Digital Public Sphere Research Articles

Explicit civility (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Explicit civility (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Inclusivity (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Inclusivity (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Storytelling (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Storytelling (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Rationality (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

Rationality (Online Discussions/Discussion Quality)

The (Il)legitimacy of Cybersecurity. An Application of Just Securitization Theory to Cybersecurity based on the Principle of Subsidiarity

This contribution applies Floyd’s just securitization theory (JST) to cybersecurity and develops an own version of JST focused on subsidiarity from the critical discussion of this application. Floyd’s JST pursues a subsidiary approach. It emphasizes that securitization is only legitimate if it has “a reasonable chance of success” to avert threats to the satisfaction of “basic human needs”. From this perspective, cyber-securitization would be only legitimate if it protects critical infrastructure, which is a too narrow scope. Whilst Floyd’s JST focuses exclusively on permissibility and needs instead of rights, I argue that there are cases in which states’ compliance with Human Rights requires the guarantee of cybersecurity, most importantly regarding the human right to privacy. Furthermore, my version of JST strengthens the principle of subsidiarity, in the sense that stakeholders directly affected by a threat should participate in securitization. In order to strengthen a kind of subsidiarity focused on the private sector, I argue for the legitimacy of private active self-defence in cyberspace and emphasize the importance of a ‘whole-of-society approach’ involving digital literacy and ‘everyday security practices’. In contrast to that, I argue that far-reaching securitization on the nation-state level can be connected to hyper-securitization. I argue that the securitization of the digital public sphere following unclear notions such as ‘digital sovereignty’ creates a ‘cybersecurity dilemma’ and a ‘societal security dilemma’. Furthermore, I argue that this kind of counterproductive hyper-securitization involves an ‘invisible handshake’ between Big Tech and governments that should be counteracted by structural desecuritization focused on subsidiarity.

Covidly humorous memes

The analysis of memes posted on Moroccan Facebook pages during the first wave of Covid-19 pandemic shows that the use of humour by Moroccans is not only motivated by achieving mirth but it also vehicles critical views about issues of common concern debated in the digital public sphere. Some of these memes were used to cope with fear and uncertainty. However, most memes harboured mixed feelings about the situation and were used for social control and the expression of conflict and resistance, addressing issues of behaviour, governance and communication. This article uses a social semiotic approach to analyse the collected memes (460 from personal and communal pages) as a multimodal discourse in terms of context, culture, and media affordances. This article contends that the study of these memes can be a key to understanding how Moroccans used humour to cope with danger and radical uncertainty, build identification and strengthen social cohesion. It also highlights the polyvocality of humour in times of the pandemic and the gradual shift from inclusive, conformist and sympathetic humour to disparaging, exclusive and challenging humour as the pandemic lingered, consensus began to crack, social control was challenged and injunctive norms were replaced by survival values. The results show how these memes are indicative of the way humour changes mechanisms and functions in terms of contingent motivations.

User perspectives on digital literacy as a response to misinformation

SummaryMotivationIn a polarizing world, the spread of “fake news” and mis/disinformation is a cause of concern for young people's wellbeing, as they are at the forefront of the use and consumption of digital media. The article focuses on how young people view and respond to misinformation online, and the role of digital literacy interventions to mitigate this challenge.PurposeThe analysis aims to provide some initial insights on how young people view and respond to misinformation online, based on open‐ended online consultations, and consider what their ideas and experiences imply for whether and how digital literacy interventions can help mitigate the impact of “fake news” and mis/disinformation on young people's wellbeing.Approach and methodsThe empirical analysis is based on two online consultations, held in the early months of the Covid‐19 pandemic, that explore multiple views of young people on misinformation. The consultations were analysed for patterns and variation in how young people define the problem of misinformation, and consider digital literacy as a solution, for both men and women, and in different geographies globally.FindingsThrough the consultations, participants suggest a contextualized view of misinformation, both in terms of how it becomes problematic and mitigation strategies. Young people experienced misinformation in intersection with other issues in the digital public sphere, including cybersecurity and unequal access. Young people also reinforced a broad view of digital literacy that includes data literacy and digital citizenship.Policy implicationsConsultation participants challenge policy‐makers and practitioners to look more deeply at the factors contributing to misinformation, to expand their vision of young people's agency, and to incorporate these insights into designing digital literacy interventions that mitigate the harms of misinformation online, and enable young people to address harmful content online.

Ethnic minority media as counter-hegemonic and agents of participation for minority communities

This article interrogates the extent to which ethnic minority media acts as tools for preserving minority cultures and identities and as counter-hegemonic to mainstream media’s representations of migrants in South Africa. It also discusses how diasporic ethnic media function as agents of participation for diasporic communities that are struggling to find a ‘home’ away from home. Mainstream media in South Africa, particularly tabloids, tend to represent the diasporic communities as petty criminals, prostitutes, robbers and accuse them of stealing the locals’ jobs. Most of these communities comprised by people of Asian descent – Pakistan, India – and the majority from African countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopic, Nigeria, Somalia and Mozambique. Migrants are often labelled as ‘aliens’, and the entrepreneurship associated with these minority migrants is rarely reported by South Africa’s mainstream media. The article deploys the digital public sphere theory and the four models of alternative journalism. Using textual analysis of purposively selected stories and programmes of an online radio station, Radio Mthwakazi, this article concludes that ethnic minority media in South Africa challenges the hegemonic tendencies of mainstream media and, in the process, constructs multi-ethnic subaltern public spheres and acts as agents of participation.

DIALOGICAL SENSE-MAKING IN THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SPHERE: Citizenship, Care, and Disability

This article explores the contested public discourses of citizenship and care surrounding national media coverage of the news story of ‘Baby Leo’, a New Zealand baby born overseas in 2015. Baby Leo’s diagnosis of Down Syndrome soon after his birth, precipitated the mother’s alleged abandonment of the child, the expat New Zealand father then fundraising for the child’s (and his) rapid return to New Zealand via a virally successfully crowdfunding campaign. The situation attracted significant media attention for several months, with thousands of New Zealanders providing comments, via Facebook, on stories produced and shared by news media outlets. We use a Bakhtinian dialogical analysis of a selection of these Facebook comments to consider the emergent discourses of citizenship – especially in relation to disability – that were mobilised and contested by contributors. Our findings show that although the Facebook comments demonstrate the contingent and fluid meanings of ‘home’ and ‘welcome’, the positive comments on the worthiness of his case and its deservingness of public support that Baby Leo attracted, distinguish this case from other studies of citizenship attribution for people with Down syndrome around the world. Despite this, the treatment of prospective citizens with various forms of disability issues (including Down Syndrome) seeking citizenship in New Zealand remains exclusionary and the New Zealand national identity invoked in these online discussions extended a longstanding utopian humanitarian vision, without critical awareness of this.

EU Public Legitimation in the Social Media Era: Co‐ordinating the Political Communication of the European Commission

AbstractThis article addresses the question of how the EU gains influence over public legitimacy in the social media era. Existing theories focus either on the type of legitimacy at play without addressing strategic efforts in the digital public sphere, or they focus on self‐legitimation without considering the type of legitimacy at stake. However, public legitimation is the result of both institutional conditions and of agency. Strategic efforts in public legitimation are shaped not only by choices between forms of co‐ordination but also by the type of legitimacy these efforts attempt to influence. Concurrently, the purpose here is to suggest a new approach to analysing the EU's responses to public legitimacy challenges and to detecting features of good practice in the digital public sphere. Taking a historical approach, the article links existing literatures addressing EU legitimacy, organizational strategy, and political communication. The European Commission is used as an illustrative case example.

The Digital Public Sphere and Muslim Piety in Aceh: Rethinking Habermas’ Conception of Communicative Action

<p>This study offers insights into the transformation of social media platforms as an alternative to the digital public sphere for Muslim society in Aceh. The communicative action theory by Habermas is used as approach to respond to this challenge. Descriptive quantitative analyses were used to expose religious discourse about Islam amongst young Muslims in Aceh. The results show that WhatsApp has proven to be the most popular among social media platforms. WhatsApp has functioned as a new public sphere for Muslim society in Aceh and has evolved into an essential part of mediated Islamic discourse in the digital era. In this regard, WhatsApp has created a universal public sphere, available to Muslim society as dialogic communication in Aceh. This research concludes that the Muslims in Aceh are not merely users of WhatsApp. They can also be digital preachers who can build individual narratives as a part of the religious struggle to increase their piety.</p><p><em>Kajian ini dilakukan untuk memberikan pemahaman mendalam tentang bagaimana transformasi platform media sosial sebagai alternatif ruang publik digital pada masyarakat Muslim di Aceh. Teori tindakan komunikatif Habermas digunakan sebagai pendekatan untuk menjawab tantangan ini. Analisis deskriptif kuantitatif digunakan untuk mengekspos diskursus keagamaan Islam di kalangan generasi muda Muslim di Aceh melalui lanskap media sosial baru yang lebih kontemporer. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa WhatsApp telah terbukti menjadi media yang paling populer di antara banyak platform media sosial. WhatsApp telah memberikan manfaat sebagai alternatif ruang publik baru bagi masyarakat Muslim di Aceh dan telah berkembang menjadi bagian penting dalam perkembangan diskursus keislaman di era digital. Dalam hal ini, WhatsApp telah menciptakan ruang publik yang universal, tersedia bagi Muslim sebagai satu bentuk komunikasi dialogis di Aceh. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa umat Islam di Aceh bukan hanya pengguna WhatsApp saja. Namun, mereka juga menjadi penceramah digital yang dapat membangun narasi individu yang dipilih sebagai bagian dari perjuangan dakwah untuk meningkatkan ketakwaannya</em></p>

The Reactions to Muslim Identity Building through Social Media: User Comments on YouTube Street Interview Videos

With the expanding digital public sphere, social media have worked as tools that construct and maintain the boundaries and descriptors of social identity among members, by portraying and reinforcing content shared by communities and cultures. Religious leaders and groups have used social media to make themselves more visible and to communicate their faith’s mission. The scope of this study is to use Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory to examine the viewers’ comments on the content created by a religious individual/group for the production, shaping, and reproduction of the Muslim identity through YouTube. We have used Corpus Linguistics (CL) methods to examine relative frequencies and emerging statistical significance of lexical patterns in viewers’ comments. This analysis shows that a strong “we” versus “you” dichotomization exists between the in-group, Muslims, and the out-group, persons who are systematically degraded as being low-informed religious, or non-religious, in street interviews.

The Challenge of the Digital Public Sphere: Finnish Experiences of the Role of Social Media in Participatory Planning

In this paper, we examine social media-based participation and public deliberation in land-use planning. We use the Deweyan theory of the public, the Habermasian theory of the public sphere, and the recent theories of the digital public sphere as our framework, asking what should be the relation of public planners to the digital public sphere: should they try to manage self-organising participation, or should public opinion formation be free from the influence of public authorities? The empirical part of the study reflects on this question by investigating Finnish planners’ experiences of the role of social media in planning in the light of two recent surveys.

Seeing red: Reading uncivil news comments guided by personality characteristics

Whether on a news or a social networking site, comments following news stories are often beset with incivility. Assailed as diminishing constructive dialogue in a digital public sphere, uncivil comments nevertheless require deeper scrutiny to better understand their pervasiveness and, among some, popularity. This article uses a Uses and Gratifications framework to understand why certain people are more drawn to uncivil comments than civil ones. Using eye-tracking technology, this research compares the attention a reader gives to uncivil comments and compares it against certain personality characteristics. Findings suggest that certain readers spend more time reading uncivil comments than civil ones.

Public Sphere Distortion in the Age of Internet Giants

In an era of information profusion, Internet giants play a key role in determining the content that individuals consume online. Social media platforms, for instance, claim that their automated filters can provide users with a personalised online experience and end internet chaos. However, these platforms today use automated filtering extensively to curate content disseminated online in an opaque way to their users. Some believe that the negative impact of automated filtering is overstated since it empowers individuals to enjoy a tailored online experience based on their preferences; however, others argue that it has severe repercussions. This paper first sheds light on the Internet’s role in reshaping the future of the media sector and its role as a watchdog. Secondly, it discusses the so-called “Automated Online Content Filtering” and a number of correlated concepts. It then analyses using a socio-legal approach the related controversy and the consequential implications of employing automated filtering on public sphere. Finally, it comparatively explains the adopted regulatory measures and recommended steps to minimise the prejudice caused by these filters. The paper concludes that due to profit-based engagement optimisation which drives social media platforms to de-prioritise content likely to be less engaging, automated filtering may amplify biases and extremism, induce the proliferation of false news and inflammatory content, and exacerbate the manipulation of the electorate, algorithmic bias, and censorship. Thus, the international community must take concrete regulatory measures to mitigate such ramifications and sway Internet giants to adopt standards that would lead to a healthier digital public sphere.

Satire as the Comic Public Sphere: Postmodern “Truthiness” and Civic Engagement

Satire as the Comic Public Sphere: Postmodern “Truthiness” and Civic Engagement

Brand activism on the digital public sphere: campaign content analysis of #BringBackOurBottle on Instagram

Brand activism is one of the organizational initiative practices voluntarily conducted to promote social, economic, environmental, and cultural issues which are considered as important matter and have wide impact for society aligned with the company’s vision and mission. Recently, this kind of activity mostly carried on social media as public sphere which becomes media communication, such as campaign to reduce plastic wastes conducted by The Body Shop Indonesia as effort to reduce environmental disaster and climate change impact. In this research, the researcher focused on the #BringBackOurBottle campaign carried by The Body Shop Indonesia by identifying messages through content visualization on Instagram account @thebodyshopindo.impact. Furthermore, the research used qualitative content for both photo and video post with hashtag #BringBackOurBottle. The research finding emphasized on two main messages within the content #BringBackOurBottle; the first, plastic threat for survival and the second is the drive for sustainable living. Besides, this research also showed that brands have power to create the consumer’s behaviour; it can encourage the consumers to participate in taking care of the environment through the program they continue to campaign.

Hoax and Paradox of Digital Public Sphere

Hoax and Paradox of Digital Public Sphere

The Challenges of Reconstructing Citizen-Driven EU Contestation in the Digital Media Sphere

This article reflects on the discursive representation, legal, and practical challenges of locating, classifying, and publishing citizens’ views of the EU in digital media discourse. We start with the discursive representation challenge of locating and identifying citizens’ voices in social and news media discourse. The second set of challenges pertains to the legal, regulatory framework guiding research ethics on personal data but also cuts across the academic debate on what constitutes “public” discourse in the digital public sphere. The third set of challenges are practical but of no less consequence. Here we bring in the issue of marketisation of the public sphere and of the digital commons, and how these processes affect the ethics but also the feasibility and reliability of digital public sphere analysis. Thereby we illustrate that barriers to content analysis can make data collection practically challenging, feeding dilemmas with data reliability and research ethics. These methodological and empirical challenges are illustrated and unpacked with examples from the Benchmark project, which analysed the extent to which citizens drive EU contestation on social and digital news media. Our study focuses on UK public discourse on a possible European Economic Area solution, and the reactions such discourse may have triggered in two EU-associated countries, Norway and Switzerland, in the post-Brexit referendum period 2016–2019. We thus take a broad European perspective of EU contestation that is not strictly confined within the EU public sphere(s). The case study illustrates the research process and the emerging empirical challenges and concludes with reflections and practical suggestions for future research projects.

Influencers peruanos, ciudadanía mediática y su rol social en el contexto del Covid-19

La pandemia provocada por el covid-19 impactó la esfera pública digital y obligó a los influencers a reflexionar sobre su agencia y rol social. Los usuarios y comunidades virtuales ampliaron su demanda informativa hacia espacios políticos informales donde conviven prácticas vinculadas al ocio y al entretenimiento. Este estudio exploratorio de tipo cualitativo está basado en entrevistas a profundidad a 13 influencers peruanos de distintos alcances y temáticas con la finalidad de comprender su proceso de adaptación en este escenario y sus perspectivas como ciudadanos mediáticos. Se concluye que la relación entre los influencers y sus comunidades puede adquirir un nuevo sentido de mayor compromiso cívico y social en un contexto crítico, aportando valor a partir de contenidos que complementan la información y el entretenimiento.