Bernhard Rieder

Research

My research focuses on the history, theory, and politics of software and in particular on the role algorithms play in the production of knowledge and culture. This work includes the development, application, and analysis of computational research methods and the investigation of political and economic challenges posed by large online platforms.

After studying Communication, History, and Philosophy at Vienna University, I obtained a PhD in Information and Communication Sciences from Paris 8 University (2006), where I was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor at the Département Hypermédia, co-directing the “Création et Edition Numériques” Master’s program. I have been a visiting fellow at Utrecht University’s Centre for the Humanities and Descartes Centre and participated in the EMAPS project, an EU-funded study of the applications of electronic mapping led by Bruno Latour. In 2018, I joined the European Commission’s Observatory on the Online Platform Economy as a nominated expert.

My long-term investigation into the historical and conceptual foundations of information processing techniques, Engines of Order, was published in 2020 by Amsterdam University Press.

Publications

2026

  1. The Tate-space on YouTube: Ambient ideology and the limits of platform moderation Rieder, B., August, B., & Latil, B. (2026). New Media & Society. Advance online publication. Article
  2. Forgetful by design? A critical audit of YouTube’s search API for academic research Rieder, B., Padilla, A., & Coromina, Ò. (2026). Information, Communication & Society, 29(10), 3056–3075. ArticleOpen access
  3. Larger, younger, faster, harder: Expansion, transformation, and inequality in YouTube’s creator economy (2019–2026) Rieder, B., Padilla, A., Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Coromina, Ò. (2026). SocArXiv preprint. Preprint
  4. Ranking authority: A critical audit of YouTube’s content moderation Jurg, D., Romano, S., & Rieder, B. (2026). In Content Moderation across Social Media Platforms (pp. 71–96). Routledge, open access. Chapter
  5. Social Media Data Access in the Post-API Age Borra, E., Peeters, S., Rieder, B., & Trans, M. (2026). In The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics (pp. 243–259). Routledge. Chapter
  6. Toolmaking is science by other means; Meet the DCSSH toolmakers; Why do DCSSH toolmakers make tools?; The lifecycle of DC tools for SSH; Valuing toolmaking in academia; In defense of the researcher-toolmaker figure Jacomy, M., Rieder, B., Borra, E., Plique, G., Enevoldsen, K. C., & van Eck, N. J. (2026). Six chapters in A. K. Madsen & A. K. Munk (Eds.), Handbook of Digital and Computational Research Methods (pp. 294–351). Edward Elgar. Chapter

2025

  1. Homesteading the “Wild West” of educational apps: Ranking cultures and the struggle for algorithmic visibility on Apple’s App Store Zavala Barreda, K., & Rieder, B. (2025). First Monday, 30(5). Article
  2. Computational Cross-Media Research: Tracing divergences between normative Dutch television and social media discourses on the ‘refugee crisis’ (2013–2018) de Keulenaar, E., Poell, T., Helmond, A., Rieder, B., & van Gorp, J. (2025). Convergence, 31(5), 1606–1628. Article
  3. What is digital about abstraction? Rieder, B. (2025). arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.18181. Preprint

2024

  1. Foundation models are platform models: Prompting and the political economy of AI Burkhardt, S., & Rieder, B. (2024). Big Data & Society, 11(2). Article
  2. From tool to tool-making: Reflections on authorship in social media research software Rieder, B., Peeters, S., & Borra, E. (2024). Convergence, 30(1), 216–235. Article
  3. The Political Economy of AI as Platform: Infrastructures, Power, and the AI Industry van der Vlist, F., Helmond, A., Luitse, D. M. R., Rieder, B., Hind, S., & Kanderske, M. (2024). AoIR2024: Selected Papers of Internet Research. Proceedings
  4. YouTube's Safety Features: Lost In Translation Jurg, D., Romano, S., Buse Çetin, R., & Rieder, B. (2024). AI Forensics. Report

2023

  1. Winner-Take-All? Visibility, Availability, and Heterogeneity on Webcam Sex Platforms Jokubauskaitė, E., Rieder, B., & Burkhardt, S. (2023). Social Media + Society, 9(4). Article
  2. Making a Living in the Creator Economy: A Large-Scale Study of Linking on YouTube Rieder, B., Borra, E., Coromina, Ò., & Matamoros-Fernández, A. (2023). Social Media + Society, 9(2). Article

2022

  1. On mapping values in AI Governance Gordon, G., Rieder, B., & Sileno, G. (2022). Computer Law & Security Review, 46, 105712. Article
  2. Towards a political economy of technical systems: The case of Google Rieder, B. (2022). Big Data & Society, 9(2). Article
  3. Mapping Value(s) in AI: Methodological Directions for Examining Normativity in Complex Technical Systems Rieder, B., Gordon, G., & Sileno, G. (2022). Sociologica, 16(3), 51–83. Article
  4. The historical trajectories of algorithmic techniques: An interview with Bernhard Rieder Stevenson, M., & Helmond, A. (2022). In Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web (pp. 179–188). Routledge. Other

2021

  1. The fabrics of machine moderation: Studying the technical, normative, and organizational structure of Perspective API Rieder, B., & Skop, Y. (2021). Big Data & Society, 8(2). Article
  2. Like Circles in the Water: Responsibility as a System-Level Function Sileno, G., Boer, A., Gordon, G., & Rieder, B. (2021). In AI Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems XI–XII (pp. 198–211). Springer, LNCS 13048. Chapter
  3. Monopolization: Concentrated power and economic embeddings in ML & AI Rieder, B., Sileno, G., & Gordon, G. (2021). In A New AI Lexicon. AI Now Institute. Other
  4. Work stream on differentiated treatment: Final report Graef, I., Jeon, D.-S., Rieder, B., van Hoboken, J., & Husovec, M. (2021). Expert Group for the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. European Commission. Report
  5. Measurement & economic indicators: Final report Lehdonvirta, V., Rieder, B., Raguseo, E., Jeon, D.-S., Graef, I., & van Hoboken, J. (2021). Expert Group for the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. European Commission. Report

2020

  1. Engines of Order: A Mechanology of Algorithmic Techniques Rieder, B. (2020). Amsterdam University Press (Recursions series). BookOpen access
  2. Towards platform observability Rieder, B., & Hofmann, J. (2020). Internet Policy Review, 9(4). Article
  3. Mapping YouTube: A quantitative exploration of a platformed media system Rieder, B., Coromina, Ò., & Matamoros-Fernández, A. (2020). First Monday, 25(8). Article
  4. Follow the Money: A large-scale investigation of monetization and optimization on YouTube Coromina, Ò., Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Rieder, B. (2020). AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. Proceedings
  5. Mapping value(s) in AI: The case of YouTube Rieder, B., Gordon, G., & Sileno, G. (2020). AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. Proceedings

2019

  1. The recursivity of internet governance research van Dijck, J., & Rieder, B. (2019). Internet Policy Review, 8(2). Article
  2. Métodos digitais: dos desafios à Bildung Rieder, B., & Röhle, T. (2019). In J. J. Omena (Ed.), Métodos Digitais: Teoria-Prática-Crítica. Portuguese translation of “Digital Methods: From Challenges to Bildung”. Chapter

2018

  1. Facebook polls as proto-democratic instruments in the Egyptian revolution: The ‘We Are All Khaled Said’ Facebook page Abdulla, R., Poell, T., Rieder, B., Woltering, R., & Zack, L. (2018). Global Media and Communication, 14(1), 141–160. Article
  2. Tweets Are Not Created Equal: Investigating Twitter's client ecosystem Gerlitz, C., & Rieder, B. (2018). International Journal of Communication, 12, 528–547. Article
  3. From ranking algorithms to ‘ranking cultures’: Investigating the modulation of visibility in YouTube search results Rieder, B., Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Coromina, Ò. (2018). Convergence, 24(1), 50–68. Article
  4. Examinando uma técnica algorítmica: o classificador de Bayes como uma leitura interessada da realidade Rieder, B. (2018). Parágrafo, 6(1), 123–142. Portuguese translation of “Scrutinizing an algorithmic technique”. Article
  5. Digital citizenship Rieder, B. (2018). In R. Braidotti & M. Hlavajova (Eds.), Posthuman Glossary (pp. 101–104). Bloomsbury. Chapter

2017

  1. Beyond Surveillance: How Do Markets and Algorithms ‘Think’? Rieder, B. (2017). Le foucaldien, 3(1). Article
  2. Scrutinizing an algorithmic technique: The Bayes classifier as interested reading of reality Rieder, B. (2017). Information, Communication & Society, 20(1), 100–117. Article
  3. Digital Methods: From Challenges to Bildung Rieder, B., & Röhle, T. (2017). In M. T. Schäfer & K. van Es (Eds.), The Datafied Society (pp. 109–124). Amsterdam University Press. Chapter

2016

  1. Protest leadership in the age of social media Poell, T., Abdulla, R., Rieder, B., Woltering, R., & Zack, L. (2016). Information, Communication & Society, 19(7), 994–1014. Article
  2. Big Data and the Paradox of Diversity Rieder, B. (2016). Digital Culture & Society, 2(2), 39–54. Article

2015

  1. Data critique and analytical opportunities for very large Facebook Pages: Lessons learned from exploring “We are all Khaled Said” Rieder, B., Abdulla, R., Poell, T., Woltering, R., & Zack, L. (2015). Big Data & Society, 2(2). Article
  2. Dans les ramures de l’arbre hypertexte: Analyse des incitations générées par l’opacité du moteur Google Sire, G., & Rieder, B. (2015). French Journal for Media Research, 3. Article
  3. A Page and Its Politics: Situating Kullinā Khālid Saʿīd in Egypt’s Ideological Landscape at the Time of Revolution Woltering, R., Abdulla, R., Poell, T., Rieder, B., & Zack, L. (2015). Cyber Orient, 9(2). Article

2014

  1. Programmed Method: Developing a Toolset for Capturing and Analyzing Tweets Borra, E., & Rieder, B. (2014). Aslib Journal of Information Management, 66(3), 262–278. Article
  2. Conflicts of Interest and Incentives to Bias: A Microeconomic Critique of Google’s Tangled Position on the Web Rieder, B., & Sire, G. (2014). New Media & Society, 16(2), 195–211. Article
  3. Data-Mining von einem Prozent Twitter – Sammlungen, Basislinien, Stichproben Gerlitz, C., & Rieder, B. (2014). In R. Reichert (Ed.), Big Data (pp. 203–220). Transcript. Chapter
  4. Climaps: A Global Issue Atlas of Climate Change Adaptation Sánchez Querubín, N., Venturini, T., Meunier, A., Munk, A. K., Borra, E. K., Rieder, B., Mauri, M., Azzi, M., Rogers, R. A., & Bounegru, L. (2014). Web publication. Other
  5. Review of L. Manovich (2013), Software Takes Command Rieder, B. (2014). Information, Communication & Society, 17(9), 1164–1167. Other
  6. Techniques of intersection: Metrics as connectors and separators in Twitter research Gerlitz, C., & Rieder, B. (2014). AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. Proceedings

2013

  1. Mining one percent of Twitter: Collections, baselines, sampling Gerlitz, C., & Rieder, B. (2013). M/C Journal, 16(2). Article
  2. 81.498 words: The book as data object Rieder, B. (2013). In J. Kircz & A. van der Weel (Eds.), The Unbound Book (pp. 57–70). Amsterdam University Press. Chapter
  3. Studying Facebook via data extraction: The Netvizz application Rieder, B. (2013). Proceedings of the 5th Annual ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci ’13), 346–355. Best paper award. Proceedings
  4. Social infomediation of news on Twitter: A French case study Smyrnaios, N., & Rieder, B. (2013). NECSUS, 2(2), 359–382. Article
  5. Le livre dans la base de données : une interrogation à propos de Google Books Rieder, B. (2013). In B. Dufrêne, M. Ihadjadene & D. Bruckmann (Eds.), Numérisation du patrimoine (pp. 63–77). Hermann. Chapter

2012

  1. Institutionalizing without institutions? Web 2.0 and the conundrum of democracy Rieder, B. (2012). In F. Massit-Folléa, C. Méadel & L. Monnoyer-Smith (Eds.), Normative Experience in Internet Politics (pp. 157–186). Presses des Mines. Chapter
  2. The refraction chamber: Twitter as sphere and network Rieder, B. (2012). First Monday, 17(11). Article
  3. What is in PageRank? A Historical and Conceptual Investigation of a Recursive Status Index Rieder, B. (2012). Computational Culture, 2. Article
  4. Zentralität und Sichtbarkeit: Mathematik als Hierarchisierungsinstrument am Beispiel der frühen Bibliometrie Rieder, B. (2012). In T. Brandstetter, T. Hübel & A. Tantner (Eds.), Vor Google (pp. 223–252). Transcript. Chapter
  5. Digital methods: Five challenges Rieder, B., & Röhle, T. (2012). In D. M. Berry (Ed.), Understanding Digital Humanities (pp. 67–84). Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter
  6. Pluralisme et infomédiation sociale de l’actualité : le cas de Twitter Rieder, B., & Smyrnaios, N. (2012). Réseaux, 176, 105–139. Article
  7. Probability at Work: Information Filtering as Technique Rieder, B. (2012). SSRN working paper. Preprint
  8. The Politics of Formalization: What Social Computing Can Learn from the Prehistory of PageRank Rieder, B. (2012). AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012. Proceedings

2011

  1. Démocratiser la recherche en ligne ? De la critique à une conception orientée société Rieder, B. (2011). In L. Grivel (Ed.), La recherche d'information en contexte (pp. 253–276). Lavoisier. Chapter

2010

  1. Pratiques informationnelles et analyse des traces numériques : de la représentation à l’intervention Rieder, B. (2010). Études de communication, 35, 91–104. Article
  2. De la communauté à l’écume : quels concepts de sociabilité pour le « web social » ? Rieder, B. (2010). tic&société, 4(1). Article

2009

  1. Democratizing Search? From Critique to Society-oriented Design Rieder, B. (2009). In K. Becker & F. Stalder (Eds.), Deep Search: The Politics of Search beyond Google (pp. 133–151). StudienVerlag / Transaction. Chapter
  2. Demokratisierung der Suche? Von der Kritik zum gesellschaftlich orientierten Design Rieder, B. (2009). In K. Becker & F. Stalder (Eds.), Deep Search: Politik des Suchens jenseits von Google. StudienVerlag. Chapter

2008

  1. Entre marché et communauté : une discussion de la culture participative à l’exemple de Google Maps Rieder, B. (2008). Ludovia 2008: Do it yourself 2.0, Actes, 282–292. Proceedings
  2. La question de la normativité des objets techniques comme passerelle entre ‘information’ et ‘communication’ en SIC Rieder, B. (2008). Congrès annuel de la SFSIC (working paper). Proceedings
  3. Beyond Engineering: Software Design as Bridge over the Culture/Technology Dichotomy Rieder, B., & Schäfer, M. T. (2008). In P. E. Vermaas, P. Kroes, A. Light & S. A. Moore (Eds.), Philosophy and Design (pp. 159–174). Springer. Chapter

2007

  1. Étudier les réseaux comme phénomènes hétérogènes : quelle place pour la ‘nouvelle science des réseaux’ en sciences humaines et sociales ? Rieder, B. (2007). Journées d’étude « Dynamiques de réseaux », Université de Bordeaux (working paper). Proceedings
  2. H2PTM’07: Collaborer, échanger, inventer : expériences de réseaux Saleh, I., Ghedira, K., Belhassen, B., Bouhaï, N., & Rieder, B. (Eds.) (2007). Hermès Lavoisier. Book
  3. Teilhaben am Objekt: Adaptierbarkeit als Knotenpunkt von Kultur und Technik Rieder, B. (2007). Proceedings, Kongress Kulturwissenschaftliche Technikforschung. Proceedings

2006

  1. An Experimental Collaboration Tool for the Humanities: The Procspace System Rieder, B. (2006). Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems (COOP ’06), 123–130. Proceedings
  2. Métatechnologies et délégation : pour un design orienté-société dans l’ère du Web 2.0 Rieder, B. (2006). PhD thesis, Université Paris 8 Vincennes–Saint-Denis. Thesis

2005

  1. Networked Control: Search Engines and the Symmetry of Confidence Rieder, B. (2005). International Review of Information Ethics, 3(1), 26–32. Article
  2. Towards New Practices of Education and E-learning on the Web Bouhaï, N., & Rieder, B. (2005). Proceedings of ICHSL.5 – Human System Learning, Marrakech, 97–106. Proceedings
  3. Sphère publique et espaces procéduraux Rieder, B., & Thévenet, M. (2005). Actes du colloque Enjeux et usages des TIC, Université Bordeaux 3, 139–148. Proceedings
  4. A constructivist approach for training environments Bouhaï, N., & Rieder, B. (2005). Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2005, Montréal, 3795–3799. Proceedings

2004

  1. Algorithmische Mediatoren: Software-Agenten als Gegenstand der Medienwissenschaften Rieder, B. (2004). Medienjournal, 28(1), 36–46. Article

Talks and lectures

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