2025: Professor for Media and Communication Studies focusing on Media Effect Research, Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin

 

2024: Offer of a Professorship for Political Psychology, Institute for Communication Psychology and Media Pedagogy (IKM), University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) (refused)

 

2019-2025: Junior-Professor for Political Psychology, Institute for Communication Psychology and Media Medagogy (IKM), University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU)

 

2017-2018: Visiting Professor for Media Psychology, Institute for Communication Psychology and Media Pedagogy (IKM), University of Koblenz-Landau

 

2015-2019: University Assistant (Post-Doc), Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Vienna, Austria

 

2014: PhD in Media and Mass Communication, German Sports University Cologne (“summa cum laude”)

 

2007-2015: Phd candidate and Post-Doc, Institute for Communication and Media Research, German Sports University Cologne

 

2002-2007: Studying Sports Science focusing on media and communication, Institute for Communication and Media Research, German Sports University Cologne

Winter Term 2025/2026

BA - 28515: Seminar: „Autoritäten des politischen Wissens auf sozialen Medien: Von Politiker*innen, Influencern und neuen Technologien“
[Authorities of Political Knowledge on Social Media: From Politicians and Influencers to New technologies]

BA/MA - 28896: Colloquium „Medienwirkung und Politische Kommunikation“ 
[Media Effects Research and Political Communication]

MA - 28810: Lecture „Theorien und Befunde der politischen Kommunikationsforschung“ 
[Theories and Findings in Political Communication Research]

MA - 28811: Advanced Seminar „Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) und politische Kommunikation: Chancen, Risiken, Perspektiven“ 
[Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Political Communication: Potentials, Challenges, and Outlooks]

  

Summer Term 2025

BA - 28560 Lecture „Einführung in die Medienwirkungsforschung“
[Introduction to Media Effects Research]

BA - 28561 Seminar „Aktuelle Themen der Medienwirkungsforschung“ 
[Current Topics in Media Effects Research]

BA/MA - 28652 Colloquium „Medienwirkungsforschung“ 
[Media Effects Research]

- Media Effects, effects of digital media

- Political Communication and processes of polarization

- Media psychology  

- Artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of media communication

- Misinformation and disinformation  

- Political scandal coverage

In Press

• Merz, P., & von Sikorski, C. (2025). Social media influencers can increase collective political beliefs and actions: Findings from experiments and a quasi-experimental field study. Human Communication Research https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqaf024 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.4].

• Mai, L., & von Sikorski, C. (2025). Narratives are key: How narratives influence solutions journalism and promote climate-friendly behavior. Media Psychology  https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2025.2567363 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.4]. 

• Merz, P., & von Sikorski, C. (2025). Who feels influenced? Investigating the (non-)political experiences of young adults with social media influencers using a latent profile analysis. Information. Communication & Society, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2590159

• von Sikorski, C., Merz, P., Heiss, R., Karsay, K., Naderer, B., & Schmuck, D. (2025). The political role of social media influencers: Strategies, types, and implications for democracy - An introduction. American Behavioral Scientist.  https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642251344208 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.531].

 

2026

•  von Sikorski, C., Merz, P., Heiss, R., Bassler, M., Buyny, C., Hildebrand, S., Streller, C., & Wicki, E. (2026). Both AI-generated and Human Influencers Can Correct Misinformation: Investigating the Effectiveness of Corrections for Polarized and Non-Polarized Issues. Computers in Human Behavior, 176, 108845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108845 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 8.9]. 

 

2025 

• von Sikorski, C., & Hameleers, M. (2025). Disinformation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Implications for Journalism and Mass Communication. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(4), 941-957. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990251375097

• Huh, E., Kubin, E., & von Sikorski, C. (2025). Can AI journalism reduce hostile media perceptions? Findings from two experiments. Frontiers in Communication, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.148418 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.5] 

2024

• Kubin, E., von Sikorski, C., & Gray, K. (2024). Political censorship feels acceptable when ideas seem harmful and false. Political Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.13011 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.6].

• Christner, C., Merz, P., Barkela, B., Jungkunst, H., & von Sikorski, C. (2024). Combatting climate disinformation: Comparing the effectiveness of correction placement and type. Environmental Communication, 18(6), 729–742. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2316757 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.7].

• Kubin, E., Merz, P., Wahba, M., Davis, C., Gray, K., & von Sikorski, C. (2024). Understanding news-related user comments and their effects: A systematic review. Frontiers in Communication, 9, 1447457. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1447457 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.5]   

• Kubin, E. & von Sikorski, C. (2024). The polarizing content warning: How the media can reduce affective polarization. Human Communication Research, 50(3), 404-418. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqae006  [SSCI listed, Impact factor 5.0].

2023

• von Sikorski, C., & Merz, P. (2023). No-go Zone for Jews?  Examining how news on anti-Semitic attacks increase victim blaming. Communications: European Journal of Communication Research, 48(4), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2021-0145  [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.095].

• Matthes, J., Schmuck, D., & von Sikorski, C. (2023). In the eye of the beholder: A case for the visual hostile media phenomenon. Communication Research, 50(7), 879–903.  https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211018596 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 6.300]  

• Kubin, E., Gray, K., & von Sikorski, C. (2023). The media can reduce political dehumanization by pairing facts with personal experiences. Political Psychology, 44(5), 1119-1140. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12875[SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.804].

• Kubin, E., & von Sikorski, C. (2023). The complex relationship between media and political polarization: Understanding how the media can affectively (de)polarize citizens. International Journal of Communication, 17, 5207-5222. [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.802]. 

• Azevedo, F., Pavlovic ́,T., do Rêgo, G. G., Ay, F. C., Gjoneska, B., Etienne, T. W., … von Sikorski, C., ..., & Sampaio, W. M. (2023). Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries. Nature Scientific Data, 272, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02080-8 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 8.501].

• von Sikorski, C., Naderer, B., & Brandt, D. (2023). Inappropriate? Gay characters affect adults' perceived age-appropriateness of animated cartoons. Communications: European Journal of Communication Research, 48(1), 28-42. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2020-0095 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.095].

• Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & von Sikorski, C. (2023). No compassion for Muslims? How journalistic news coverage of terrorist crimes influences emotional reactions and policy support depending on the victim’s religion. Crime & Delinquency, 69(5), 1020–1043. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211000626 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.307]

2022

• von Sikorski, C. (2022). Trump against Germany: Examining how news about Donald Trump's anti-German utterances affect anti-Americanism in Germany: A moderated mediation model. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(1), 263–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220964773 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 6.592].

• Pavlović, T., Azevedo, F., De, K., C. Riaño-Moreno, J. C., Maglić, M., Gkinopoulos, T., ... von Sikorski, C., ..., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2022). Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning. PNAS Nexus, 1(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac093 [SSCI listed]

• von Sikorski, C. (2022). Visual polarization: Examining the interplay of visual cues and media trust on the evaluation of political candidates. Journalism, 23(9), 1900–1918. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920987680 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.194]    

• Van Bavel, J. J., Cichocka, A., Capraro, V., Sjåstad, H., Nezlek, J. B., Pavlović, T., … von Sikorski, C., … Zwaan, R. A. (2022). National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic. Nature Communications, 13(517). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 14.919].

• von Sikorski, C., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., Klobasa, C., Knupfer, H., & Saumer, M. (2022). Do journalists differentiate between Muslims and Islamist terrorists? A content analysis of terrorism coverage. Journalism, 23(6), 1171–1193. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884921990223 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.194].

• Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., von Sikorski, C., Rahmanian, M., & Bulat, B. (2022). Tearing us apart? Muslims' attitudes toward the majority population in response to differentiated versus undifferentiated news about terror. International Journal of Communication, 16, 1420–1440 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.802].

2021

• Kubin, E., & von Sikorski, C. (2021). The role of (social) media in political polarization: A systematic review. Annals of the International Communication Association. 45(3), 188–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1976070 [SSCI listed] 

• von Sikorski, C., Matthes, J., & Schmuck, D. (2021). The Islamic State in the news: Journalistic differentiation of Islamist terrorism from Islam, terror news proximity, and Islamophobic attitudes. Communication Research, 48(2), 203–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218803276 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 6.300].

• Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & von Sikorski, C. (2021). No compassion for Muslims? How journalistic news coverage of terrorist crimes influences emotional reactions and policy support depending on the victim’s religion. Crime & Delinquencyhttps://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211000626 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.827].

• Dan, V., Paris, B., Donovan, J., Hameleers, M., Roozenbeek, J., van der Linden, S., & von Sikorski, C. (2021). Visual mis- and disinformation, social media and democracy. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(3), 641–664. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990211035395 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.128].

• Matthes, J., Marquart, F., & von Sikorski, C. (2021). Likeminded and cross-cutting talk, network characteristics, and political participation online and offline: A panel study. Communications: European Journal of Communication Research, 46(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2020-2080 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.095].

• von Sikorski, C., & Saumer, M. (2021). Sexual harassment in politics. News about victims’ delayed sexual harassment accusations and effects on victim blaming: A mediation model. Mass Communication and Society, 24(2), 259–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2020.1769136 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.309].

2020

• Schmuck, D. & von Sikorski, C. (2020). Perceived threats from social bots: The media's role in supporting literacy. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, 106507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106507 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 6.829].

• Matthes, J., Kaskeleviciute, R., Schmuck, D., von Sikorski, C., Klobasa, C., Knupfer, H., & Saumer, M. (2020). Who differentiates between Muslims and Islamist terrorists in terrorism news coverage? An actor-based approach. Journalism Studies, 21(15), 2135–2153. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1812422 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.741].

• von Sikorski, C. (2020). Scandalous?! Examining the differential effects of news   coverage about (non-)severe political misconduct on voting intentions and news source evaluations. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(3), 762–789. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699020911081 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.128].

2019

• von Sikorski, C., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019). How political scandals affect the electorate. Tracing the eroding and spillover effects of scandals with a panel study. Political Psychology, 41(3), 549–568. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12638 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.333].

• Matthes, J., Knoll, J., Valenzuela, S., Hopman, D., & von Sikorski, C. (2019). A meta-analysis of the effects of cross-cutting exposure on political participation. Political Communication, 36(4), 523–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1619638 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 7.859]. 

• von Sikorski, C. (2019). Framing-Effekte in der Gesundheitskommunikation: Ein Forschungsüberblick und eine Inhaltsanalyse der Studien zur Wirkung von Gain- und Loss-Frames. Medien Journal, 43(2), 23–44. https://doi.org/10.24989/medienjournal.v43i2.1709

• von Sikorski, C., & Herbst, C. (2019). Not practicing what they preached! Exploring negative spillover effects of news about ex-politicians’ hypocrisy on party attitudes, voting intentions, and political trust. Media Psychology, 23(3), 436 –460. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1604237 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.824].

• Matthes, J., Schmuck, D., & von Sikorski, C. (2019). Terror, terror, everywhere? How terrorism news shape support for anti-Muslim policies as a function of perceived threat severity and controllability. Political Psychology, 40(5), 935–951. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12576 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 4.333].

• Heiss, R., von Sikorski, C., & Matthes, J. (2019). Populist Twitter posts in news stories: Statement recognition and the polarizing effects on candidate evaluation and anti-immigrant attitudes. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 742–758. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1564883 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.537].

• von Sikorski, C., & Knoll, J. (2019). Framing political scandals: Exploring the multimodal effects of isolation cues in scandal news coverage on candidate evaluations and voting intentions. International Journal of Communication, 13, 206–228 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.194].

2018

• von Sikorski, C., Schmuck, D., & Matthes, J., (2018). Eine Spirale der Angst? Terrorberichterstattung in den Medien, wahrgenommene Bedrohung und politische Einstellungen. Psychologie in Österreich, 38, 354-361.

• Haack, G., von Sikorski, C., Hänelt, M., & Schierl, T. (2018). Onlineinformationen zur Förderung einer informierten Entscheidung über die Teilnahme an einer Darmkrebsfrüherkennung. Evaluation und Rezeptionsanalyse eines Themenmoduls auf dem Frauen- und Männergesundheitsportal der Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA). Bundesgesundheitsblatt, 61, 1569–1578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-018-2841-9 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.059].

• Matthes, J., Knoll, J., & von Sikorski, C., (2018). Spiral of Silence revisited: A meta-analysis on the relationship between perceptions of opinion support and political opinion expression. Communication Research, 45(1), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650217745429 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 3.758].

• von Sikorski, C., Knoll, J., & Matthes, J. (2018). A new look at celebrity endorsements in politics: Investigating the impact of scandalous celebrity endorsers and politicians’ best responses. Media Psychology, 21(3), 403–436. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1378109 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.397].

• Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., von Sikorski, C., Materne, N., & Shah, E. (2018). Are unidentified terrorist suspects always Muslims? How terrorism news shape news consumers' automatic activation of Muslims as perpetrators. Religions, 9(10), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9100286 [Arts & Humanities CI listed].

• von Sikorski, C. (2018). The aftermath of political scandals: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3109–3133. [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.096].

• Allern, S., & von Sikorski, C. (2018). Political scandals as a democratic challenge: From important revelations to provocations, trivialities, and neglect. Introduction. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3014–3023. [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.096].

• von Sikorski, C., & Ludwig, M. (2018). The effects of visual isolation on the perception of scandalized politicians. Communications: European Journal of Communication Research, 43(2), 23–-257. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2017-0054 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.302].

• von Sikorski, C., & Müller, L. (2018). When corporate social responsibility messages enter the news: Examining the effects of CSR framed news on product purchasing intentions and the mediating role of company and product attitudes. Communication Research Reports, 35(4), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2018.1506757

• von Sikorski, C., & Knoll, J. (2018). All at once or bit by bit? How the serialization of news affects recipients' attitudes toward politicians involved in scandals. International Journal of Communication, 12, 1389–1407. [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.2].

• von Sikorski, C. (2018). The effects of darkness and lightness cues in the visual depiction of political actors involved in scandals: An experimental study. Communication Research Reports, 35(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2018.1425984

2017

• von Sikorski, C., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & Binder, A. (2017). “Muslims are not terrorists”: Islamic State coverage, journalistic differentiation between terrorism and Islam, fear reactions, and attitudes toward Muslims. Mass Communication and Society, 20(6), 825–848. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2017.1342131 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 2.189].

• von Sikorski, C. (2017). Politische Skandalberichterstattung: Ein Forschungsüberblick und Systematisierungsversuch. Publizistik, 62, 299–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-017-0355-3

2016

• von Sikorski, C. (2016). The effects of reader comments on the perception of personalized scandals: Exploring the roles of comment valence and commenters’ social status. International Journal of Communication, 10, 4480–4501. [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.498].

• von Sikorski, C., & Hänelt, M. (2016). Scandal 2.0: How valenced reader comments affect recipients’ perception of scandalized individuals and the journalistic quality of online news. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 93(3), 551–571. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699016628822 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.706].

2015

• von Sikorski, C. (2015). Journalismus 2.0 – Wie die Kommentare und sozialen Informationen “der Anderen“ unsere Wahrnehmung von Online-Nachrichten beeinflussen. The Inquisitive Mind, 5, 1–3.

2014

• von Sikorski, C., & Schierl, T. (2014). Attitudes in context. Effects of salient contextual information on recipients’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Journal of Media Psychology, 26(2), 70–80. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000113 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.514]

• von Sikorski, C., & Schierl, T. (2014). Inclusion of persons with disabilities through media sports. Attitudinal and behavioral news framing effects. International Journal of Sport Communication, 7(1), 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1123/IJSC.2013-0123

2012

• von Sikorski, C., & Schierl, T. (2012). Effects of news frames on recipients’ information processing in disability sports communications. Journal of Media Psychology, 24(3), 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000069 [SSCI listed, Impact factor 1.514]

• von Sikorski, C., Schierl, T., Möller, C., & Oberhäuser, K. P. (2012). Visual media framing and effects on recipients’ attitudes toward athletes with physical disabilities. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.5.1.69

2011

• Möller, C., von Sikorski, C., & Oberhäuser, K. P. (2011). Massenmediale Kommunikation über Athleten mit Behinderung: Implizite Assoziationen als Barrieren in der Behindertensportrezeption. Publizistik, 56, 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-010-0108-z