Research

My research investigates how digital media, algorithms, and information environments reshape political judgment, electoral behaviour, and democratic accountability. I combine surveys, experiments, computational methods, and large-scale digital trace data.

Research Programs

Political Misinformation & Digital Vulnerability

I study why citizens believe or reject political misinformation, how motivated reasoning works in digital environments, and how media literacy interventions can improve information discernment. Learn more →

Media, Media Systems & Public Opinion

This program examines how media, exposure patterns, and media systems influence news consumption, perceptions of politics, and trust in institutions. Learn more →

Parties, Leaders & Voters

Here I analyse the shift from party-centred to leader-centred politics, and how this personalization affects vote choice and turnout across Western democracies. Learn more →

Measurement, Methods & Computational Social Science

This line of work develops tools for measurement, causal inference, and computational text and trace-data analysis in political behaviour research. Learn more →

Political Misinformation & Digital Vulnerability

This research program investigates how people encounter, evaluate, and sometimes embrace political misinformation in digital spaces. I focus on the cognitive and motivational mechanisms behind misinformation vulnerability, and on interventions that can foster more reliable news use.

Selected publications

Political Misinformation in the Digital Age During a Pandemic
De Angelis, A., Farhart, C. E., Merkley, E., Stecula, D. A., eds. (2022)
Frontiers Media SA

Open Access

Panem et Circenses: Removing Political News to Generate Electoral Support
De Angelis, A. and Vecchiato, A. (2024)
Italian Political Science Review, 54(2): 119–137

Sartori Prize 2024

Media literacy tips promoting reliable news improve discernment and enhance trust in traditional media
Altay, S., De Angelis, A. and Hoes, E. (2024)
Nature Communication Psychology, 2(74)

Open Access

Ongoing work

  • De Angelis, A. & Trechsel, A.
    Unravelling the Cognitive Labyrinth of Political Misinformation: Motivated Cognitive Closure in the Digital Age (under review).
  • Mancosu, M., Vegetti, F. & De Angelis, A.
    Unpacking Post-Truth: Determinants of Political Misinformation Vulnerability (working paper).

Funding

This program is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione project Political Misinformation in the Digital Age (PZ00P1-201817).

Media, Media Systems and Public Opinion

In this program I study how citizens navigate increasingly personalized and fragmented media systems. I focus on the psychology of opinion formation, as well as the role of algorithmic news feeds, cross-platform exposure, and the consequences of these environments for political learning, trust, and participation.

Selected publications

Taking Cues from the Government: Heuristic versus Systematic Processing in a Constitutional Referendum
De Angelis, A., Colombo, C., and Morisi, D. (2020)
West European Politics, 43(4): 845–868
Image that Matters: News Media Consumption and Party Leader Effects on Voting Behavior
Garzia, D., da Silva, F., and De Angelis, A. (2020)
The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(2): 238–259

Ongoing work

  • De Angelis, A., Trechsel, A. & Vecchiato, A.
    How Personalizing Algorithms on Digital Media Affect News Consumption and Public Opinion.

Funding

This work builds on the SNSF SPARK grant Algorithmic Newsfeeds and Democracy (CRSK-1-106503).

Parties, Leaders and Voters

This research program examines the long-term shift from party-centred to leader-centred competition and its implications for turnout, vote choice, and party system change.

Selected publications

Leaders without Partisans: Dealignment, Media Change, and the Personalization of Politics
Garzia, D., da Silva, F., and De Angelis, A. (2021)
Rowman & Littlefield/ECPR Press
Partisan dealignment and the personalisation of politics in West European parliamentary democracies
Garzia, D., da Silva, F., and De Angelis, A. (2022)
West European Politics, 45(2): 311–324

Gordon Smith & Vincent Wright Prize 2022

From Party to Leader Mobilization? The Personalization of Voter Turnout
Silva, F., Garzia, D., and De Angelis, A. (2021)
Party Politics, 27(2): 220–233

Measurement, Methods and Computational Social Science

This stream develops measurement strategies, causal designs, and computational tools for studying political behaviour. It includes work on issue yield, digital influence, and optimal design of latent-construct measures.

Selected publications

Issue yield and party strategy in multi-party competition
De Sio, L., De Angelis, A., and Emanuele, V. (2017)
Comparative Political Studies, 51(9): 1208–1238
How Voters Distort their Perceptions and Why this Matters
De Angelis, A. (2020)
The Oxford handbook of Electoral Persuasion
Voting Advice Applications and Electoral Participation: A Multi-Method Study
Garzia, D., Trechsel, A. H., and De Angelis, A. (2017)
Political Communication, 34(3): 424–443

Ongoing work

  • De Angelis, A.
    From Length to Information: Optimal Item Design for Latent Constructs in Political Research (working paper).
  • Methodological work in progress on large-scale LLM-based text classification and digital trace data for political research.

Full Publication List

For a complete and up-to-date list of publications, please refer to my
Google Scholar Profile or download my CV.