How is public science communication changing in the context of digitization? What can science, politics and society contribute to ensuring the quality of science communication?

In modern societies, the findings of science are an important basis for political and societal decision making. In pre-digital times, science journalism and science itself were the mediators of these findings. With the changing media landscape science communication has changed significantly. Today, many actors are involved in public communication on scientific topics, and with the possibilities of digitization even laymen have access to numerous sources of science related information and communication platforms. While these developments offer opportunities in the sense of a politically and socially desirable democratization of science communication, they also pose risks to its quality.

The Interdisciplinary Research Group (IAG) "Implications of digitization for the quality of science communication" is addressing these developments and aims at answering the following questions: How is public science communication changing under the conditions of digitization? What quality requirements can be placed on them? What implications does this have for science, politics, media and society?

The objective of the IAG is to provide knowledge on the basis of interdisciplinary meta-research and to develop guidelines for science and its organizations as well as for the media and politics.