The recent developments in the research area of social media and political discourse reveal a significant shift towards leveraging advanced data analysis techniques to understand and regulate online information ecosystems. Researchers are increasingly focusing on the impact of algorithms on content visibility and the potential for manipulation, emphasizing the need for transparency in these systems. Additionally, there is a growing interest in using semantic change detection methods to trace the evolution of scientific concepts, such as virtual particles, providing new insights into their philosophical and historical development. The field is also witnessing innovative approaches to political discourse analysis, such as extending manifesto-based methods to Twitter data, and creating enriched speech corpora for more nuanced political text analysis. These advancements collectively highlight a move towards more sophisticated, data-driven methodologies to address complex issues in social media and political science.