Dear colleagues, Apologies for the self-promotion :) I was invited to speak at the Public Lecture Series hosted by the School of the Arts at the University of Liverpool about the results of a project funded by WhatsApp on political discussions, social media, and messaging apps in Brazil and thought that the event could be of interest to other AoIR members. The talk is on March 17, at 5:30pm GMT (12:30pm EST / 6:30pm CET) You can sign up for the link here:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/public-lecture-block-unfriend-quit-tickets-13... <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/public-lecture-block-unfriend-quit-tickets-138733386293> Summary: Growing levels of political polarization around the world have fueled discussions around threats to democratic values posed by an increasingly divided citizenry. What is the role of social media in exposing people to echo-chambers, misinformation, and other types of problematic content, such as uncivil discourse? Do people selectively avoid political content on social media? Dr Patricia Rossini, Derby Fellow in Communication and Media, sheds light on how online discussions affect relationships by investigating social sanctions — the active blocking, unfriending, and quitting of social media because of politics. Using a nationally representative survey of internet users in Brazil (N= 1,615), she examines the relationship between social sanctions and political talk on Facebook and WhatsApp. Specifically, she explores whether negative experiences–e.g. heated discussions, and being attacked–help to explain blocking, unfriending, or quitting social media. Taking a comparative approach, these research questions also examine the extent to which the dynamics around social sanctions are sensitive to different platform affordances. Bio: Dr Patricia Rossini is a Derby Fellow in the Department of Communications and Media at the University of Liverpool. Her research on political talk, incivility, and misinformation has been funded by WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. I’m looking forward to seeing you there! Best wishes, Patrícia Dr Patrícia Rossini Derby Fellow Department of Communication and Media School of the Arts University of Liverpool @: patricia.rossini@liverpool.ac.uk <mailto:patricia.rossini@liverpool.ac.uk> W: patriciarossini.com <http://www.patriciarossini.com/>