The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence has to be seen as a paradigmatic shift that moves digital information systems from Search to Prediction. This article establishes how the Googlization of the world led to the naturalization of search-based information systems as our default modes of digital narration, offering ‘Revelation’ as the primary author function of digital systems that opens up the practice of ‘interpretation’ as central to digital epistemology. In looking at the models of Generative Artificial Intelligence, with a specific focus on ChatGPT, I argue that the new author function that is being normalized by Generative Artificial Intelligence systems is one of ‘concealment’. I illustrate the new forms of Generative Artificial Intelligence concealments by looking at the most prevalent anxieties that have accompanied these applications and unpack what authorship of concealment looks like in these emerging technology networks. It thus positions the narratives of rogue, hallucinating or fabricating Generative Artificial Intelligence as actively shaping new forms of digital authorship, which cannot be addressed merely by the current trend of asking for a slowing down of AI development and setting safeguards. Instead, this article proposes the interventions that are needed to address the Generative Artificial Intelligence emergent moment, beyond the easily thrown-around demands of transparency and explainability.

This study sought to analyze Ukraine’s innovative use of Twitter (X) during the Russia–Ukraine War while identifying which Ukrainian innovations may diffuse among diplomatic institutions, thereby impacting the practice of diplomacy. Through an extensive literature review of 90 digital diplomacy studies, the study mapped 14 factors that may facilitate or inhibit the adoption of digital innovations in diplomacy. Using these factors, the study identified four Ukrainian innovations which may be widely adopted by diplomats including lobbying big tech CEOs, using memes and humor to narrate events, and utilizing celebrity Ambassadors. The study also identified one innovation that may not be adopted by diplomats—crowdfunding weapons procurement online. The study discusses the impact of each Ukrainian innovation on diplomatic practices and digital publics. By identifying factors that impact the adoption and diffusion of innovative technologies among diplomats, and demonstrating how such innovations impact diplomacy, the study addresses an important lacuna in digital diplomacy research.

This article examines the role of media partnerships in China’s public diplomacy efforts to reshape its perception in Latin America. It analyses four cases of collaboration between Chinese media organisations and their partners in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela. The study investigates the nature of these partnerships, the dynamics between the collaborators, and the discourses emerging from the co-produced programmes to advance China’s soft power in the region. The findings reveal a subtle asymmetry, where Latin American voices are included primarily when they contribute to constructing a positive narrative about China’s rise on the continent. Comparable to ‘borrowing microphones’, these media partnerships function as an extended platform for Beijing to disseminate key ideological concepts, such as the ‘community of shared destiny for humankind’, while reshaping China’s image as a champion of free trade and globalisation, in opposition to protectionism and unilateralism.

This study explores the relationship between media consumption patterns of China-related news and American public opinion of China, analyzing responses from an original survey of 1225 US residents. Employing a new measure of hostility that captures not only the emotional responses but also the policy stances individuals may take in relation to foreign policy, the analysis reveals that traditional media sources, such as television, radio, and print newspapers, are associated with heightened hostility toward China. In contrast, consistent engagement with online and social media is linked to lower levels of hostility, suggesting that the broader range of narratives available digitally may foster more nuanced and less adversarial views. These findings challenge the prevalent notion that digital media propagates polarization, proposing instead that it can be a conduit for a more comprehensive understanding of global affairs.

We address the relationship between negative news media coverage of Islam and antisemitic attitudes among Muslims as an indicator of cognitive Islamist radicalization. Conceptually grounded in Social Identity Theory and the concept of intergroup competitive victimhood, the study investigates the effects of exposure to negative news media coverage of Muslims and Islam on Muslims living in Germany ( N = 96). While exposure to negative news does not increase Muslims’ perceptions of discrimination, it does strengthen the association between perceived discrimination and antisemitic attitudes. The findings indicate that this problematic link can be mitigated by news media literacy, highlighting the importance of such literacy as a resource to protect members of religious minorities from the negative effects caused by exposure to negative news portrayals of their religion. Explanations for these findings are discussed.

This conversation is an account of the panel discussions held during the Communication Policy and Technology 50th Anniversay pre-conference, co-organised by the Communication, Policy and Technology (CPT) Section and the Global Media Policy (GMP) Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), and the Department of Communications & New Media and the CivicTech Lab at the National University of Singapore on July 12, 2025. The session brought together long-standing CPT Section members with current and former co-chairs. Exchanging diverse viewpoints, the participants reflected on past, present and future challenges of research on communciation policy and technology and its potential impact. The conversation emphasised the importance of critical research in addressing issues related to power, human rights, ethics and inequality within both global and national communication policy.

Extensive research has found hostility between the political parties in the United States. While it is generally accepted that the parties perceive threats from each other, there is little empirical research investigating whether these perceived threats exist among the public. This article utilizes social identity theory and intergroup threat theory to examine relationships between partisan media use and perceived symbolic and realistic threats from the opposing political party. Using cross-sectional data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we ran mediation models. We found that the use of in-group media is associated with higher levels of both the symbolic and realistic threats that emanate from the opposing political party. We also examine whether these two types of threats are related to political engagement in the form of political participation. Our results reveal that symbolic threats are associated with engagement, while realistic threats are not. Finally, we examined a full moderated mediated model where media use predicts engagement through our two types of threats. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Web-based groups can be observed as social systems emerging from computer-mediated communication underpinned by the technological infrastructures of Web 2.0. The usage of social network platforms has been investigated from a wide array of sociological perspectives. Among many others, prominent fields of research concern the practices of presentation of the self, the emergence of social formations, the construction of knowledge, the relationships between technology and business models underpinning social networking platforms and social participation of the users. This article proposes a complementary approach advancing innovative theoretical reflections, in a commitment to answer Fuchs’ plea for new approaches to media systems and media organisation analysis. In particular, this articles discusses web-based groups as the catalyst for theoretical reflections concerning the co-evolution between the digital medium of communication and the societal capacity to handle complexity in the material dimension, temporal dimension, and social dimension. The article builds the foundation of its theoretical innovations in the first part, through an interdisciplinary combination of the theory of forms, second-order cybernetics, and autopoietic system theory. The second part of the article presents the main body of theoretical innovation by introducing web-based systems as a specific type of social group, emerging from the digital medium of communication. The ambition of the article is to offer an opportunity to contextualise sociological research on communication processes supported by social networking platforms within an ontology of web-based groups as social systems that emerge from digital media of communication.

Drawing on a survey of 1,386 South Korean young adults, this study finds that news curation mediates the association between social media news use and political efficacy and participation. Analysis also reveals that political interest moderates the relationship between news curation and political efficacy and participation, with politically less interested people being more influenced by news curation than politically more interested people. The finding has significant implications as to how to rekindle young adults’ political involvement. This study contributes to the existing literature about social media’s impact on news consumption, by conceptualizing “news curation” as a unique method of engaging with social media and by illuminating its effects on democratic engagement.

This case study analyzes protest signs displayed during the period of January to August 2023 by civil society demonstrators opposing the proposed judicial reform in Israel. Through the social identity theory theoretical framework, we explored how these signs serve as a collective tool for enhancing in-group identification. In total, 437 signs collected through various means were qualitatively analyzed via inductive and deductive thematic analysis. The results elucidated how the direct or implied referencing “us” and/or “them” in protest signs functioned as a mechanism to enhance in-group identification: (a) forging group identity and virtuous attributes, (b) delineating group desires and aversions, (c) building group resilience via ethos and history, and (d) strengthening group coherence. We conclude that the act of bearing protest signs and the content therein not only represent social empowerment but also powerfully symbolize the inherent collective strength of an emerging, resilient, and steadfast civil society committed to liberal democratic ideals.