Manufacturing Hate 4.0: Can Media Studies Rise to the Challenge?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 602-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Sun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Research Collaborations ◽  
The Media ◽  
Industry Policy ◽  
Technological Affordances

This article reflects on the growing scourge of hate speech and its propagation via digital social media networks. It discusses how media studies has drawn attention to salient aspects of online hate speech including technological affordances, communication tactics, representational tropes, and audience response. It argues that insights from media studies are vital for unpacking the societal impact of the media and indeed for tackling a destructive force such as online hate speech. It further encourages media studies scholars to engage vigorously with colleagues in and across other disciplines to forge interdisciplinary research collaborations to address pressing societal issues. It urges media studies scholars to connect with the realms of industry, policy making, and civic society to ensure that the public discourse on the challenges of digitalization and mediatization is academically informed, evidence-based, and finely balanced.

scholarly journals Defining Online Hating and Online Haters

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. P. Malecki ◽  
Marta Kowal ◽  
Małgorzata Dobrowolska ◽  
Piotr Sorokowski
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Definition Of

According to a view widely held in the media and in public discourse more generally, online hating is a social problem on a global scale. However, thus far there has been little scientific literature on the subject, and, to our best knowledge, there is even no established scholarly definition of online hating and online haters in the first place. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a new perspective on online hating by, first, distinguishing online hating from the phenomena it is often confused with, such as trolling, cyberstalking, and online hate speech, and, second, by proposing an operational definition of online hating and online haters based on ethnographic interviews and surveys of the existing scholarly literature.

Xenophobia, misogyny and rape culture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Kopytowska
Keyword(s):  
Hate Speech ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Rape Culture ◽  
Female Politicians ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Data Wise ◽  
Technological Affordances ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Abstract The present article explores the interface between online misogyny and xenophobia in the context of both socio-cultural factors which are conducive to verbal aggression against women and cyberspace’s technological affordances. The former, as will be argued, can be linked to “rape culture”, where the notion of rape and sexual violence are used not only as instruments of subjugation and domination, but also as tools to legitimize racial, ethnic, or religious hatred. In the case of the latter, anonymity, interactivity and connectivity will be discussed as factors which facilitate generating, amplifying and perpetuating hateful and aggressive content online. Applying the Media Proximization Approach (Kopytowska 2013, 2015a, 2018a, 2018b; forthcoming) and drawing on previous research examining online xenophobic discourses and hate speech, the article scrutinizes hate speech targeting female politicians, namely Angela Merkel, current Chancellor of Germany, and Ewa Kopacz, former Polish Prime Minister, for their pro-refugee stance and migration policy. Data-wise, the examples analyzed will be taken from the corpora comprising comments following online articles in niezalezna.pl (a Polish conservative news portal) and YouTube videos on migrants and refugees.

Hate Speech as Part of Contemporary Public Discourse and Possible Solutions to Support Public Administration: European Parliament Elections in Croatia

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-216
Author(s):  
Vlasta Kučiš ◽  
Darja Kupinić Gušić
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
Public Behavior ◽  
The Media ◽  
European Parliament Elections

This article deals with hate speech in public discourse and the media, emphasizing the importance of detecting it in a timely manner in order to remove it. This falls within the scope of the tasks of public administration according to the EU’s normative framework because language is one of the main ways that discrimination is enacted. To this end, the empirical research was carried out in two parts. The first part identifies and analyzes unacceptable public behavior (hate speech), defining types of occurrence as opposed to insults and slander, and identifying the advantages and disadvantages of using language technologies for timely identification. The second part of the research detects occurrences of hate speech in Croatian offline media using the example of the 2019 European Parliament elections, drawing attention to a number of methodological obstacles preventing timely identification of hate speech. The results of this investigation contribute to understanding the linguistic-discursive construction of offline and online hate speech in multicultural communities. It is hoped that regulatory authorities will use the results of this research to facilitate implementation of the EU normative framework.

Hate Speech and the Polarization of Japanese National Newspapers

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-279
Author(s):  
Iwona MERKLEJN ◽  
Jan WIŚLICKI
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Current Issue ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Ideological Polarization ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
A Current

Abstract In 2016, the first anti-hate speech law in Japan was introduced against the backdrop of verbal attacks on ethnic Koreans who were targeted with particular force by radical right organizations in the early 21st century. We argue that while the role of social media in the proliferation of hate speech in Japan has received considerable attention, the coverage of hate speech and related issues in mainstream news media has not been sufficiently studied. This article offers an interdisciplinary analysis, grounded in media studies and in linguistics, of the positions of five national newspapers in public discourse about hate speech, discussed as a current issue in Japan from 2016 until mid-2018. We combine agenda-setting theory with discourse analysis of factual reporting in order to evaluate the Japanese media landscape, which, when scrutinized through the lens of the hate speech issue, reveals ideological polarization.

ICERD in Malaysian online news reports: A cross-linguistic comparative corpus analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Siti Aeisha Joharry ◽  
Nor Diyana Saupi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Online News ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Search Term ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Online Newspapers ◽  
News Reports ◽  
The Media ◽  
Online Sources

The International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which was not ratified in Malaysia, created a heated public discourse in the media. This cross-linguistic comparative study investigates the representation of ICERD in Malaysian news reports of two online sources in Malaysia – the widely read English portal: The Star Online, and its Malay equivalent: Berita Harian. A corpus-assisted discourse analysis was conducted to examine how news on ‘ICERD’ were reported in both English and Malay online newspapers. Initial comparative analysis of both newspapers revealed that the search term co-occurs statistically more frequently with the verb ‘ratify’ and its equivalent: ‘meratifikasi’. Patterns indicate that ‘ICERD’ was mostly referring to the act of sanctioning the agreement –particularly to ‘not ratify’ or ‘tidak akan meratifikasi’, which is concurrent with the timeframe of events. Interestingly, different patterns can be found in Berita Harian (e.g. the expression of ‘thanks’ or gratitude of not ratifying ICERD) that are not as revealing in The Star Online reports. Some inconsistencies were also reported between the two newspapers, e.g. referring to different ministers’ speech about the initial plan to ratify ICERD alongside five (The Star Online) or six (Berita Harian) other treaties in the following year.  

scholarly journals The media image of Chinese older people: From stigmatic stereotype to diverse self-representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 205943642110125
Author(s):  
Kun Li
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Media Image ◽  
Past Life ◽  
The Media ◽  
Leisure And Recreation ◽  
Chinese Older People

From the perspective of communication and media studies, this article explores a comparison between the image of older adults presented on media and online self-representation facilitated by the use of smartphones. The qualitative textual analysis was conducted with a sample (228 posts, from 1 January to 31 December,2019) selected from a representative WeChat Public Account targeting at older adults in China. The results demonstrate that leisure and recreation is the most frequently mentioned topic (58%) with memories of past life receiving the least references (3%). The striking features of popular posts among older people include a highly emotional tone, bright colours and multimedia. Sentiment analyses shows 68.42%, 13.16% and 18.42% of positive, neutral and negative emotions, respectively. A generally positive attitude of self-representation is in a sharp contrast with the stigmatic media image of older adults. The article concludes that the visibility of Chinese older people may help to reduce the stigma surrounding old age in China.

The Social Paradox of Citizen Denunciation: Informing Practices in Modern Poland

2021 ◽  
pp. 088832542097764
Author(s):  
Jolanta Arcimowicz ◽  
Mariola Bieńko ◽  
Beata Łaciak
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Media Report ◽  
Civic Society ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Communist Countries

Within sociological literature, including that which analyses systemic changes in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, denunciation is one of the least studied issues, both empirically and theoretically. In Poland after the political transformation, as well as in other post-communist countries, the problem of dealing with security service and secret police informers and collaborators has not gone away. News media report a rapidly growing number of denunciations directed to various institutions and administrative offices, and legal regulations regarding denunciations have also appeared. In public discourse, denunciation and whistleblowing are increasingly often equated. Encouragement to inform about aberrations, confronted with the consequences that whistleblowers face, shows the legal and social vacuum around the institution of whistleblowing in Poland. This article, in response to questions about the modern social image of denunciation, is based on analysis of in-depth individual interviews conducted during 2015–2017 with children, adults, and administrative officials in three Polish cities. The results show that both children and adults treat denunciation as a form of harming others, though they do differentiate their moral judgments depending on the delator’s intention, but they rarely attribute any motive other than personal gain to whistleblowers’ actions. Finally, the existing administrative acquiescence and institutional support for denunciation are sometimes interpreted in terms of the weakness of democracy, immaturity of civic society, and the legacy of a totalitarian state.

Austerity against the Homo Sovieticus

Focaal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 (59) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Daiva Repečkait
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Shock Therapy ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Class Background ◽  
The Media ◽  
Economic Shock ◽  
Homo Sovieticus

This article analyzes the public discourse on the riots of 16 January 2009, in Vilnius, when protest against economic shock therapy ended in violent clashes with the police. Politicians and the media were quick to ethnicize the riots, claiming an “involvement of foreign influences” and noting that the rioters had been predominantly “Russian-speaking.” Analyzing electronic and print media, the article identifies a wider tendency, particularly among middle-class Lithuanian youth, of portraying the social class consisting of “losers of the post-soviet transition” as aggressive and primitive Others. A pseudo-ethnicity that combines Rus sian language and culture with lower-class background into a notion of homo sovieticus comes to stand for what is hindering the “clean up” of Lithuania and middleclass aspirations to form a new European identity. As such, the riots serve as a lens that illuminates the way ethnicity is flexibly utilized to shift political loyalties.

Digital news on public libraries: Media mapping and thematic and consumption analysis based on Facebook interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Lázaro-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Digital News ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The Media ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

A study of digital news on public libraries is presented through media mapping and a thematic and consumption analysis based on Facebook interactions. A total of 7,629 digital news items published in 2019 have been considered. The media mapping includes the evolution of the volume of news publications, the most prominent media outlets and journalists, and the sections in which most news items are published. For the thematic and consumption analysis, the top 250 news items with the highest number of Facebook interactions are considered, defining 15 thematic categories. The most published topics include: new libraries and spaces, collections, and libraries from a historical perspective. The topics that generate the most interactions are the value of libraries (social, human, and cultural capital), libraries from other countries, and new libraries and spaces. The value and originality of the current study lie in the measurement of the consumption of news and digital media through Facebook interactions. The methods used and results obtained also provide new knowledge for the disciplines of Communication and Media Studies by developing the idea of media mapping for its application to other topics and media in future work, as well as for Librarianship, particularly the information obtained on public libraries. Resumen Se presenta un estudio de noticias digitales sobre bibliotecas públicas en España mediante un mapeo de medios y un análisis temático y de consumo basado en las interacciones en Facebook. Se han considerado 7.629 noticias publicadas en 2019. El mapeo de medios incluye la evolución del volumen de la publicación de noticias, los medios y periodistas más prominentes, y las secciones en las que más se publica. Para el análisis temático y de consumo se consideran las 250 noticias con mayores interacciones en Facebook definiendo 15 categorías temáticas. Los temas sobre los que más se publica son: nuevas bibliotecas y espacios, la colección y las bibliotecas desde la perspectiva de su historia. Los que más interacciones y consumo generan son: el valor de las bibliotecas (capital social, humano y cultural), bibliotecas de otros países y las nuevas bibliotecas y espacios. El valor y la originalidad del estudio consisten en considerar las interacciones en Facebook como medida del consumo de noticias y medios digitales. Los métodos y resultados alcanzados aportan además nuevo conocimiento para dos disciplinas: la comunicación y los medios de comunicación, por el desarrollo de la idea del mapeo de medios que puede aplicarse a otros temas y medios en futuros trabajos; y para la biblioteconomía y la documentación, por la información alcanzada sobre las bibliotecas públicas.

New Indian online rules risk state overreach and abuse

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Online News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Service ◽  
The Government

Significance The new rules follow a stand-off between Twitter and the central government last month over some posts and accounts. The government has used this stand-off as an opportunity not only to tighten rules governing social media, including Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and LinkedIn, but also those for other digital service providers including news publishers and entertainment streaming companies. Impacts Government moves against dominant social media platforms will boost the appeal of smaller platforms with light or no content moderation. Hate speech and harmful disinformation are especially hard to control and curb on smaller platforms. The new rules will have a chilling effect on online public discourse, increasing self-censorship (at the very least). Government action against online news media would undercut fundamental democratic freedoms and the right to dissent. Since US-based companies dominate key segments of the Indian digital market, India’s restrictive rules could mar India-US ties.

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