Dr. Yossi David
The Department of Communication Studies
(email)

I am the head of the Media and Social BIAS (Beliefs, Ideologies, Affect, and Stereotypes) Lab, which is part of both the Department of Communication Studies and the Data Science Research Center at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Prior to this, I was a faculty member in the Department of Communications at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, in Germany (2018-2022). Until 2027, I am also serving as chair of the Ethnicity and Race in Communication (ERIC) division of the International Communication Association (ICA).

My scholarly interests center on what drive public opinion and social behavior, with a special emphasis on antagonistic and hostile communication behaviors, both in the context of professional media production and digital media. Over the past several years, I have been investigating the social and psychological mechanisms that are at play in these kinds of antagonistic and hostile communication behaviors (e.g., hate speech, racism, sexism, stereotypes, and the intersection between these) and how these mechanisms contribute to shaping and preserving public opinion and human behavior. This includes examining the ways in which ideologies, emotions, and beliefs contribute to the use and effect of such hateful discourses in professional media production and digital media. 

In addition to my research and teaching activities, since 2023 I have served as the head of both the Ethics Committee and the Graduate Students Committee in the Department of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University. I am also a member of the Haredi Research Group (HRG) and of the Executive Committee of DigiWorld, a scientific collaboration network that seeks to compare election campaign strategies in digital communication channels at an international level.

My other interests include long-distance running, hiking, and volunteering to make the higher education system more accessible for first-generation students—especially those who have disaffiliated from the ultra-Orthodox community. I’m the founder of the Equal Opportunities Unit for first-generation students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a co-founder of Out for Change, an organization which aims to help people who disaffiliate from the ultra-Orthodox community better integrate into society. In 2021, I founded the social running club Runners for Change, which seeks to inspire people undergoing major life changes, such as disaffiliation from the ultra-Orthodox community, to use the power of physical movement to manage the challenges associated with this process.