Ever since 60 German-speaking universities jointly announced their withdrawal from Social Network X in early 2025, it has been official: For academic institutions, engaging with social media requires constant evaluation and reflection on the goals and self-concept through which social media is integrated into universities’ communication strategies. These platforms offer quick access to potentially broad audiences and direct interaction with a wide variety of target groups; they enable personalized forms of presentation, create a sense of approachability, and highlight the diversity of topics that universities champion. Of course, we are well aware of the much-discussed negative aspects of social media—from hate speech and online backlashes to misrepresentations and algorithms that reward emotionalism over objectivity. Not only does all of this seem particularly at odds with the standards of good science communication, but it also discourages researchers from presenting their work in unprofessional environments and exposing themselves to personal hostility. As long as social media remains an indispensable communication channel for science as well, university communication will continue to navigate this tension.
Dr. Patrick Honecker is Chief Communication Officer (CCO) at the Technical University of Darmstadt. In this Digitalgespräch, the expert in science communication and communication strategy discusses the importance of social media for public relations at universities as well as for internal communication, and how science-specific practices and rules interact with the dynamics of social media. Together with hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Honecker discusses how academic institutions can respond to problematic effects within and caused by social media—and what consequences the use of AI in public relations might have, including on social media.
Episode 73: Digitalgespräch with Patrick Honecker of the TU Darmstadt, 9th of December 2025
Further Information:
To the Website of the Scicomm-Support, which advises scientists, who are exposed to digital attacks in science communication: https://scicomm-support.de/
To the Social Media-Netiquette of the TU Darmstadt: https://download.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de/media/DezIF/Netiquette-TU-Darmstadt.pdf
all episodes of Digitalgespräch
The podcast is in German. At the moment there is no English version or transcript available.