Pushing Back, Through Media and Civil Society

Hate Spin ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherian George
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Social Media Platforms

How a society responds to hate spin depends on not only its laws, but also its social norms—in particular, whether people consider bigotry to be socially acceptable or something to fight against, how comfortable they are with ideas and beliefs that are different, and whether their sense of national belonging is based on inclusive democratic values or an exclusive cultural identity. This chapter examines the role of non-state actors in shaping societies’ responses to hate spin. These players—secular and religious civil society groups, news organizations, and social media platforms, for example—are essential parts of any effort to build democracies that are respectful of religious differences. But, like state policy, media and civil society organizations are also often part of the problem, facilitating, encouraging, or even generating hate spin.

scholarly journals Emphasizing publishers does not effectively reduce susceptibility to misinformation on social media

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nic Dias ◽  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
David Gertler Rand
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Intuitive Appeal ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Survey experiments with nearly 7,000 Americans suggest that increasing the visibility of publishers is an ineffective, and perhaps even counterproductive, way to address misinformation on social media. Our findings underscore the importance of social media platforms and civil society organizations evaluating interventions experimentally rather than implementing them based on intuitive appeal.

scholarly journals Online Disinformation and Harmful Speech: Dangers for Democratic Participation and Possible Policy Responses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Tenove ◽  
Heidi J.S. Tworek
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Thomson Reuters ◽  
Social Media Platforms

In advance of the 2019 federal election, the Canadian government began to address challenges posed by posed by new digital technologies and the rapidly-evolving information system. These policy responses include revisions to Canada’s election law and the creation of a federal task force to monitor and respond to online interference during an election campaign. However, much can still be done to uphold the communications element of electoral integrity, both by government and by other stakeholders including journalists, social media companies, and civil society organizations. This article focusses on two related challenges: disinformation and harmful speech online. By ‘‘disinformation,” we refer to intentionally false or deceptive communication to advance political ends. We use the term ‘‘harmful speech” to refer to communication that is abusive, threatening, denigrating, or that incites violence. We clarify the risks that disinformation and harmful speech pose to democratic engagement and democratic processes, and synthesize current research about their creation, circulation, and political impacts. We then examine the current regulatory context in Canada (at the time of writing, February 1, 2019) and highlight gaps. We conclude with policy recommendations that would enable the Canadian government, social media platforms and journalism organizations to better understand and reduce the threats to democracy posed by disinformation and harmful speech. These are partly drawn from policies that other countries are pursuing. We call for a three-pronged policy framework: 1) greater enforcement of existing laws, 2) regulation to encourage and help social media platforms address abuses; and 3) improved civil society measures, especially by journalism organizations. Previously published in the 2019 Special Issue of the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law entitled The Informed Citizens’ Guide to Elections: Current Developments in Democracy (Toronto: Thomson Reuters Canada, 2019).

The 140 Characters AreSetting the Agenda of the Day: A Critical analysis of Role of twitter in Lalitgate

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Online Source ◽  
The Social ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
The Face ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Media

The face of a news room in India has been changed radically with the ever growing popularity of social media, where it sets agenda for the news organizations to follow. The #Lalitgate is a classical example, where the Ex IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, who has gained a notorious image due to his controversies, broke news on twitter, from there it has been picked up by 24x7 news channels, subsequently online portals do a piece on it, again there is a prime time discussion on that news, followed by a morning coverage by the news papers. As a person gain ability to create sensationalism, he utilizes the ability of social media to create some dialogues, with a larger worldwide audience, which was earlier not possible due to the monologue approach of traditional media. The ability of that piece of information to get retweeted by followers allows it to trend high on twitter. As the number become astonishing some time, it automatically qualifies for the attention of the editors of media organizations and eventually sets the agenda of the day. The social media platforms; Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp etc. have become the essential tool of news gathering of a modern news room. Twitter with its 302 million followers worldwide, eventually became a credible online source of news gathering as the tweets are usually came through a first person, citing his/her views or, opinion on a subject matter. This research paper aims to critically analyze the role of twitter as an agenda setting tool in #Lalitgate, where, the cricket administrator turned whistleblower, Lalit Modi, used twitter effectively for his revelations, and he not only trolled successfully on twitter but news media as well. The scope of this paper is limited to the media coverage by English medium news channels and papers only.

‘Independence 2.0’: Digital activism, social media and the Catalan independence movement

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Transnational Networks ◽  
Digital Activism ◽  
Independence Movement ◽  
Highly Effective ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

This article examines the role and use of social media in the ongoing movement for Catalan independence by focusing on two pro-independence civil society organizations, Feministes per la Independència (FxI) and Òmnium Cultural (OC). Drawing upon elite interview data with representatives from both organizations and Catalan parliamentarians, it posits that social media platforms serve as crucial vehicles for these civil society organizations, particularly in terms of empowerment, mobilization, organization, participation and resistance. The increasing salience of digital activism in Catalonia is such that social media platforms have become fundamental pillars of the independence movement, helping to overcome state-imposed institutional obstacles as well as internationalize the issue across transnational networks. The analysis, however, also reveals a darker side to engagement with social media including the proliferation of biased narratives, dissemination of misinformation and trolling. On the basis of these reflections, the article concludes that while engagement with social media entails risks, hitherto such platforms have proved to be highly effective and will continue to be pivotal in promoting and generating support for the independence cause.

Calls to audit social media algorithms will rise

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Independent Review ◽  
Harmful Content ◽  
End To End

Significance The problem of misinformation, polarisation and harmful content on social media has in recent years exposed the ineffectiveness of self-regulation by platform operators. Yet remedies are difficult to implement. One proposal is to require platforms to submit their algorithms -- the ones used to promote and filter content -- to independent review and audit. Impacts Further civil society reports on the role of social media algorithms in promoting disinformation will strengthen calls for audits. Independent audits will fail to tackle harmful content on end-to-end encrypted platforms, boosting calls to end encryption. Mainstream social media platforms face no legal obligation to stop monetising disinformation.

scholarly journals Negotiated Autonomy: The Role of Social Media Algorithms in Editorial Decision Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Peterson-Salahuddin ◽  
Nicholas Diakopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Folk Theories ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Editorial Decision

Social media platforms have increasingly become an important way for news organizations to distribute content to their audiences. As news organizations relinquish control over distribution, they may feel the need to optimize their content to align with platform logics to ensure economic sustainability. However, the opaque and often proprietary nature of platform algorithms makes it hard for news organizations to truly know what kinds of content are preferred and will perform well. Invoking the concept of algorithmic ‘folk theories,’ this article presents a study of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 18 U.S.-based news journalists and editors to understand how they make sense of social media algorithms, and to what extent this influences editorial decision making. Our findings suggest that while journalists’ understandings of platform algorithms create new considerations for gatekeeping practices, the extent to which it influences those practices is often negotiated against traditional journalistic conceptions of newsworthiness and journalistic autonomy.

Coming out of the closet? Audience reactions to the heteronormative disruptive advertising

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Ramasela Semang L. Mathobela ◽  
Shepherd Mpofu ◽  
Samukezi Mrubula-Ngwenya
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Media

An emerging global trend of brands advertising their products through LGBTIQ+ individuals and couples indicates growth of gender awareness across the globe. The media, through advertising, deconstructs homophobia and associated cultures through the use of LGBTIQ+s in commercials. This qualitative research paper centres the advancement of debates on human rights and social media as critical in the interaction between corporates and consumers. The Gillette, Chicken Licken‘s Soul Sisters and We the Brave advertisements were used to critically analyse how audiences react to the use of LGBTIQ+ characters and casts through comments posted on the brands‘ social media platforms. Further, the paper explored the role of social media in the mediation of significant gender issues such as homosexuality that are considered taboo to engage in. The paper used a qualitative approach. Using the digital ethnography method to observe comments and interactions from the chosen advertisement‘s online platforms, the paper employed queer and constructionist theories to deconstruct discourses around same-sex relations as used in commercials, especially in quasiconservative. The data used in the paper included thirty comments of the brands customers and audiences obtained from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The paper concludes there are positive development in human rights awareness as seen through advertisements and campaigns that use LGBTIQ+ communities in a positive light across the world.

Rights of the Child

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha Bajpai
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Legal Definition ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
The Government ◽  
Definition Of

The chapter commences with the change in the perspective and approach relating to children from welfare to rights approach. It then deals with the legal definition of child in India under various laws. It gives a brief overview of the present legal framework in India. It states briefly the various policies and plans, and programmes of the Government of India related to children. International law on the rights of the child is enumerated and a summary of the important judgments by Indian courts are also included. The chapter ends with pointing out the role of civil society organizations in dealing with the rights of the child and a mention of challenges ahead.

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