Dr. K.P. (Petter) Törnberg
Postdoctoral VENI researcher in Digital Geography
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
GPIO : Urban Geographies
Visiting address
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
Postal address
Contact details
Social media
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Profile
Petter Törnberg is a NWO VENI postdoctoral researcher at University of Amsterdam, and associate professor in complex systems at Chalmers University of Technology. I have a background in computer science and physics, but have worked for the last decade in the social sciences.
My research is interdisciplinary, and focuses on how digital technology is reshaping our politics, media and cities. I use computational methods and digital data to examine the consequences of datafication, platformization, and AI, from a critical perspective.
I have published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, in journals such as PNAS, New Media & Society, and Big Data & Society.
Expertise and research fields
- Social media
- Mediatisation
- (Affective) polarisation
- Platformisation
- Political communication
- Online radicalisation
- Misinformation
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Research
Research methods
- Social media
- Mediatization
- (Affective) polarization
- Platformization
- Political communication
- Online radicalization
- Misinformation
Current research projects
I am engaged in several current research projects on the relationship between social media and affective polarization, the ongoing shifts in platformisation, and urban mediatisation.
Research grants & honours
- 2021 | NWO VENI. “Seeing the city through digital platforms”
- 2017 | EU Horizon 2020 ODYCCEUS. Political polarization and cultural conflict through digital data
- 2017 | Swedish Research Council. Dynamics of racist discourse in online social media
- 2012 | EU FP7-FET. “Emergence by Design” (MD) The dynamics and sustainability of sociotechnical change and innovation
Current cooperation with organisations
- Justus Uitermark, Ola Söderström, Sophie Oldfield, Juliana Chueri, Anton Törnberg. Among many others.
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Publications
2023
Törnberg, P. (2023). How platforms govern: Social regulation in digital capitalism. Big Data & Society, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231153808 [details]
2022
- Törnberg, K. P., & Törnberg, A. (2022). Inside a White Power echo chamber: Why fringe digital spaces are polarizing politics. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221122915
- Törnberg, P. (2022). How to Situate Big Data in Social Scientific Thought. (SAGE Research Methods: Doing Research Online). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529611281
- Törnberg, P. (2022). How digital media drive affective polarization through partisan sorting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(42), [e2207159119]. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2207159119 [details]
- Törnberg, P. (2022). How sharing is the “sharing economy”? Evidence from 97 Airbnb markets. PLoS ONE, 17(4), [e0266998]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266998 [details]
- Törnberg, P. (2022). Platform placemaking and the digital urban culture of Airbnbifcation. Urban Transformations, 4, [3]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-022-00032-w [details]
- Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2022). Tweeting ourselves to death: the cultural logic of digital capitalism. Media, Culture and Society, 44(3), 574-590. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211053766 [details]
- Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2022). Urban Mediatization and Planetary Gentrification: The Rise and Fall of a Favela across Media Platforms. City & Community, 21(4), 340-361. https://doi.org/10.1177/15356841211068521 [details]
- Törnberg, P., Olbrich, E., & Uitermark, J. (2022). Editorial: The Computational Analysis of Cultural Conflicts. Frontiers in Big Data, 5, [840584]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2022.840584 [details]
2021
- Keuchenius, A., Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2021). Adoption and adaptation: A computational case study of the spread of Granovetter's weak ties hypothesis. Social Networks, 66, 10-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2021.01.001 [details]
- Keuchenius, A., Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2021). Why it is important to consider negative ties when studying polarized debates: A signed network analysis of a Dutch cultural controversy on Twitter. PLoS ONE, 16(8), [e0256696]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256696 [details]
- Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2021). “Wake-up call for the white race”: How Stormfront framed the elections of Obama and Trump. Mobilization, 26(3), 285–302. https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-26-3-285 [details]
- Törnberg, P. (2021). Short-Term Rental Platforms: Home-sharing or sharewashed neoliberalism? In T. Sigler, & J. Corcoran (Eds.), A Modern Guide to the Urban Sharing Economy (pp. 72-86). (Elgar Modern Guides). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789909562.00013 [details]
- Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2021). For a heterodox computational social science. Big Data and Society, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517211047725 [details]
- Törnberg, P., Andersson, C., Lindgren, K., & Banisch, S. (2021). Modeling the emergence of affective polarization in the social media society. PLoS ONE, 16(10), [e0258259]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258259 [details]
- van Vliet, L., Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2021). Political Systems and Political Networks: The Structure of Parliamentarians’ Retweet Networks in 19 Countries. International Journal of Communication, 15, 2156-2176. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/15867 [details]
2020
- Törnberg, P., & Chiappini, L. (2020). Selling black places on Airbnb: Colonial discourse and the marketing of black communities in New York City. Environment and Planning A, 52(3), 553-572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X19886321 [details]
- Törnberg, P., & Törnberg, A. (2020). Minding the gap between culture and connectivity: Laying the foundations for a relational mixed methods social network analysis. In D. E. Froehlich, M. Rehm, & B. C. Rienties (Eds.), Mixed Methods Social Network Analysis: Theories and Methodologies in Learning and Education (pp. 58-71). Routledge.
- van Vliet, L., Törnberg, P., & Uitermark, J. (2020). The Twitter parliamentarian database: Analyzing Twitter politics across 26 countries. PLoS ONE, 15(9), [e0237073]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237073 [details]
2019
- Andersson, C., & Törnberg, P. (2019). Toward a Macroevolutionary Theory of Human Evolution: The Social Protocell. Biological Theory, 14(2), 86-102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-018-0313-y [details]
- Andersson, C., Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2019). Wicked systems and the friction between “old theory and new data” in biology, social science and archaeology. In A. C. Love, & W. C. Wimsatt (Eds.), Beyond the Meme: Development and Structure in Cultural Evolution (pp. 470-498). (Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science; Vol. 22). University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctvnp0krm.16
- Chiappini, L., & Törnberg, P. (2019). Deus ex machina: makerspaces in Milan and their transformative potential. In J. Kaae Fisker, L. Chiappini, L. Pugalis, & A. Bruzzese (Eds.), The Production of Alternative Urban Spaces: An International Dialogue (pp. 73-92). (Regions and Cities; Vol. 130). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315103952-5 [details]
- Giabbanelli, P. J., Castellani, B., Voinov, A. A., & Törnberg, P. (2019). Ideal, best, and emerging practices in creating artificial societies. In 2019 Spring Simulation Conference (SpringSim) IEEE. https://doi.org/10.23919/SpringSim.2019.8732881
2018
- Andersson, C., & Törnberg, P. (2018). Wickedness and the Anatomy of Complexity. Futures, 95, 118-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2017.11.001 [details]
- Törnberg, P. (2018). Complex realist economics: toward an ontology for an interested pluralism. Review of Social Economy, 76(4), 509-534. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2018.1480796 [details]
- Törnberg, P. (2018). Echo chambers and viral misinformation: Modeling fake news as complex contagion. PLoS ONE, 13(9), [e0203958]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203958 [details]
- Törnberg, P., & Törnberg, A. (2018). The limits of computation: A philosophical critique of contemporary Big Data research. Big Data & Society, 5(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951718811843 [details]
2017
- Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2017). Modelling free social spaces and the diffusion of social mobilization. Social Movement Studies, 16(2), 182-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2016.1266243
2016
- Andersson, C., & Törnberg, P. (2016). Fidelity and the speed of the treadmill: The combined impact of population size, transmission fidelity, and selection on the accumulation of cultural complexity. American Antiquity, 81(3), 576-590. https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.81.3.576
- Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2016). Combining CDA and topic modeling: Analyzing discursive connections between Islamophobia and anti-feminism on an online forum. Discourse and Society, 27(4), 401-422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926516634546
- Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2016). Muslims in social media discourse: Combining topic modeling and critical discourse analysis. Discourse, Context and Media, 13, 132-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2016.04.003
2014
- Andersson, C., Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2014). An evolutionary developmental approach to cultural evolution. Current Anthropology, 55(2), 154-174. https://doi.org/10.1086/675692
- Andersson, C., Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2014). Developing of the future: Scaffolded Darwinism in societal evolution. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37(4), 417-418. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X13003105
- Andersson, C., Törnberg, A., & Törnberg, P. (2014). Societal systems - Complex or worse? Futures, 63, 145-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2014.07.003
2017
- van der Valk, I., & Törnberg, P. (2017). Monitor moslimdiscriminatie: Derde rapportage. IMES, Universiteit van Amsterdam. http://imes.uva.nl/binaries/content/assets/subsites/institute-for-migration--ethnic-studies/publications/derde-monitor-moslimdiscriminatie.pdf?2981217547959 [details]
2021
- Eaton, A., Törnberg, K. P., & van de Ven, C. (2021). De online echoput van extreem-rechts. De Groene Amsterdammer, (21). https://www.groene.nl/artikel/de-online-echoput-van-extreem-rechts
2018
- Keuchenius, A. (Author), & Törnberg, K. P. (Author). (2018). ScienceTeaser: The Spread of Scientific Ideas. Digital or Visual Products, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La8p2Ie8CXI
Prize / grant
- Tornberg, P. (2020). NWO Veni "Seeing the city through digital platforms". https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/nwo-talent-programme/projects-veni/2020
Media appearance
- Törnberg, P. (03-11-2022). Het idee van de bubbel op sociale media is achterhaald [Web] Folia. Het idee van de bubbel op sociale media is achterhaald. https://www.folia.nl/wetenschap/154100/het-idee-van-de-bubbel-op-sociale-media-is-achterhaald
Talk / presentation
- Törnberg, K. P. (speaker) (17-9-2017). The Gendered Selfie: Studying Gender on Social Media, Conference on Complex Systems. Cancun, Mexico, Cancun.
- Törnberg, K. P. (invited speaker) (2017). Complexity and the Social, UvA/Spui 25.
- Törnberg, A. (invited speaker) & Törnberg, K. P. (invited speaker) (2017). Mixed-methods Digital Research: Complexity and the Digital World, DigSum at Umeå University, Sweden..
- Törnberg, K. P. (invited speaker) (2017). The Social Complexity of Digital Data, ECCO/GBI. VUB. Brussels.
- Chiappini, L. (invited speaker) & Törnberg, K. P. (invited speaker) (2017). Gentrification issues between North and South, East and West: Case study on gentrification processes through the lens of digital data, Politecnico di Milano, architectural department.
Others
- Törnberg, K. P. (organiser) (15-11-2017). “Quantitative Tools for Qualitative Analysis: Computational Social Science meets Discourse Analysis” at “European Symposium Series on Societal Challenges in Computational Social Science”, London (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
2021
- Keuchenius, A., Törnberg, P. & Uitermark, J. (17-8-2021). Data for ''Why it is important to consider negative ties when studying polarized debates on Twitter: a signed network analysis of a Dutch cultural controversy on Twitter". Universiteit van Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.21942/uva.14176493
2020
- Keuchenius, A., Uitermark, J. & Tornberg, P. (25-5-2020). Data for "Adoption and Adaptation: A Computational Case Study of the Spread of Granovetter’s Weak Ties Hypothesis". Universiteit van Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.21942/uva.12310046.v1
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Ancillary activities
No ancillary activities
Törnberg, P. (2023). How platforms govern: Social regulation in digital capitalism. Big Data & Society, 10(1).