EU research project · 2023–2026
TWON studied how the design of online social networks affects democratic debate. We built digital twins of social networks, populated them with generative AI agents and analysed how platform design and ranking algorithms shape opinion dynamics, polarisation and the quality of online discourse.
Our approach
We create a digital twin of an online social network and populate it using generative artificial intelligence – independent from the good will of companies like X, Meta or TikTok.
We analyse the effects of specific platform design and ranking algorithms on opinion dynamics and the quality of discourse by bringing together platform modelling and generative agents.
Synthetic agents powered by generative AI form the virtual population of our simulations. They are calibrated with empirical data to act as realistically as possible.
We model the network mechanics and user behaviour: what posts users see, which behaviour is rewarded, and when users choose to write, like or comment.
We explored the impact of platform mechanics on opinions and debates of real users – in Serbia about the war in Ukraine and in Germany about health topics.
A metric grounded in democratic theory: exposure to, engagement with and contribution of political content, plus diversity and quality of exposure.
Together with DialoguePerspectives e.V. we discussed our results in Citizen Labs across Europe and developed policy recommendations for decision-makers.
Events, publications and insights from the TWON consortium.
In March 2026, the TWON consortium developed its third and final policy brief, presenting policy recommendations for shaping online social networks in line with democratic values, fundamental rights, and European digital sovereignty.
At the end of March, the Jožef Stefan Institute, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), and the University of Maribor hosted a joint event exploring how modern AI tools can be integrated into the media landscape and how they can support journalistic work in an …
On 17 March 2026, we held our final TWON evening event in Brussels, bringing together policymakers, researchers, civil society representatives, and practitioners to discuss how Europe can strengthen digital sovereignty in the digital public sphere.
The fourth and final TWON Citizen Lab took place in Brussels from 14 to 18 March 2026. Bringing together young leaders from various communities from all over Europe came together to discuss a digital and sovereign European future.
Partners
Nine partners from research, public health, media and civil society.
Policy recommendations for shaping online social networks in line with democratic values, fundamental rights and European digital sovereignty.
