The Discourse of Conflict in Social Media Networks

Utafiti ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102
Author(s):  
Frolence Rutechura
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
News Event

Conflict in online discussions has the potential to polarise individuals’ perceptions of any online political related post, yet political communication scholarship has paid little attention to systematic study of how verbal attacks play out in online discussions of political related posts. This paper takes a critical look at some samples of online readers’ comments to the news post issued by the European Union condemning the rise of political-related violence in Tanzania on the Tanzania based online platform−JamiiForums−in order to see how language is used by individuals to express their view points and opinions on the news event. This study applies van Dijk’s (2006) socio-cognitive approach of positive-self and negative-other polarisation in the readers’ comments on the news event.

Social media in/and the politics of the European Union

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Krzyżanowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Organizational Communication ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Online Help ◽  
Political Discourses

Abstract This paper looks at how social/online media – using the example of Twitter – are used in the politico-organizational communication of the European Union at a time when it faces multiple crises and is in acute need of effectively communicating its politics to the European demos. Proposing a critical discourse framework for the analysis of the politico-organizational use of Twitter, the paper shows that while, to some extent, bringing change or ‘modernization’ to EU political communication patterns, social/online media help in sustaining some of the deep-seated dispositions in EU communicative and organizational practices as well as political discourses. As deployed by the EU’s – and specifically the European Commission’s – spokesperson service, social/online help in solidifying some of the controversial patterns in EU political communication. They also bring in other, more contemporary, challenges as regards using Twitter and social media as parts of political and institutional/organizational communication.

Epilogue

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Goodin ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Majority Rule ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Epistemic Democracy ◽  
The Core ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

This chapter reflects on the election of Donald Trump and the vote of the British electorate in favour of ‘Brexit’ from the European Union. While we refrain from judging the outcomes of these votes, we do discuss concerns pertaining to the lack of truthfulness in both campaigns. After rehearsing the lies on which the Trump and Brexit campaigns were based, we consider different explanations as to why these campaigns were nevertheless successful, and where this leaves the argument for epistemic democracy. Particularly worrisome are tendencies towards ‘epistemic insouciance’, ‘epistemic malevolence’, and ‘epistemic agnosticism’. We also consider the problematic influence of social media in terms of echo chambers and filter bubbles. The core argument in favour of epistemic democracy is that the pooling of votes by majority rule has epistemically beneficial properties, assuming certain conditions. If these assumptions are not met, or are systematically corrupted, then epistemic democracy is under threat.

scholarly journals Social Media and EuroMaidan: A Review Essay

Slavic Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan MacDuffee Metzger ◽  
Joshua A. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
The Government

As more than a billion people had done previously, on November 21, 2013, Ukrainian journalist and activist Mustafa Nayem wrote a Facebook post; this post, however, would have a much larger impact on subsequent political developments than most that had preceded it. Frustrated with President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision not to sign a long-promised association agreement with the European Union, Nayem asked others who shared his frustration to comment on his post. Even more importantly, Nayem wrote that if the post received at least 1000 comments from people willing to join him, they should all go to Independence Square to protest. And indeed they did: starting with just a few thousand people, the protests would swell to be the largest since Ukraine’s independence, particularly after police used force against protesters at the end of November 2013. Eventually, these protests led to the resignation of the government, the exile of the former president, and indirectly to the secession of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country.

scholarly journals Instant democracy: a look forward to the EU’s digital future

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-81
Author(s):  
Miguel Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Information Security ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Digital Democracy ◽  
Technological Advances

Democracy’s resilience is being put to the test by the 21st century. The impactof globalisation and digitalisation has disenfranchised many but so have traditional democratic practices. In an era of constant and immediate communication, with society embracing technological advances while struggling to cope with its inadvertent effects, democracy is still tethered to traditional practices that limit citizens’ roles to casting their ballots every few years. However, theory is now being put to the test and experiments with digital democracy are popping up across the globe. In this article, we cover three participative democracy instruments, namely the European Citizens Initiative, e-Voting and e-Participatory Budgeting, delving into their potential and identifying their limitations, in the context of the European Union. We also cover the unforeseen threats to democracy posed by information security issues and social media.

EU diplomacy 2.0: The European Union’s exercise in soft power in the Philippines through Facebook

2020 ◽  
pp. 280-299
Author(s):  
Manuel Enverga
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
Social Networking Website ◽  
Digital Diplomacy

Digital diplomacy, also referred to as e-Diplomacy or Diplomacy 2.0, is a form of public diplomacy that entails the pursuance of foreign policy objectives using the Internet and social media. It is one of the ways that actors in contemporary global politics can exert soft power, thereby shaping a host country’s perceptions, agendas, and policies. The increasing use of digital diplomacy exemplifies a shift in diplomatic from purely government-to-government (G2G) relations, to one in which communication is directed towards publics (G2P), and can even encourage citizens to interact with one another (P2P). One actor that has become increasingly active in this area is the European Union (EU). However, unlike a country, the regional bloc is a coalition of twenty-eight member states. Consequently, the challenge for EU digital diplomacy specialists is to represent a group of countries to local audiences. There is minimal literature on this subject, and this paper hopes to contribute to it by presenting a case study of the EU’s digital diplomacy initiatives towards Philippines, which are communicated through the popular social networking website, Facebook. This paper argues that the EU exercises its soft power through its social media transmissions it creates. The individuals featured in its online content, the way that the European Union represents itself, and the issues it highlights in its posts are all geared towards shaping the perceptions of Philippine audiences.

Social media in the dissemination of statistical information

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Michał Sułkowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Statistical Knowledge ◽  
The World

The article describes the role of social media in the information society and the use of them by the public administration. For the analysis there were selected and assessed most popular types of social media. The evaluation included trends in the use of this type of information channels in dissemination of statistical knowledge as a way to build the image of official statistics in society. Particular attention was paid to their role in the activities of national statistical offices in the world, and especially in the European Union.

Comparative Political Communication Research

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claes H. de Vreese
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Journalists ◽  
Cross National

This chapter provides an overview of comparative political communication research (CPCR). CPCR is a growing field since there is wide acknowledgement that many questions are not answered satisfactorily with single case studies. The chapter explains why political communication researchers should care about cross-national comparisons and outlines types of CPCR—descriptive, explanatory, and comparison of relation—explaining variation in relations across units. Then the areas of CPCR are reviewed: media and political systems, political and elections news, political communication in the European Union, and political journalists. Finally, the chapter identifies unanswered questions for CPCR to address.

scholarly journals Framing #Brexit on Twitter: The EU 27’s lesson in message discipline?

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-459
Author(s):  
Maja Šimunjak ◽  
Alessandro Caliandro
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Eu

This study examines the ways in which and reasons why the remaining Member States of the European Union, the EU 27, communicated about Brexit on the most popular social media in politics – Twitter, by drawing on a multi method examination of UK-based EU 27 diplomatic entities’ Twitter practices during the process of Brexit negotiations. The findings suggest that the EU 27 maintained message consistency on the topic of Brexit on Twitter, supporting the EU’s negotiating position, demonstrating internal cohesiveness and potentially contributing to the EU’s effectiveness in the Brexit negotiations. Our study also reveals that the framing of Brexit on Twitter was deliberate and strategic, but with a range of different motivations behind the promotion of certain frames. Finally, Twitter is seen by diplomats as a tool conducive to meeting public diplomacy’s aim of relationship-building, but not one to be used for advocacy and influencing interpretation of controversial Brexit issues.

scholarly journals Risk Management in Future Romanian E-Government 2.0 Projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Otniel Didraga
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Tools And Techniques ◽  
Behavioral Transformations ◽  
Risk Categories

Abstract E-government public services in Romania must follow unitary procedures considering the new requirements of the European Union from the Digital Agenda for Europe Strategy 2020. E-government 2.0 has to be implemented because of the cultural and behavioral transformations in the interaction between governments and users of e-services. E-government 2.0 projects use tools and techniques of social media to accomplish their goals. This article examines the possible risk categories and the risk management procedures needed to mitigate risks in future Romanian e-government projects, according to the strategic lines of development for the Digital Agenda. We propose a risk management plan for the e-government lines of action within the strategic lines of development that includes identifying, assessing, and mitigating the risks. New and modernized government services through e-government 2.0 projects that apply risk management will bring a significant improvement in how citizens and businesses relate to government and will increase the use of e-government services.

scholarly journals Anti-refugee Mobilization in Social Media: The Case of Soldiers of Odin

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 205630511876443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Ekman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Street Politics ◽  
New Year’S Eve

In the wake of the international refugee crisis, racist attitudes are becoming more publicly evident across the European Union. Propelled by the attacks in Köln on New Year’s Eve 2015 and harsher public sentiments on immigration, vigilante gangs have emerged in various European cities. These gangs mobilize through social media networks and claim to protect citizens from alleged violent and sexual attacks by refugees. This article analyzes how racist actors use social media to mobilize and organize street politics targeting refugees/immigrants. The aim is to explore the relation between social media and anti-refugee mobilization in a time of perceived insecurity and forced migration. The study uses the vigilante network Soldiers of Odin as a specific case, looking at (1) how they communicate through social media, (2) how they are represented in the large “alternative” space of right-wing online sites, and (3) how they are represented in traditional mainstream news. Using a critical adaption of Cammaerts’ theory of “mediation opportunity structure,” the article explicates the (inverted) rationale of racist online networks. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, both social media content and traditional news media are examined. The results show that although racist actors succeed in utilizing many of the opportunities embedded in social media communication and protest logic, they are also subject to constraints, such as a lack of public support and negative framing in news media. The article calls for more research on the (critical) relationship between uncivil engagement and social media networks.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document