Adrienne Fichter is a freelance technology Journalist and Political Scientist for various media companies in Zurich, Switzerland. Fichter's field of study and interest lies in digitization, web policy, and social media. Fichter focuses on her web magazine called, "Policy 4.0," that discusses topics on digital democracy and civic tech. She is also a part time lecturer and Course Director for FHS St. Gallen, the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich, Switzerland.

Fichter was born on April 12, 1984 in Lucerne, Switzerland and later moved to Zurich, Switzerland. In 2002, Fichter completed her education from "Gymnasium Luzern," a special school with strong emphasis on academic learning. She specialized in economics and law, with a supplementary focus on psychology, and pedagogy. From 2003 to 2009, she received a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Political science, Economic and Social History, and Public Law from the University of Zurich. In 2012, Fichter attained a certificate in Social Media Management from a private corporation called Somexcloud Academy.

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Fichter is currently writing a book that will be published by NZZ Libro on September 16, 2017 called, "The Smartphone Democracy."

The book discusses the fundamental developments of digital democracy, including fake news, hacking, and micro-targeting social media users. Fichter claims that the three pillars of democracy: the way individuals debate, the information they consume, and the public opinion, are largely influenced by artificial intelligence and machine learning. She defines digital democracy as the large movement of political conversations to social media platforms. The main problem that Fichter emphasizes is the algorithms that social media platforms use to limit the information the user receives. For example, Facebook tabulates the kind of information a certain individual interacts with and then further provides that user with similar information. Fichter argues that these algorithms “lock us from one another.” She advocates for a broader representation of all political opinions and writes in her book that this broader representation “could create a constructive, positive, and deliberative debate culture.”

Fichter observes that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly exploring their role and their influence on electoral participation.

As a result, political discussions are increasingly shifting to social media.

As news finds its way into user feeds, its impact increases as users comment and share the news, regardless of its authenticity.

Specifically, Fichter argues against Facebook algorithms because they constrain the user to information that is similar to the user's interests and opinions, rather than exposing the user to new perspectives. As a result, since the user is exposed to information that just confirms his/her views, he/she is more likely to believe fake news if it aligns with his/her beliefs.

However, Fichter does not blame social media for the spreading of falsehoods; she claims that the filter algorithms are simply a part of their business model.

Rather, she insists that “politicians need to take an urgent interest in the design of digital democracy, instead of leaving the field to [Facebook and Twitter].”

She says that politicians are responsible for reliable political information because if democratic opinion- and decision-making were left to social networks, the three pillars of democracy (see Publications) would fall victim to the aforementioned filter algorithms, and eventually, fake news.

As a result, social media users would be ill-informed and more ignorant of political democracy.

Consequently, Fichter illustrates that there was an increase in the amount of fake news seen on social media during the 2016 US Election Campaign.

Community Management | Social Media Blogging | Political Communication | Online Lead Generation | Infographics | Online Marketing | Political Campaigns | Political Science | Journalism

2013 | Grimme Online Award

2012 | Best of Swiss Web Award Bronze for "Parlament Explorer"

2012| Data Journalism Award Catagorie "Data Driven Application" Global Editors Network

2011| Top 100 Start-Ups

"It is not the presence that counts but the continuous dialogue with the citizens."

"It is this entanglement of start-up thinking, university-depth and think-tank reflections that I've always been looking for."

"I want more ambition and vision in the digital economy."

"To blame the private enterprise for the sake of democratization, would be a matter of course.

Why should a publicly traded technology company be responsible for unfiltered political discourse?"

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