Ernesto de León
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Portrait of Ernesto de León

Ernesto de León

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

ASCoR, University of Amsterdam

About me

Hello! I am a political communication researcher focused on understanding how human and algorithmic information curation shape our shared political realities.

I am a postdoctoral research fellow at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, and part of the Public Values in the Algorithmic Society (AlgoSoc) consortium. There I lead the Longitudinal Effects Panel, a three-year Dutch panel study that combines surveys with digital trace data donations from YouTube, Google, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and I created the Dutch AI Opinion Monitor. I also serve on the board of the International Communication Association as Student and Early Career Representative (2025–2027).

I hold a PhD in communication science (summa cum laude) from the University of Bern. Originally from the Dominican Republic, I did my BA in International Relations at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico and my MSc in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam.

Interests

  • Algorithmic curation
  • Natural language processing
  • Computational social science
  • Social media engagement
  • Media effects & public opinion

Education

  • PhD in Political Communication, 2023University of Bern · summa cum laude
  • MSc Political Science (Research), 2020University of Amsterdam · cum laude
  • BA International Relations, 2018Tecnológico de Monterrey

Research

My research looks at political information flows in a digital age and their effects on political attitudes, using computational methods: web tracking, data donations, and large-scale text-as-data analyses. It falls into three branches:

  • Aggregate information flows. What drives the diffusion of political news on social media, the role of emotions, and how elections change patterns of news engagement.
  • Individual access to political information. Combining survey and digital trace data to understand how people use algorithmic intermediaries such as search engines and social media to reach political information.
  • Effects of political news consumption. How news use shapes trust in politics, perceptions of public opinion, and participation.

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© 2026 Ernesto de León

 

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