Digital Public Sphere Research Articles

Epistemic authority in the digital public sphere. An integrative conceptual framework and research agenda

Abstract We develop an integrative conceptual framework and research agenda for studying epistemic authorities in the digital age. Consulting epistemic authorities (e.g., professional experts, well-informed laypeople, technologies) can be an efficient fast-track to knowledge. To fulfill this functional role, those who claim epistemic authority need to be both subjectively recognized (have a perceived advantage in knowledge) and objectively justified (have an actual advantage in knowledge). In a digital media context, new and unconventional knowledge sources have emerged that can fulfill the functional role of epistemic authorities. But false authorities that disseminate misinformation have emerged as well while other sources with important knowledge remain unrecognized. We further analyze the functional role of epistemic intermediaries that can mitigate such problematic developments by correcting false authorities and by providing endorsement for unrecognized authorities. We conclude with a research agenda to study functional forms of epistemic authorities and epistemic intermediaries in the digital public sphere.

Social Media and Deceptive Patterns: A Way Forward for Antitrust Enforcement

Abstract The digital public sphere's significance, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted concerns on how the concentration of market power can shape social interactions. Antitrust, in particular, has faced calls for reform to better serve democratic goals in this context. However, experts disagree on whether antitrust should be geared towards achieving these objectives. This paper discusses antitrust’s potential in fostering a healthier digital public sphere, particularly through the analysis of deceptive patterns deployed by social media platforms and their competition impact. It first discusses how the concept of deceptive patterns should be conceived—as there is no clear definition universally adopted in either academia or enforcement circles. It then moves on to explore ways to align traditional consumer-welfare antitrust analysis with this topic, by reviewing existing deceptive patterns’ literature, looking at existing taxonomies and how they can help clarify effects on consumers, markets, and society, with a narrowed focus on social media. Lastly, it attempts to offer a framework for the assessment of deceptive patterns in social media by antitrust authorities.

The digital citizen as technoliberal subject: The politics of constitutive rhetoric in the European Union’s Digital Decade

ABSTRACT Published on January 26, 2022, the European Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles (EDDRP) enshrined the European Union’s goals for Europe’s digital future, a document representing the policy agenda of the European Union’s Digital Decade 2030. This policy program and the accompanying declaration aim to expand digital services and outline digital rights. This essay deploys an ideological criticism of the EU’s Digital Decade, specifically in regard to its neoliberal vision of digital citizenship, situated in the context of constitutive rhetoric, neoliberalism, surveillance capitalism, and EU tech regulation. I identify three priorities of the Digital Decade that have declaratory and material manifestations. First, the value of innovation presents democracy as a practice improved through further technological advancement, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Second, the idea of connection to the “digital public sphere” exemplifies the neo-colonial ideology inherent in technoliberalism. Third, the cybersecurity imperative of the Digital Decade reveals the contours of acceptable and unacceptable expressions of citizenship. I situate these three technoliberal features of the Digital Decade as “weak” democratic promises that expose the material limitations of constitutive rhetorics. This essay concludes with a call to technoskepticism, a hermeneutic attuned to the challenges of declaring citizenship practices in digital space.

Beyond the Digital Public Sphere: Towards a Political Ontology of Algorithmic Technologies

The following paper offers a political and philosophical reading of ethically informed technological design practices to critically tackle the implicit regulative ideal in the design of social media as a means to digitally represent the liberal public sphere. The paper proposes that, when it comes to the case of social media platforms, understood along with the machine learning algorithms embedded in them as algorithmic technologies, ethically informed design has an implicit conception of democracy that parallels that of Jürgen Habermas’ procedural democracy (Habermas, J. (1994). THREE NORMATIVE MODELS OF DEMOCRACY. Jurgen Habermas, 1(1).). That is, that democratic practices are encodable as procedures that produce valid discussion forums. Opposed to this, this paper suggests a turn to philosopher Jacques Rancière’s conception of politics as a guiding attitude towards technological design. This is done by, on the one side, using Rancière’s notions of “disagreement” and “distribution of the sensible” as the political starting point for the practice of design of algorithmic technologies. And, on the other, inspired by Karen Barad’s theories on agential realism (Barad, K. (2003). Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 28(3), 801–831. https://doi.org/10.1086/345321), by putting forward a political ontology of algorithmic technologies that reconceptualizes them in terms of how they assemble open-ended practices between human bodies and technological devices.

Audience’s Perception of X (Formerly Twitter) Trends as a Tool for the Nigerian Public Sphere

Purpose: Unlike how we previously knew it to be, the public sphere has evolved to include digital spaces, making them metamorphose into digital public spheres. These digital spaces are more open, accessible, and void of certain bottlenecks. It is, therefore, now impossible to describe a public sphere without mentioning digital spaces. As such, this study aims to find out the audience's perception of X (formerly Twitter) trends as a tool for the Nigerian public sphere. Materials and Methods: The survey research method was used to obtain responses from 200 respondents, using the purposive sampling technique of selecting only X (formerly Twitter) users. Findings: The findings reveal that most X (formerly Twitter) users often utilise X (formerly Twitter) trends to some extent; X (formerly Twitter) trends influence the content of some users but not the majority of them, even if the majority use the feature. In addition, X (formerly Twitter) Trends highlight significant content for X (formerly Twitter) users in Nigeria. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Some of the recommendations of the study include the following: the government should pay closer attention to relevant public conversations on the X (formerly Twitter) platform to understand people’s take on certain issues and how to help them better; they should also partner with relevant agencies to set up regular digital literacy campaigns to help the public effectively engage with social media content on X (formerly Twitter). Also, stakeholders like X (formerly Twitter) should ensure suitable systems are in place for accurate Trends metrics to avoid misleading users with the wrong Trends or content by some users. In addition, X (formerly Twitter) should develop campaigns and guides to help users better understand how to engage with the Trends feature on X (formerly Twitter).

*Corresponding author: suwandi.sumartias@unpad.ac.id E-ISSN: 2289-1528 https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2024-4002-01 Portrait of Hate Speech Propagators' Behaviour in Indonesia Twittersphere: A Comparative Virtual Ethnography Study

Political life in Indonesia today cannot be separated from the social media platform Twitter (X) because it is often used to express opinions freely. Unfortunately, a handful of parties misused the freedom of communication and expression offered by Twitter (X) to spread hate speech. One of the biggest phenomena is “Cebong” and “Kadrun”. This research examines the characteristics of hate speech spreaders in the political context of "Cebong" and "Kadrun". This study employed virtual ethnography to interpret the phenomenon of political hate speech on Twitter (X) in May 2022. The hate speech made by "Cebong" and "Kadrun" can be concluded as two hostile political camps. They argued with each other to show their identity as supporters of one of the camps and aimed to bring down the opposing political camp. The tweets made by “Cebong” were dominated by arguments classified as arguments by analogy; meanwhile, "Kadrun" was dominated by discovery arguments: arguments from cause to effect. The manipulation strategy carried out by "Cebong" is dominated by connotations, and "Kadrun" is dominated by specific warrants and connotations. The fallacy expressed by "Cebong" is dominated by persuasive definitions; meanwhile, "Kadrun" is dominated by hasty generalizations. These findings could be suggestions for creating a healthier ecosystem in the digital public sphere in Indonesia. Twitter (X) users should be more aware of reporting content that indicates hate speech. By knowing the characteristics of hate speech and the characteristics of hate speech spreaders, Twitter users can stop the spread of hate speech. Keywords: Cebong, Kadrun, hate speech, propagators, Twitter.

Rationalising the Digital Public Sphere

This paper explores the suitability of Jürgen Habermas' concepts about the rationality of communicative actions in relation to the Internet and social media. The paper investigates the contemporary digital realm, analysing whether it functions as an expansion of the public sphere classic conceptualised by Habermas, with the aim of improving the level of rational communication. To accomplish this, the paper analyses the characteristics of the digital era, exploring Habermas's stance on social media and contemporary media. The paper analyses Habermas's concepts about the rationality of communication and supports the arguments with relevant literature to investigate the impact of current communication tools, including the Internet and its applications, on enhancing the quality of rational discourse. In order to accomplish this, it is important to thoroughly examine the key subjects pertaining to Habermas's philosophy of communication and assess its relevance to the modern virtual public sphere.

Data localization as contested and narrated security in the age of digital sovereignty: the case of Switzerland

ABSTRACT The construction and effects on national boundaries have become central topics in public and academic debates on digital sovereignty. Both state and non-state actors increasingly consider jurisdictions and traditional governing structures as means to capture and regulate digital data flows. This article delves into the intricate phenomenon of ‘data localization’, conceptualizing it as a socio-technical assemblage reflecting the evolving expectations surrounding Internet architecture and national boundaries. Interviewing the users of Threema – a Swiss secure messaging app – this study unravels data localization practices as a hybrid black box, intertwining technical changes, political discourses, socio-technical imaginaries, and shifting social norms. Drawing on the field of Science and Technology Studies, we mobilize the analytical tools of controversy and discourse to highlight data localization as a locus of political contestation in Switzerland, where imaginaries of national boundaries are often mobilized to symbolize security and reliability. The article provides three key contributions to the discourse on digital sovereignty, fragmentation, and governance. Firstly, it argues for the usefulness of Science and Technology Studies in understanding Internet governance, emphasizing the need for analyses grounded in specific socio-technical contexts. Secondly, it advocates for a social perspective on digital sovereignty, emphasizing user agency, social movements, and collective action as crucial factors shaping the governance of data flows. Lastly, the article sheds light on users resorting to state jurisdictions as a means to reinforce control over data flows, exploring the discursive mobilization of national boundaries in the digital public sphere.

Active spectating in the digital public sphere: A qualitative exploration

Abstract Through an interpretive, user-centred approach, in this article I investigate a frequently overlooked dimension of online political engagement: spectating. Drawing on mini focus groups with Norwegian young adults, I challenge depictions of so-called lurking as antisocial and unproductive by advocating a more nuanced view of silent social media use. The findings demonstrate that spectating is viewed as a socially acceptable and meaningful activity within the participants’ broader expectations for civic behaviour. The analysis also presents active and normatively desirable activities encompassed in spectating – such as monitoring, critically consuming, and consciously curating political content – which can support citizens to maintain public connection and develop informed opinions. Ultimately, the study elevates the discussion on digital citizenship by illustrating how active spectating can serve as a meaningful and cooperative form of participation within a distributed understanding of civic engagement in an era of communicative plenty.

The digital revolution contributed to practical reality according to the stages of its emergence in contemporary history (A model)

The digital revolution has politically affected the actual political reality through the transformation of the relatively free digital public sphere, under official digital censorship systems, and also for major global digital companies. Digitalization has today become a tool for building digital pressure groups that exercise their criticism and demands outside partisan frameworks and outside constitutional and legal systems, and outside The traditional mechanisms of a representative democratic system, including party pluralism, competitions, parliamentary and party elections within each party, municipal elections, referendums, and the formation of governments based on the results of the elections, or presidential elections in presidential systems such as the United States of America, or parliamentary and semi-presidential elections in the French style. Therefore, this study seeks to highlight knowledge of several questions about the possibilities of modifying the system of representative democracy towards introducing some forms of direct democracy, and not waiting for general elections to change the policies of elected governments, according to the political phenomena of digitization and its impact on democratic political culture as part of the processes of liquidity, and transformation in terms of the emergence of some phenomena. Populism, the post-truth world, and fake news in politics.

Post-truth conspiracism and the pseudo-public sphere

Rather than seeking to recuperate the ideal of a digital public sphere or lament its demise with the rise of social media platforms, in this paper I seek to identify the dangers of precisely this insistence to imagine the Internet as a public sphere. It is this curious insistence and persistence that, I claim, may feed into precisely those post-truth media dynamics such critical accounts worry about and rally against. The success of viral conspiracy narratives like Pizzagate and QAnon, as well as other forms of mis- and disinformation, hinges not (only) on the absence or distortion of a healthy democratic public sphere, as is typically assumed, but (also) on its persistence as an imaginary in an environment that obeys an altogether different set of logics, namely that of ‘communicative capitalism’ and ‘information warfare.’ Whereas the former has drawn most critical attention in connection to current post-truth dynamics (e.g., the effects of targeted advertising and the role of algorithms in creating polarizing echo chambers and filter bubbles), I will instead focus on the latter. The unique problem and ‘cunning’ of what I refer to as ‘post-truth conspiracism’ is that it draws on idea(l)s of digital publicness to establish its own epistemic legitimacy, as well as derive its unique powers of persuasion, while also mobilizing the full tactical arsenal of information warfare in a global attention economy. The resulting weaponization of digital public sphere imaginaries complicates attempts to recuperate the idea(l) of a digital public sphere as a solution to a ‘polluted’ information environment.

Reaction value: affective reflex in the digital public sphere

ABSTRACT The concept of ‘reaction’ has been frequently viewed pejoratively in the history of social and moral theory, as unthinking and often resentful. But ‘reactions’ of various kinds play a central role in the contemporary digital public sphere, of a sort that deserve attention from sociologists of value and valuation. The article identifies three forms of reaction: as ‘feedback’, as ‘content’ and as ‘chains’. It then argues that reactions exert their force within the contemporary public sphere, because they encompass some central ambiguities of the present. Firstly, as reactive beings, people hover in a space between the ‘human’ and the ‘non-human’ (or ‘post-human’), responding to stimuli but in a culturally illuminating fashion. Secondly, reactions sit in a space between judgement and artefact, combining elements of both, and thereby revealing a key ambiguity of platform infrastructure, in which audiences, critics and performers are all constantly morphing into one another. The paper concludes by reflecting on what it might mean to take reaction seriously as an object of sociology.

Strengthening digital citizenship through discourse analysis of presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2024 Presidential Election

With the rapid advancement of information technology and increased internet access in Indonesia, citizens' participation in the digital realm has grown substantially. Digital citizens' presence is crucial in the 2024 Presidential Election, playing a pivotal role in disseminating political information, influencing public opinion, and providing support to candidates. This study examines the digital citizens' discourse on presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs in the 2024 election in the digital public sphere. The method of issue analysis employs topic modeling with keywords "anies muhaimin," "ganjar mahfud," and "prabowo gibran" on social media platform X. The research findings indicate that the discourse is clustered for each candidate pair. Narratives of support and optimism predominantly characterize the Anies-Muhaimin pair. The Ganjar-Mahfud pair exhibits clusters covering volunteer support, constitutional narratives, development aspirations, uniform buzzer narratives, and support from figures such as Yenny Wahid and advocacy for Palestine. The Prabowo-Gibran pair has clusters discussing support from the younger generation, political dynasty issues, PDIP reactions, and buzzer strategies with massive hashtags. Digital citizens engage in organized and diverse discourses regarding presidential and vice-presidential candidates, emphasizing the importance of understanding these dynamics to ensure responsible participation in the digital political process.

Application and Analysis of the Constructive Potential of China’s Digital Public Sphere Education

Application and Analysis of the Constructive Potential of China’s Digital Public Sphere Education

Analysis of The Influence of Communication and Promotion in Digital Social Media on Citizens' Participation in The Election

This research aims to provide conclusive results regarding interaction and discussion, use, and exploitation of social media in the context of general elections in the digital public space. This research involves analyzing all messages published by presidential candidates via social media during the general election campaign. Every day during the campaign, a presidential candidate published a tweet, thereby collecting data. The research results revealed that the general public's ability to participate in substantive political conversations related to the presidential election remains incomplete. The achievement of equality among participants in digital public spaces remains incomplete. Candidates focus more on their political messages and interactions with the media and their own political platforms rather than interacting equally with other users. The role of participants in digital public spaces is very relevant. Although the Internet provides a wealth of information, users tend to be disseminators rather than conducting in-depth analysis. This can hinder the formation of independent opinions and meaningful participation in political discussions. In this context, commercialization and excessive information on the internet can be detrimental to the process of creating a healthy public space. However, in reality, the internet has not been able to effectively overcome complex political challenges. In this context, it is important to develop a more critical understanding of the role of the internet in shaping the digital public sphere. This requires awareness of the challenges and complexities involved, as well as efforts to promote more active and educated participation in the digital public sphere.

„Ich freu mich ja SO übelst“ – Praktiken explizit performativer Beziehungsgestaltung in Fancalls

Abstract Fancalls are telephone conversations filmed and posted on YouTube that influencers hold with selected fans. It is a type of conversation that utilises the affordances of the digital public sphere and enables a specific form of relationship building between influencers and fans. The following considerations are based on the assumption that the public sphere is always part of social practices. This suggests an interactionist understanding of the public sphere for the following observations and their categorisation. A number of communicative patterns can be observed in fan calls, which will be discussed in this contribution with regard to their specificity for digital-public communication. The extent to which the specific interaction constellation and the genre-related characteristics of this type of conversation are an expression of a (changing) digital public sphere will be discussed in this article.

Digitale Öffentlichkeit(en) metapragmatisch. Zur Aushandlung und Überschreitung kommunikativer Grenzen am Beispiel des Bodyshamings auf YouTube

Abstract This paper explores the multidimensional phenomenon of digital publics from a metapragmatic perspective. The focus is on a (potentially) digital-public YouTube discourse fragment on the topic of bodyshaming (on the Internet). In particular, negotiation and violation practices of communicative boundaries (in social media) are thematized. The underlying corpus is composed of (1) a YouTube video of a female (high reach) social media actor who, among other things, recontextualizes (hurtful) comments about her weight gain as well as about a possible pregnancy, and (2) follow-up communication to this video. In the qualitative-quantitative study, special attention is paid to the following questions: (1) Which concept of digital public spheres do the users emphasize in the discussion and (2) which understanding of communicative boundaries (in a digitalized lifeworld) do these participants communicate? A media-critical community is illuminated that construes solidarity with the initial contributor and negotiates the boundaries of appropriate Internet communication.

Us, Them, Right, Wrong: How TikTok's Green Screen, Duet, and Stitch help shape political discourse

As TikTok exploded in popularity following the initial lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, use from individual users skyrocketed. During this time, political content became largely ubiquitous across the app. Politics play out daily on TikTok, as individuals craft messages within the technological affordances and sociocultural dynamics of the app. This study expands on research regarding civic engagement in digital public spheres by examining and describing how TikTok shapes political expression and discourse through three technological affordances on the app: the Green Screen, the Stitch, and the Duet. While these affordances are often hailed as features that bolster user creativity through increased possible interactions, our analysis found these increased possible interactions to be highly specific, and also limited in conjunction with politics. On political TikTok, these affordances function more as political commentary than conversation, lending to an overall volatile environment.

Platform Fans: Contradictory Practices of K-Pop Fandom and the Digital Public Sphere

abstract: This article investigates the notion of an idealized digital public sphere by illustrating the contradiction between the supportive and subversive mediated communication practices of international K-pop fans across social media platforms. Fans subvert historic mass media communication practices by using social media to make their voices heard. However, they simultaneously engage in platform-mediated communication practices that uphold the status quo, doing what production companies, popular opinion, and even other fans expect them to do. Despite new communication-mediating platforms allowing fans to self-govern, create fan economies, and influence their own public opinion, the platformization of K-pop fandom has not demonstrated an idealized digital public sphere. The platformization of the K-pop industry is integral to its viability and global success, and by understanding how K-pop fans communicate online and offline, scholars can learn more about other increasingly globalized, hybridized, and platformized organizing practices and the digital public sphere.

The platformation and transformation of the digital public sphere: An introduction

This article introduces the complex landscape of social media platforms and their evolving integration within social and political contexts. Focusing on the concept of platform society, this article discusses the emergence and growth of new platforms as well as the localization trends of mobile communication. This article examines the interplay between technological structures and social, cultural, and political dimensions of mobile communication, focusing on issues such as privacy policies, data protection, and profit-seeking motives of platform owner companies. In addition, this article introduces the six papers chosen for this special issue. The diverse viewpoints presented in this special issue contribute to a deeper understanding of digital communication’s role in advancing democracy, encouraging citizen participation, and transforming public spheres.