scholarly journals Temporal and textual analysis of social media on collective discourses during the Zika virus pandemic

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Oo Lwin ◽  
Jiahui Lu ◽  
Anita Sheldenkar ◽  
Ysa Marie Cayabyab ◽  
Zi Han Yee Andrew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Event ◽  
The Government

Abstract Background While existing studies have investigated the role of social media on health-related communication, little is known about the potential differences between different users groups on different social media platforms in responses to a health event. This study sets out to explore the online discourse of governmental authorities and the public in Singapore during the recent Zika pandemic in 2016. Methods Social media data were extracted from Facebook and Twitter using retroactive keyword sourcing of the word “Zika” to search for posts and a location filter of “Singapore”. Government posts, public posts, and replies to these original posts were included in the temporal and textual analysis. Results Overall, Facebook contained more government and individual content whereas Twitter had more content from news media accounts. Though the relative volume of Zika content from different data sources paralleled the peaks and troughs of Zika activities across time, discourses from different data sources differed in their temporal patterns, such that the public discourse died down faster than the government discourse after the outbreak was declared. In addition, the content of discourses differed among data sources. While government discourse included factual information of the disease, public discourse contained more elements of care such as worry about the risks to pregnant women, and elements of community such as well-wishes to each other. Conclusions Our study demonstrates the temporal and content differences between user groups and social media platforms in social media conversations during the Zika pandemic. It suggests that future research should examine the collective discourse of a health event by investigating social media discourses within varied sources rather than focusing on a singular social media platform and by one particular type of user.

scholarly journals Temporal and textual analysis of social media on collective discourses during the Zika virus pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Oo Lwin ◽  
Jiahui Lu ◽  
Anita Sheldenkar ◽  
Ysa Marie Cayabyab ◽  
Andrew Yee Zi Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Event ◽  
The Government

Abstract Background: While existing studies have investigated the role of social media on health-related communication, little is known about the potential differences between different users groups on different social media platforms in responses to a health event. This study sets out to explore the online discourse of governmental authorities and the public in Singapore during the recent Zika pandemic in 2016. Methods: Social media data were extracted from Facebook and Twitter using retroactive keyword sourcing of the word “Zika” to search for posts and a location filter of “Singapore”. Government posts, public posts, and replies to these original posts were included in the temporal and textual analysis. Results: Overall, Facebook contained more government and individual content whereas Twitter had more content from news media accounts. Though the relative volume of Zika content from different data sources paralleled the peaks and troughs of Zika activities across time, discourses from different data sources differed in their temporal patterns, such that the public discourse died down faster than the government discourse after the outbreak was declared. In addition, the content of discourses differed among data sources. While government discourse included factual information of the disease, public discourse contained more elements of care such as worry about the risks to pregnant women, and elements of community such as well-wishes to each other. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the temporal and content differences between user groups and social media platforms in social media conversations during the Zika pandemic. It suggests that future research should examine the collective discourse of a health event by investigating social media discourses within varied sources rather than focusing on a singular social media platform and by one particular type of users.

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.

scholarly journals “These Women are Making a Statement Against Rape and yet the only Thing Y'All can Focus on is ‘Eww They're Naked’”: Exploring Rape Culture on Facebook in South Africa

Gender Issues ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaida Orth ◽  
Michelle Andipatin ◽  
Brian van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Rape Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Aggressive Male ◽  
Public Reaction

Abstract Sexual assault on campuses has been identified as a pervasive public health problem. In April 2016, students across South African universities launched the #Endrapeculture campaign to express their frustration against university policies which served to perpetuate a rape culture. The use of hashtag activism during the protest served to spark online public debates and mobilize support for the protests. This article describes the public reactions to the South African #Endrapeculture protests on the Facebook social media platform. Data was collected through natural observations of comment threads on news articles and public posts on the student protests, and subjected to content analysis. The findings suggest that the #nakedprotest was successful in initiating public conversations concerning the issue of rape culture. However, the reactions towards the #nakedprotest were divided with some perpetuating a mainstream public discourse which perpetuates rape culture, and others (re)presenting a counter-public that challenged current dominant views about rape culture. Two related main themes emerged: Victim-blaming and Trivialising Rape Culture. Victim-blaming narratives emerged from the commenters and suggested that the protesters were increasing their chances of being sexually assaulted by marching topless. This discourse seems to perpetuate the notion of the aggressive male sexual desire and places the onus on women to protect themselves. Other commenters criticised the #nakedprotest method through demeaning comments which served to derail the conversation and trivialise the message behind the protest. The public reaction to the #nakedprotest demonstrated that rape culture is pervasive in society and continues to be re(produced) through discourse on social media platforms. However, social media also offers individuals the opportunity to draw from and participate in multiple counter-publics which challenge these mainstream rape culture discourses.

Bypassing the press gallery: from Howard to Hanson

2018 ◽  
Vol 167 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Fisher ◽  
David Marshall ◽  
Kerry McCallum
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Political News ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theoretical Position ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Press ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Logic

Traditionally politicians have been dependent on political news media to get their message across to the public. The rise of social media means that politicians can bypass the Press Gallery and publish directly to their target audiences via Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. This article argues that Prime Minister John Howard’s (1996–2007) use of talk back radio and early forays on YouTube were pivotal in the trend towards ‘disintermediation’ in Australian politics. It draws on two studies. One involving interviews with 87 key media actors from the Howard era including journalists, broadcasters, politicians and media advisers; and a second, which includes fresh interviews with contemporary press secretaries. This article examines the shift from a ‘mass media logic’ to a ‘hybrid logic’, considered from a mediatization theoretical position. We also ask important questions about the press gallery’s ongoing relevance in the digital era, when politicians preside over their own social media empires.

How to strengthen the social media interactivity of e-government

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
xiaoling Hao ◽  
Daqing Zheng ◽  
Qingfeng Zeng ◽  
Weiguo Fan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Popular Government ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how to use social media in e-government to strengthen interactivity between government and the general public. Design/methodology/approach – Categorizing the determinants to interactivity covering depth and breadth into two aspects that are the structural features and the content features, this study employs general linear model and ANOVA method to analyse 14,910 posts belonged to the top list of the 96 most popular government accounts of Sina, one of the largest social media platforms in China. Findings – The main findings of the research are that both variables of the ratio of multimedia elements, and the ratio of external links have positive effects on the breadth of interactivity, while the ratio of multimedia features, and the ratio of originality have significant effects on the depth of interactivity. Originality/value – The contributions are as follows. First, the authors analyse the properties and the topics of government posts to draw a rich picture of how local governments use the micro-blog as a communications channel to interact with the public. Second, the authors conceptualize the government online interactivity in terms of the breadth and depth. Third, the authors identify factors that will enhance the interactivity from two aspects: structural features and content features. Lastly, the authors offer suggestions to local governments on how to strengthen the e-government interactivity in social media.

scholarly journals Towards Combating Pandemic-Related Misinformation in Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 140-158
Author(s):  
Isa Inuwa-Dutse
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Toxic Impact ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Conventional preventive measures during pandemics include social distancing and lockdown. Such measures in the time of social media brought about a new set of challenges – vulnerability to the toxic impact of online misinformation is high. A case in point is COVID-19. As the virus propagates, so does the associated misinformation and fake news about it leading to an infodemic. Since the outbreak, there has been a surge of studies investigating various aspects of the pandemic. Of interest to this chapter are studies centering on datasets from online social media platforms where the bulk of the public discourse happens. The main goal is to support the fight against negative infodemic by (1) contributing a diverse set of curated relevant datasets; (2) offering relevant areas to study using the datasets; and (3) demonstrating how relevant datasets, strategies, and state-of-the-art IT tools can be leveraged in managing the pandemic.

Can Indian journalism survive the onslaught of social media?

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha M Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Effective Use

In recent times, researchers have examined the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s use of social media to directly connect with his followers, while largely shunning the mainstream media. This strategy of direct communication with their constituents has been adopted by other political parties too, with opposition party leaders hosting ‘Facebook Live’ sessions and tweeting their messages. A large proportion of Indian voters, who increasingly own mobile phones, are enjoying being part of the ‘like’ and ‘share’ online networks. What does this effective use of social media by Indian political parties mean for the public discourse in India? This article presents the view that this phenomenon is more than Modi’s ‘selfie nationalism’ or his attempt to marginalize the news media. The article argues that there is a structural shift in the Indian public sphere, which might prove to be the greatest challenge to Indian journalism.

scholarly journals Algorithms and the News: Social Media Platforms as News Publishers and Distributors

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-285
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cetina Presuel ◽  
José Manuel Martínez Sierra
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Online News ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Right To Information

With billons of users, social media platforms (e.g. Facebook) are dominant players in a highly-concentrated online news market. They have great power over the distribution of information to their users, and over the organizations and individuals that produce it. Social media platforms use algorithms to perform functions traditionally belonging to news editors: deciding on the importance of news items and how they are disseminated. However, they do not acknowledge the role they play in informing the public as traditional news media always have and tend to ignore that they also act as publishers of news and the responsibilities associated with that role. This paper argues that it is essential for social media platforms to understand and embrace their role as both news publishers and distributors and highlights the essential responsibilities they must undertake so they can satisfy the information needs of their audiences and protect the public’s right to information.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL BELIEF AND WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION POSITION

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64
Author(s):  
Seifu Mutuma
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Community Mobilization ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government

Purpose: Globally, effective political engagement requires candid communication between the government and its citizens. More so, citizens have the right to express how they need to be governed. On government’s part, the need to develop trust among the public should be paramount. Government should always inform citizens what it is continually doing. Furthermore, public domains ought to reflect integrity and transparency. Such is achievable through communication on many of its activities. In the recent past, government utilized traditional media to convey information to the public. Popular avenues used included television, newspapers and radio. The general objective of the study was to establish the role of social media on community mobilization Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: The study found out that the adoption of social media as a means of communication between the government official’s community members has an enormous impact on community mobilization for security matters and other issues. Social media platforms have enabled quick sharing of information on Barraza. The social media platforms enable this community mobilization in a cost-efficient manner Although social media use offers enormous value in public relations, there is little evidence that social networking sites are used to inform and involve governmental public opinion agencies such as the public sector. Recommendations: The study recommends that public administrators to embrace social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp due to their responsiveness and lower costs in interacting with the public administrators and amongst themselves. The respective government agencies should create awareness among the public on the importance of using digital platforms to pass or receive information on security issues

scholarly journals Online public discourse on artificial intelligence and ethics in China: context, content, and implications

AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yishu Mao ◽  
Kristin Shi-Kupfer
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Social Media ◽  
General Public ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
It Industry ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The World ◽  
Ai Ethics ◽  
Social Media Platforms

AbstractThe societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked discussions among academics, policymakers and the public around the world. What has gone unnoticed so far are the likewise vibrant discussions in China. We analyzed a large sample of discussions about AI ethics on two Chinese social media platforms. Findings suggest that participants were diverse, and included scholars, IT industry actors, journalists, and members of the general public. They addressed a broad range of concerns associated with the application of AI in various fields. Some even gave recommendations on how to tackle these issues. We argue that these discussions are a valuable source for understanding the future trajectory of AI development in China as well as implications for global dialogue on AI governance.

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