Politicization of discussions of Covid-19 on Twitter

Power of social media including Twitter for English speaking community to shape public opinion becomes critical during the current pandemic because of misinformation. The existing studies on spreading misinformation on social media hypothesise that the initial message is fake. In contrast, we focus on information distortion occurring in cascades as the initial message about the Covid-19 treatment is quoted or receives a reply. Public persons discuss medical information on Twitter providing fast and simple response to complex medical problems that users find very attractive to follow. Followers generate information cascades while quoting and commenting on the initial message. In the cascades, medical information from the initial tweet is often distorted. The discussion of the Covid-19 treatment in the cascades is politicized according to users’ political sympathies. We show a significant information shift in cascades initiated by public figures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study provide valuable insights for the semantic analysis of information distortion.

Specificity of Representation of Fake Information in Audiovisual Media Content

The situation of uncertainty, which became a consequence of the pandemic, forced the audience to actively interact with the media. This effect is especially noticeable in the field of video information. Because of this, the ability to check the quality of such information and to detect a video fake is especially in high demand. Meanwhile, the researchers' interest is focused primarily on the verbal component of media content. In our study, we are trying to fill this gap and concretize the models of generating video fakes, their types, and reasons for their appearance.Based on the analysis of fake audiovisual content distributed in the media sphere in 2020 we identify two models of its appearance - synchronous and asynchronous. In the first case, fake is a result of distorting the video and audio of the work. In the second case, only one of the rows broadcasts a false idea. The latter case is dangerous in that the series of works that do not contain false information inspires confidence in the audience and makes it accept the media message as a whole.Also, in the study, we single out the most common types of fakes based on such characteristics as the degree of information distortion, the degree of reliability of spatial and temporal characteristics, and the degree of reliability of the source. We determine the most frequent markers of fakes in video works, namely: distortion of the shooting angle, concealment of the staged nature of filming, the use of animation and animation technologies that imitate newsreel footage, placement of inaccurate infographics in video work, fake news announcement, and publication.Among the most common reasons for the formation of video fakes, we note the desire to increase ratings, discriminate against specific individuals or organizations, draw attention to a real problem, and to entertain the audience.In the analysis of fake as a global phenomenon using the example of deepfake technology, we show how it can be used in constructively and destructively and emphasize the importance of developing media education to neutralize the negative consequences of the spread of fakes.

Managerial ability and real earnings management in family firms

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of managerial ability on real earnings management (hereafter REM) in family firms. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 864 firms-years listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange. REM is measured by abnormal activities. Managerial ability is measured by data envelopment analysis. Data analysis uses random-effect regression analysis. Findings Family firms reduce the possibility of higher ability managers to engage in REM. Compare to non-family firms, higher ability managers in family firms are more likely to engage in REM to improve future earnings. Research limitations/implications This research only uses efficiency score data envelopment analysis to measure managerial ability while the managerial ability is, by nature, multi-dimensional and unobservable. This research also does not find the role of professional Chief Executive Officer (hereafter CEO) in the family firms in REM behavior because does not consider the professional CEO motivation (e.g. compensation structure). Practical implications This research is expected to help family firms formulate managers' selection based on managerial ability. This research also is expected to help investors and creditors to put their funds in the family firms with higher ability managers that reduce earnings information distortion. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first research that examines the managerial ability on REM in Indonesian family firms. This research also contributes to fil the findings gap in managerial ability and REM.

MEDIA ARRANGEMENT AS A FACTOR OF EXTERNAL INFLUENCE IN SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION: THEORETICAL ASPECT

The article provides a descriptive characteristics and classification of media support theories as a factor of external influence in conflict situations. In accordance with this goal, groups of neo-Marxist, poststructuralist, and socio-behavioral theories are identified. It is determined that the set of general theoretical postulates of the first group is, firstly, the postulate on the usurpation of media power by political and economic elites who are behind the financing and social patronage of cultural industries. Secondly, the postulate of information distortion, which consists in the fact that monopolizing classes are interested in forming a distorted picture of social reality. Thirdly, the postulate of forming a unified strategy of influence in the media space by power and economic elites, in respect of which media actors are considered mainly as repeaters of discourses. It is determined that a set of general theoretical postulates of the second group is the recognition of linguistic (rhetorical and linguistic) factors of media support as the key ones. Secondly, the consideration of media actors as relatively independent producers of discourses, which have an independent meaning in the sphere of influence in comparison with social groups and institutions. Thirdly, the postulate regarding the positioning of supranational identities through language and the use of a specific (globalistic) vocabulary is of great importance for poststructuralism.

Linguistic information distortion on investment decision-making in the crowdfunding market

PurposeInformation distortion affects the perception of quality, which, in turn, influences investment decisions and determines the pledge results of fundraising. This study combines signalling theory with persuasion theory to empirically study the effects of linguistic information distortion from fraudulent cues on a crowdfunding campaign's fundraising outcomes using text analytics, with implications for entrepreneurs, platforms and investors.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyzes 328,974 crowdfunding projects from the Kickstarter platform. Information distortion is detected using four indicators, based on text mining analytics. An econometric model is built to estimate the impact of information distortion, while the predictive power of the information distortion is detected through machine learning.FindingsThe results inform that distortion in the blurb, detailed description and reward statement dampen a campaign's success, but embellishing the entrepreneur's biography enhances the success of financing. Furthermore, information distortion exhibits a significant inverted U-shaped influence. The effect of the interaction terms suggests that campaigns with high pledge goals are more sensitive to information distortion, and that native-speaking entrepreneurs are adept at applying linguistic skills to promote the campaign.Originality/valueThis study provides a linguistic method to detect the influence of information distortion on crowdfunding campaigns. Further, the study offers some practical suggestions for entrepreneurs on how to generate attractive narratives, and contributes to the investor's decision-making and informs the platform's promotion strategy.

Cheap Talk on Freelance Platforms

We consider a large decentralized freelance platform where buyers with private information about their quality preferences are matched with freelancers that differ in quality. When posting their job requests, buyers can report their quality preferences via cheap talk, which influences freelancers’ application and pricing strategies. By exaggerating one’s quality preference, a buyer attracts not only more applications from freelancers, but also those with higher quality, at the cost of a higher expected price. We find that it is always an equilibrium for the buyers to report their quality preferences truthfully when they cannot renegotiate with freelancers on their asking prices after getting matched. On the other hand, when postmatch renegotiation is allowed and buyers have relatively high bargaining power, low-type buyers may strategically exaggerate their quality preferences, and subsequently after getting matched, costly signal their true type and bargain for lower prices. From a platform design perspective, our analysis implies that the option of renegotiation, designed to facilitate postmatch information transmission, may backfire by giving rise to buyers’ prematch opportunistic behaviors of information distortion. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy.

Summarization of information systems based on rough set theory

In the rough set theory proposed by Pawlak, the concept of reduct is very important. The reduct is the minimum attribute set that preserves the partition of the universe. A great deal of research in the past has attempted to reduce the representation of the original table. The advantage of using a reduced representation table is that it can summarize the original table so that it retains the original knowledge without distortion. However, using reduct to summarize tables may encounter the problem of the table still being too large, so users will be overwhelmed by too much information. To solve this problem, this article considers how to further reduce the size of the table without causing too much distortion to the original knowledge. Therefore, we set an upper limit for information distortion, which represents the maximum degree of information distortion we allow. Under this upper limit of distortion, we seek to find the summary table with the highest compression. This paper proposes two algorithms. The first is to find all summary tables that satisfy the maximum distortion constraint, while the second is to further select the summary table with the greatest degree of compression from these tables.

MEDIA FAKES IN THE INFORMATION SPACE OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The paper explores the grave issue for modern-day research of mass media communication - fake news. The study aims at identifying cognitive bases and mechanisms of formation of media fakes about coronavirus. The first part of the article defines fake news and delineates salient characteristics of fake news. The second part of the article reveals some common semantic macrostructures of media fakes about the virus based on the analysis of social media posts and news articles. The third part of the article presents and describes the key strategies and tactics of manipulation and information distortion typical of fake news about the virus. The analysis reveals essential cognitive and pragmalinguistic components of coronavirus media fakes. The results of the undertaken research are relevant to further exploring other features of fake news and can be implemented as a guide for identifying fake news in order to reduce the mass addressee’s susceptibility to fakes.