About
I'm Julien Labarre, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Originally from France, I came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar in 2016. My work straddles political communication, political behavior and psychology. More specifically, I study how the media and political psychology contribute to pathologies of democracy, such as epistemic vulnerability, polarization, and populist or extreme attitudes.
My work has been published in Political Communication, the Journal of Information Technology & Politics and the International Journal of Press/Politics. It also found its way into prominent media in the US and France, like The New York Times, Le Monde, HuffPost, Libération, Diplomatic Courier, and Médiapart.
I am an active contributor to ReCitCom, a cross-national survey of media use, political behavior and preferences, personality, and other communicative processes. This collaborative project brings together scholars from Audencia Business School, UC Santa Barbara, SciencesPo-CEVIPOF, University of Silesia, and other institutions across Europe. The project is funded by the Audencia Foundation.
I am also a contributor to the COST Action CA22165: Redressing Radical Polarisation: Strengthening European Civil Spheres facing Illiberal Digital Media (DepolarisingEU) and have collaborated with members of NEPOCS as a French partner on THREATPIE projects. In addition, I am the French partner on Democracy Reporting International’s Social Media Monitoring Hub for the 2024 European Parliament elections.
I am an award-winning instructor with a strong commitment to inclusive and experiential pedagogy. I've been fortunate to receive highly selective teaching awards, including a Fulbright teaching scholarship (2016), the UCSB Graduate Student Association Excellence in Teaching award (2018), the Adams-Lee Distinguished Teaching Award (2020, 2022 & 2023), and most recently the UCSB Academic Senate Outstanding Teaching award (2023).
Beyond teaching and research, I am the Administrator of UCSB’s Center of Information Technology & Society (CITS), which supports interdisciplinary research from faculty homed across 13 departments in STEM, the Social Sciences and Humanities.
When I'm away from work, I enjoy spending time with my three-year-old dog Jack.
Latest News
Study cited in final report of French Parliament Investigation Committee
May 14, 2024
Following months of hearings and parliamentary deliberations, the “TNT” investigation committee released its final report on TV License Attributions and Media Pluralism in France. The report, authored by MP Aurélien Saintoul, cites Julien Labarre’s recent study on CNews and partisan media in France as evidence of the channel’s radicalization. A couple of propositions shared with the MP were also included in the final report’s policy recommendations.
Read the final report here.
Research cited in French Parliament and the HuffPost
March 19, 2024
Assistant-director general of Reporters without Borders Thibaut Bruttin cites Julien Labarre’s recent study in his opening statement during his hearing in French Parliament. The hearing took place within the context of a parliamentary investigation committee on TV license renewals and media pluralism.
The same day, a HuffPost article discussing the refusal of two major candidates for the 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections to participate in a televised debate on hyperpartisan news outlet CNews quoted Julien Labarre’s recent op-ed in Le Monde.
Watch the parliamentary hearing on LCP channel’s YouTube video and read the piece in the HuffPost here.
Op-ed on French hyperpartisan media in Le Monde
March 5, 2024
Having recently published an audience-centric study showing that CNews is comparable to Fox News on several metrics, Julien Labarre was invited to author an op-ed in Le Monde. The op-ed translates the findings of his study for a general audience and comments on its implications in the context of the ongoing parliamentary investigation and TV licensing renewal process.
Read the piece in Le Monde here.
You’ll find an English translation here.
Julien Labarre publishes new study on news audience hyperpartisanship in Journal of Information Technology & Society
January 16, 2024
Are comparisons between Fox News and France's CNEWS overblown or warranted? How can researchers reliably assess news audience partisanship cross-nationally? Read this paper if you are interested in media regulations, audience behavior, and partisan news sources.
Read the article here.
Interview in Médiapart on French media and radicalization of CNews
March 5, 2024
Yunnes Abzouz from Médiapart invited Julien Labarre to speak about his research on Fox News and CNews, and examine hearings from the ongoing parliamentary investigation into the French news channel.
Read the article in Médiapart here.
You can read it in English (automatically translated) here.
New York Times quotes Julien Labarre’s work on polarization and constitutional hardball
DECEMBER 13, 2023
Amanda Taub of The New York Times invited Julien Labarre to share his expertise on 'constitutional hardball' and political polarization in The Interpreter subscribers-only newsletter.
Read the article here.
Julien Labarre presents new research at 2023 APSA Annual Meeting
SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
Julien Labarre presented a forthcoming paper titled "Media Use, Feelings of Being Devalued, and Democratically Corrosive Attitudes in the US" at the 2023 APSA Annual meeting in Los Angeles, coauthored with Bruce Bimber, Daniel Gomez, Ilia Nikiforov, and Karolina Koc-Michalska. This paper sheds light on the relationship between media consumption, perception of social devaluation, and their impact on anti-democratic attitudes in the United States. Their research offers important insights into the nuanced role of traditional and social media and in the development of anti-democratic sentiment.
Read manuscript here.
Julien Labarre publishes guest contribution in Diplomatic Courier
MAY 3, 2023
When France ratified the Lisbon Treaty of 2009 and adopted the European constitution, it did so against the will of French citizens who voted against the constitution in a 2005 referendum. For many this created a fracture in the relationship between citizenry and government—and that’s a wound which has been reopened by the recent pension reform defended by President Macron’s government. Some critics highlight the abnormality of procedures used by the government to adopt the bill, while others call the reform outright unconstitutional. Yet, democracy cannot rely solely on constitutional devices. Its legitimacy depends on the respect of implicit norms accepted across partisan divides. It is therefore quite remarkable that no one has yet uttered two words that have emerged in political science literature about twenty years ago: "constitutional hardball."
Read article in Diplomatic Courier here.
Read the translation in French, here.
Julien Labarre receives UCSB Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
APRIL 12, 2023
The Academic Senate Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recognizes the contributions of UCSB graduate students to teaching and learning. The recipients are selected by a committee composed of representatives from the Graduate Council and Council on Faculty Welfare, Academic Freedom, and Awards, as well as past recipients of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Up to four recipients are selected each year.
Read the announcement from the UCSB Department of Political Science here.
Julien Labarre co-authors public-facing report on alternative media for the THREATPIE project
March 1, 2024
The THREATPIE team has prepared a report on the social media (Facebook & Twitter) presence and communication by Alternative Media in Europe and the US. The report encompasses a survey addressing alternative media use in 18 countries and a content analysis of Facebook and Twitter communication strategies of selected alternative media outlets in these countries in 2021 and 2023.
Read the report here.