Spreadable Spectacle in Digital Culture: Civic Expression, Fake News, and the Role of Media Literacies in “Post-Fact” Society

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Mihailidis ◽  
Samantha Viotty
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Media Spectacle ◽  
The Media ◽  
Critical Theorist

This article explores the phenomenon of spectacle in the lead up and immediate aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Through the spread of misinformation, the appropriation of cultural iconography, and the willing engagement of mainstream media to perpetuate partisan and polarizing information, the proliferation of populist rhetoric, polarizing views, and vitriolic opinions spread. Revisiting the world of critical theorist Guy Debord, this article argues that the proliferation of citizen-drive spectacle is unique in its origination and perpetuation, and a direct result of an increasingly polarized and distrustful public spending an increasing amount of time in homophilous networks where contrarian views are few and far between. We apply the frame of spreadable media to explore how citizen expression online initiated, sustained, and expanded the media spectacle that pervaded the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The conclusion of this work argues that media literacies, as a popular response mechanism to help cultivate more critical consumers of media, must be repositioned to respond to an era of partisanship and distrust. We present a set of considerations for repositioning the literacies to focus on critique and creation of media in support of a common good, and that can respond meaningfully in an era of spreadability, connectivity, and spectacle.

Fake It “Till You Make It”: Debunking Fake News in a Post-Truth America

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-133
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
American People ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Sources ◽  
The Media ◽  
The U.S

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, attacks on the media have been relentless. “Fake news” has become a household term, and repeated attempts to break the trust between reporters and the American people have threatened the validity of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In this article, the authors trace the development of fake news and its impact on contemporary political discourse. They also outline cutting-edge pedagogies designed to assist students in critically evaluating the veracity of various news sources and social media sites.

The Propaganda Pipeline: Hacking the Core from the Periphery

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yochai Benkler ◽  
Robert Faris ◽  
Hal Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Core ◽  
Media Ecosystem ◽  
The Media ◽  
Cation Sites

This chapter examines the claim that alt-right activists hacked the media ecosystem byinserting various destructive memes into the mainstream media that helped DonaldTrump win the 2016 presidential election. In particular, this chapter considers thepropaganda pipeline—the path from the periphery to the core through a series ofwell-known amplifi cation sites, most prominently Infowars and Drudge. Th e “spiritcooking” stories as seen on Infowars, Washington Times, and Sean Hannity perfectlyencapsulate the propaganda pipeline from the periphery to the core, drawingin the various suspects in producing information disorder. Th e chapter also showshow statements by marginal actors on Reddit and 4chan were collated and preparedfor propagation by more visible sites, and how this technique was exploited by bothalt-right and Russia-related actors successfully to get a story from the periphery toHannity.

scholarly journals Discursive Deflection: Accusation of “Fake News” and the Spread of Mis- and Disinformation in the Tweets of President Trump

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511877601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Damian J. Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Objective Truth ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

Twitter is increasingly being used within the sociopolitical domain as a channel through which to circulate information and opinions. Throughout the 2016 US Presidential primaries and general election campaign, a notable feature was the prolific Twitter use of Republican candidate and then nominee, Donald Trump. This use has continued since his election victory and inauguration as President. Trump’s use of Twitter has drawn criticism due to his rhetoric in relation to various issues, including Hillary Clinton, the size of the crowd in attendance at his inauguration, the policies of the former Obama administration, and immigration and foreign policy. One of the most notable features of Trump’s Twitter use has been his repeated ridicule of the mainstream media through pejorative labels such as “fake news” and “fake media.” These labels have been deployed in an attempt to deter the public from trusting media reports, many of which are critical of Trump’s presidency, and to position himself as the only reliable source of truth. However, given the contestable nature of objective truth, it can be argued that Trump himself is a serial offender in the propagation of mis- and disinformation in the same vein that he accuses the media. This article adopts a corpus analysis of Trump’s Twitter discourse to highlight his accusations of fake news and how he operates as a serial spreader of mis- and disinformation. Our data show that Trump uses these accusations to demonstrate allegiance and as a cover for his own spreading of mis- and disinformation that is framed as truth.

scholarly journals Media, Culture and Indigenous Languages in Pakistan: A Critical Review

2020 ◽  
Vol V (IV) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Irem Sultana ◽  
Malik Adnan ◽  
Muhammad Imran Mehsud
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Media ◽  
Depth Interviews

This research paper inspected the role of Pakistani media to protect indigenous languages and culture in Pakistan. The study examined the situation; if Pakistani media outpours concern with the native languages or not. The article also checked the media landscape, its language-wise segregation and scenario of literacy in different areas of the country. The outcomes of the study showed that Pakistani media is neglecting the indigenous languages. The study results exhibited clearly that media houses’ focus on protecting native languages, is not profound. The findings also showed that foreign ownership of Media houses plays a role in neglecting indigenous language promotions. The current study presented that Pakistani mainstream media is damaging the local and native languages. The study was the outcome of qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews of senior communication experts.

scholarly journals PERAN MEDIA MASSA TERHADAP PEMILIH PEMULA DALAM PEMILU PRESIDEN DAN WAKIL PRESIDEN TAHUN 2014

KRITIS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-26
Author(s):  
Budi Sulistiyo ◽  
Sri Suwartiningsih
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
School Students ◽  
Vital Part ◽  
The Media

The term novice voters are regarded toHigh School Students, College Students, or worker who is between 17 to 21 years old and never been participate or vote in the election. This definition is hand in hand with the law number 10 - 2008, regarding genera election that define the minimum or condition of the voter (article 19:1). Novice voters are characterized as educated, critical, independent, fashionable, adaptable, and like to learn new things. Before the Indonesia Presidential Election in 2014, the media were intensively relay informations on the president and vice president candidates. The media have important part indelivering information and knowledge for the citizens about the election. Newspaper, magazines, radio and television are believed to be the most vital part in the politic democracy system.The  study used the Kultivation Theory Analysis, which focus on how the influence of media to the citizens through the news that were broadcasted in the television continuously. This is a descriptive qualitative study which means to describe the role of media especially television that affect the perspective and the novice voters’ attitude toward 2014 the presidential election. The result of this study showed that the role of television staton, especially the Metro TV and TV One were  vital, because novice voters whit their limited knowledge about election, gain informations through those Metro TV and TV One to gain knowledge and information about the 2014 presidential election. As the result, the media is capable to affect the novice voters’ point of view to actively participate as voters in the 2014 presidential election.

Countering misinformation and disinformation during contentious episodes in a divided society: Tweeting the 2014 and 2015 Ardoyne parade disputes

First Monday ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Information Flows ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Crisis Events ◽  
Public Demonstrations ◽  
Acute Crisis

Whereas there has been much research into the manufacture of ‘fake news’ to sow disunity within liberal democracies, little is known about how information disorders affect deeply divided societies. This paper addresses that gap in the literature by exploring how digital media are used to share misinformation and disinformation during contentious public demonstrations in Northern Ireland. It does so by reviewing the literature on social media information flows during acute crisis events, and qualitatively exploring the role of Twitter in spreading misinformation and disinformation during the 2014 and 2015 Ardoyne parade disputes. Results indicate that visual disinformation, presumably shared to inflame sectarian tensions during the parade, was quickly debunked in information flows co-curated by citizens and professional journalists. Online misinformation and disinformation appeared to have minimal impact on events on the ground, although there was some evidence of belief echoes among tweeters who distrusted the information provided by mainstream media.

Mediascape and Movement

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-122
Author(s):  
Francis L. F. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter reviews the relationship between the media and the Umbrella Movement. The mainstream media, aided by digital media outlets and platforms, play the important role of the public monitor in times of major social conflicts, even though the Hong Kong media do so in an environment where partial censorship exists. The impact of digital media in largescale protest movements is similarly multifaceted and contradictory. Digital media empower social protests by promoting oppositional discourses, facilitating mobilization, and contributing to the emergence of connective action. However, they also introduce and exacerbate forces of decentralization that present challenges to movement leaders. Meanwhile, during and after the Umbrella Movement, one can also see how the state has become more proactive in online political communication, thus trying to undermine the oppositional character of the Internet in Hong Kong.

scholarly journals Promoting healthy sustainable societies through a circular analytical dialogue method

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Paillard-Borg
Keyword(s):  
Population Health ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Innovative Method ◽  
Academic Activism ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Sustainable Societies ◽  
Informed Society ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background The relationship between journalists and populations is complicated and the subject of “fake news” is one of these related issues. Despite the controversy, journalistic media are the ground to a well-informed society and as such journalists have the potential to be important actors in the pursuit of population health. At the same time, frustration against journalistic media has increased globally and vulnerable and so-called ’invisible’ groups feel neglected by the media. Methods The Circular Analytical Dialogue is an innovative method for examining the dialogue between journalists and citizens and investigating the role of journalism in promoting social cohesion, population health and democracy. Results The preliminary results of a pilot study in Japan on the topic of migration, using the Circular Analytical Dialogue, show that the dynamic between the participants and the journalists was valued by all parties as it allowed a profound and valuable dialogue. The journalist was most appreciative of the feedback of the participants as it opened alternative perspectives that were not considered beforehand. Conclusions The Circular Analytical Dialogue has the dual ambition to be a research as well as a journalistic tool and the knowledge generated with this method is intended to be used to strengthen understanding about the importance of journalism for healthy democratic societies. Key messages The Circular Analytical Dialogue method reinforces the importance of academic activism strongly related to sustainable societies. The Circular Analytical Dialogue method can potentially contribute to the empowerment of populations fundamental to population health.

The small, disloyal fake news audience: The role of audience availability in fake news consumption

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 3720-3737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob L Nelson ◽  
Harsh Taneja
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
News Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
High Availability ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Internet Users

In light of the recent US election, many fear that “fake news” has become a force of enormous reach and influence within the news media environment. We draw on well-established theories of audience behavior to argue that the online fake news audience, like most niche content, would be a small subset of the total news audience, especially those with high availability. By examining online visitation data across mobile and desktop platforms in the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election, we indeed find the fake news audience comprises a small, disloyal group of heavy Internet users. We also find that social network sites play an outsized role in generating traffic to fake news. With this revised understanding, we revisit the democratic implications of the fake news crisis.

scholarly journals “DO YOUR RESEARCH”: COVID-19, POST-SOCIALIST EXPERIENCE AND THE NARRATIVE OF INFORMATION INDEPENDENCE AMONG CZECH INSTAGRAM INFLUENCERS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Hermanova
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Domestic Space ◽  
Political Event ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Media Ecosystem ◽  
The Media

The COVID-19 pandemics highlighted the role of social media influencers as political communicators and drew attention to the question of accountability of influencers and their overall role in the media ecosystem. The aim of the paper is to analyze the role of lifestyle Instagram influencers in shaping the public narrative about COVID-19 as an orchestrated political event aimed at curbing civic freedom in the Czech Republic with focus on two key elements: 1) the politicization of the domestic (space) on Instagram and its gendered nature and 2) the framing of the role of influencers as democratic public voices offering an alternative to mainstream media, within the context of the post-socialist historical experience of totalitarian past. The presented analysis builds on digital ethnography among Czech female lifestyle influencers and content analysis of selected Czech influencers profiles.

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