AI-based policing based on race and literacy [Poster session]. Science Public Engagement Partnership (SciPEP) conference, Virtual. Poster, Presented, 07/2021.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. M., Scheufele, D. A., & Brossard, D. (2021, May 27–31). Believing and sharing misinformation, fact-checks, and accurate information on social media: Anxiety during COVID-19. 71st Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2021.
  • Bao, L., Howell, E., Calice, M. N., Freiling, I., Scheufele, D. A., Newman, T. P., Brossard, D., & Xenos, M. A., (2021, May 27–31). How ideology and media use predict conspiracy theory beliefs in the U.S. 71st Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2021.
  • Calice, M. N., Bao, L., Freiling, I., Howell, E., Yang, S., Xenos, M. A., Brossard, D., Newman, T. P., & Scheufele, D. A. (2021, May 27–31). New gatekeepers, old partisan patterns: How partisanship shapes perceptions of “algorithmic news bias.” 71st Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2021.
  • Invited talk "YouCount. Empowering youth and co-creating social innovations and policymaking through youth-focused citizen social science," European Citizen Science Association & EU-Citizen.Science Webinar „New Citizen Science Projects 2021,” Virtual. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2021.
  • Invited talk "Dealing with the COVID-19 information environment on social media: From evaluating to sharing (mis)information," Student Council of the University of Cologne, Virtual. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2021.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. M., Scheufele, D. A., & Brossard, D. (2021, April 7–9). Anxiety fueling belief in and sharing of true, false, and corrected information on social media during COVID-19. DACH21: Three-Country Conference on Communication Science, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 04/2021.
  • Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., Wirz, C. D., Yang, S., Newman, T. P., Brossard, D., Scheufele, D. A., Xenos, M. A. (2020, December 13–17). Faith in intelligence design: The interplay of trust and political ideology in shaping attitudes toward AI. Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) conference, Virtual. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 12/2020.
  • Freiling, I. (2020, February 13–16). Detecting misinformation on social media: A think-aloud study on user strategies [Poster session]. American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA. Poster, Presented, 02/2020.
  • Freiling, I. (2019, May 24–28). Misinformation in online social networks: Users' strategies in trust and credibility evaluation. 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Washington, D.C., USA. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2019.
  • Freiling, I. & König, L. (2019, April 15–17). Could you repeat that? Replicating the “Good Sound Good Research” effect. Annual Conference of Experimental Psychology 2019, London, Great Britain. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 04/2019.
  • Freiling, I., Hagen, L. M., Harst, L. & Mothes, C. (2017, May 19). Wie uns Unterhaltung unterhält. Erklärungen aus dem kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Theorienbaukasten am Beispiel von WESTWORLD [How entertainment entertains us. Explanations from communication theory with WESTWORLD as an example]. Weiter-Sehen – 4th Workshop Conference „WESTWORLD,“ Dresden, Germany. Presentation, Presented, 05/2017.
  • Donsbach, W., Mothes, C., Schielicke, A.-M. & Freiling, I. (2015, May 21–25). Spiral of dis-identification: A new look at negative attitudes towards politics. 65th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2015.
  • Donsbach, W., Mothes, C., Schielicke, A.-M, Degen, M. & Freiling, I. (2013, November 30). Wähleransprache und Wählermobilisierung angesichts komplexer Themen, Entscheidungen und Perspektiven: Das Wahljahr 2013 [Addressing and mobilizing voters in light of complex topics, decisions and perspectives: The German Election year 2013]. Akademie für politische Bildung, Tutzing, Germany. Presentation, Presented, 11/2013.

Publications

  • Matthes, J., Nanz, A., Kaskeleviciute, R., Reiter, F., Freiling, I., Neureiter, A., Stubenvoll, M., Sherrah, S., Juricek, S., Munzir, A. A., & Noronha, I. (2023). The way we use social media matters: A panel study on passive vs. active social media use, news avoidance, and affective polarization. International Journal of Communication, 17, 5223–5245. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19015/4294. Published, 08/15/2023.
  • Freiling, I., Stubenvoll, M., & Matthes, J. (2023). Support for misinformation regulation on social media: It’s the perceived harm of misinformation that matters, not the perceived amount. Policy & Internet, 15(4), 731-749. Published, 08/13/2023.
  • Freiling, I. & Krause, N. M. (2023, April 22). Social scientists: Anxiety invites misinformation. Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/04/22/social-scientists-anxiety-invites-misinformation/Freiling, I. & Krause, N. M. (2023, April 22). Social scientists: Anxiety invites misinformation. Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/04/22/social-scientists-anxiety-invites-misinformation/. Published, 04/22/2023.
  • Freiling, I., & Matthes, J. (2023). Correcting climate change misinformation on social media: Reciprocal relationships between correcting others, anger, and environmental activism. Computers In Human Behavior, 145, 107769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107769. Published, 04/2023.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. M., & Scheufele, D. A. (2023). The science and ethics of “curing” misinformation. AMA Journal of Ethics, 25(3), E228-237. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2023.228. Published, 03/2023.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. M., Scheufele, D. A., & Brossard, D. (2023). Believing and sharing misinformation, fact-checks, and accurate information on social media: The role of anxiety during COVID-19. New Media & Society, 25(1), 141-162. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211011451. Published, 01/01/2023.
  • Calice, M. N., Bao, L., Beets, B., Scheufele, D. A., Freiling, I., Brossard, D., Feinstein, N. W., Handelsman, J., Heisler, L., & Tangen, T. (2022). Public engagement: Faculty lived experiences and perspectives underscore barriers and a changing culture in academia. PLoS ONE, 17(6), e0269949. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269949. Published, 06/15/2022.
  • Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., & Scheufele, D. A. (2022) The infodemic ‘infodemic:’ Toward a more nuanced understanding of truth-claims and the need for (not) combatting misinformation. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 700(1), 112–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162221086263. Published, 05/05/2022.
  • Scheufele, D. A., Krause, N. M., & Freiling, I. (2021). Misinformed about the “infodemic?” Science’s ongoing struggle with misinformation. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 10(4), 522-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.10.009. Published, 12/01/2021.
  • Freiling, I. (2021). Misinformation on Social Media: A User Perspective on Information Evaluation Comparing Germany and the United States. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Münster]. Proquest. https://www.proquest.com/openview/f6abfd46f1b9d074be46abe87457ed66/1?cbl=18750. Published, 11/2021.
  • Freiling, I., Krause, N. M., Scheufele, D. A., & Chen, K. (2021). The science of open (communication) science: Toward an evidence-driven understanding of quality criteria in communication research. Journal of Communication, 71(5), 686–714. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab032. Published, 09/2021.
  • Krause, N. M., Scheufele, D. A., Freiling, I., & Brossard, D. (2021). The trust fallacy: Scientists’ search for public pathologies is unhealthy, unhelpful, and ultimately unscientific. American Scientist, 109(4), 226-231. doi: 10.1511/2021.109.4.226. Published, 07/2021.
  • Freiling, I. & Waldherr, A. (2021). Why trusting whom? Motivated reasoning and trust in the process of information evaluation. In B. Blöbaum (Ed.), Trust and communication: findings and implications of trust research (pp. 83-97). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72945-5_4. Published, 07/2021.
  • Scheufele, D. A., Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., & Brossard, D. (2021). What we know about effective public engagement on CRISPR and beyond. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(22), e2004835117. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004835117. Published, 06/01/2021.
  • Krause, N. M. & Freiling, I. (2021). Interventions against misinformation: Don’t forget motivation. Israel Public Policy Institute, February 11. Retrieved from: https://www.ippi.org.il/interventions-against-misinformation/. Published, 02/2021.
  • Calice, M. N., Bao, L., Freiling, I., Howell, E., Xenos, M. A., Yang, S., Brossard, D., Newman, T. P., & Scheufele, D. A. (2021). Polarized platforms? How partisanship shapes perceptions of “algorithmic news bias.” New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211034159. Published, 01/01/2021.
  • Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., Beets, B., & Brossard, D. (2020). Fact-checking as risk communication: The multi-layered risk of misinformation in times of COVID-19. Journal of Risk Research, 23(7-8), 1052-1059. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2020.1756385 (also republished in J. K. Wardman & R. Löfstedt, COVID-19. Confronting a new world risk, 2023. Routledge.). Published, 04/2020.
  • Scheufele, D. A., Krause, N. M., Freiling, I., & Brossard, D. (2020). How not to lose the COVID-19 communication war. Issues in Science and Technology, April 17. Retrieved from https://issues.org/covid-19-communication-war/ (also republished in Slate.com: https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/covid19-misinformation-science-communication.html). Published, 04/2020.
  • Freiling, I. (2019). Detecting misinformation in online social networks: A think-aloud study on user strategies. Studies in Communication and Media, 8(4), 471-496. https://doi.org/10.5771/2192-4007-2019-4-471. Published, 12/2019.
  • Mothes, C., Harst, L., Freiling, I. & Hagen, L. M. (2018). Unterhaltung als Hedonismus und Eudaimonie – und Westworld als ihre Dekonstruktion [Entertainment as hedonism and eudaimonism – and Westworld as its deconstruction]. In B. Georgi-Findlay & K. Kanzler (Eds.), Mensch, Maschine, Maschinenmenschen (pp. 89-108). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-21815-7_7. Published, 06/2018.
  • Freiling, I. & Weidmüller, L. (2017). Scan method tracks reader attention, engagement. Newspaper Research Journal, 38(4), 449-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739532917739874. Published, 12/01/2017.
  • Brantner, C., Freiling, I., Hagen, L. M., Mothes, C., Schielicke, A.-M. & Weidmüller, L. (2017). Editorial. Themenheft Digitale Revolution in der Demokratie. Wie die Digitalisierung die Politik verändert: Trends, Mechanismen und Strategien, [Editorial. Special issue on the digital transformation of democracy. How digitization changes politics: Trends, mechanisms, and strategies] Medien Journal, 41(2), 2-4. https://doi.org/10.24989/medienjournal.v41i2.1466. Published, 09/2017.
  • Donsbach, W., Degen, M., Freiling, I., Schielicke, A.-M. & Mothes, C. (2015). Ein neuer Blick auf Politikverdrossenheit. Kompetenzgefühle und Einstellungen zur Politik angesichts komplexer Themen im Wahlkampf [A new look at political malaise. Perception of competence and attitudes towards politics in light of complex topics during election campaigning]. In U. Münch & H. Oberreuter (Eds.), Die neue Offenheit. Wahlverhalten und Regierungsoptionen im Kontext der Bundestagswahl 2013 (pp. 199-220). München: Olzog. Published, 01/2015.