Public Media Research Articles

Global misinformation trends: Commonalities and differences in topics, sources of falsehoods, and deception strategies across eight countries

In a quantitative content analysis of 3,154 debunking articles from 23 fact-checking organizations, this study examines global misinformation trends and regional nuances across eight countries in Europe and Latin America (UK, DE, PT, SP, AR, BR, CL, and VZ). It strives to elucidate commonalities and differences based on political and media system indicators. Notably, countries with a substantial online presence of far-right parties avoid disclosing (fake) ordinary accounts to evade engaging in inauthentic coordinated actions. While entirely fabricated stories are infrequent, they stand out in Brazil and Spain, the two countries with higher political polarization. Despite variations, aggregated forms of fabrication (invented, manipulated, imposter, or decontextualized content) are more prominent in Latin America due to high social media use for news and low reliance on public media. Conversely, in Europe, countries are more impacted by misleading (cherry-picked, exaggerated, and twisted) information.

The role and accountability of the state as a news media owner in the contemporary media landscape

Drawing on critical capitalism theory and the social responsibility theory of media, this paper explores the role of the state as a news media owner in contemporary European media systems and the capitalist context. It focuses on accountability and the relationships between the state, state-owned media outlets, and the public. Academic research to date has predominantly examined public service media (PSM) and the dichotomy of private versus public media, thereby overlooking other models of state ownership. The lack of clear regulations on the state's accountability as a media owner outside PSM at the EU level, along with uncertainties in national regulatory frameworks (such as those seen in Slovenia, and the recent reinstatement of state ownership of media in Serbia) raise concerns about the potential for abuse of power. These issues are particularly relevant in the current context of illiberal and authoritarian tendencies within modern European capitalist societies.

Academia and journalism: Two different worlds? How scientific institutions can successfully collaborate with journalistic organizations

Traditionally, researchers have played only a limited role as experts or qualified sources for journalists—and journalists were the subject of investigation for researchers rather than cooperation partners. The rapid pace of transformation processes in media use poses various challenges for media practitioners today, which is why they increasingly rely on the support of media researchers and their valuable insights into consumer attitudes and behaviour. However, the cooperation between scientific institutions and media practitioners is marked by many challenges and apart from individual temporary projects, lasting collaborations have not yet been established. This paper presents a long-term transfer initiative that aims to promote news use and news literacy among young people in close cooperation between a scientific institution and a wide range of private and public service media. Using this initiative as an example, we analyse the opportunities, challenges, and productive dynamics that result from this project. Based on our experience, we propose four main pieces of advice for how researchers can enhance long-term collaboration with newsrooms.

Game of frames: a content analysis of politicians’ framing of public service media on Facebook and Instagram in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT Despite the distinctive role of public service media in fostering democratic discourse and maintaining the integrity of democratic processes across European democracies, recent politicization, polarization, and increasing attacks on public media pose significant challenges to its traditional functions. This study investigates the framing of public service media by the parliamentary political parties and their leaders in digital communication, focusing on the Czech Republic as a case study within the broader European context. The study draws upon framing theory to examine frames’ content and temporal dynamics, their use across social networking sites, and the influence of political affiliations on discourse around public service media. A quantitative content analysis of Facebook and Instagram posts about public service media (n = 1,859) spanning four government terms between 2013 and 2022 revealed patterns of construction of evaluative, functional, and justifying frames by populist and government actors. These findings contribute to an understanding of the role of political discourse in shaping functions and perceptions of media environments and offer insights for safeguarding the integrity of public media in democratic societies amidst contemporary challenges.

Physiological presentation and risk factors of long COVID in the UK using smartphones and wearable devices: a longitudinal, citizen science, case–control study

The emergence of long COVID as a COVID-19 sequela was largely syndromic in characterisation. Digital health technologies such as wearable devices open the possibility to study this condition with passive, objective data in addition to self-reported symptoms. We aimed to quantify the prevalence and severity of symptoms across collected mobile health metrics over 12 weeks following COVID-19 diagnosis and to identify risk factors for the development of post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID). The Covid Collab study was a longitudinal, self-enrolled, community, case-control study. We recruited participants from the UK through a smartphone app, media publications, and promotion within the Fitbit app between Aug 28, 2020, and May 31, 2021. Adults (aged ≥18 years) who reported a COVID-19 diagnosis with a positive antigen or PCR test before Feb 1, 2022, were eligible for inclusion. We compared a cohort of 1200 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 with a cohort of 3600 sex-matched and age-matched controls without a COVID-19 diagnosis. Participants could provide information on COVID-19 symptoms and mental health through self-reported questionnaires (active data) and commercial wearable fitness devices (passive data). Data were compared between cohorts at three periods following diagnosis: acute COVID-19 (0-4 weeks), ongoing COVID-19 (4-12 weeks), and post-COVID-19 (12-16 weeks). We assessed sociodemographic and mobile health risk factors for the development of long COVID (defined as either a persistent change in a physiological signal or self-reported symptoms for ≥12 weeks after COVID-19 diagnosis). By Aug 1, 2022, 17 667 participants had enrolled into the study, of whom 1200 (6·8%) cases and 3600 (20·4%) controls were included in the analyses. Compared with baseline (65 beats per min), resting heart rate increased significantly during the acute (0·47 beats per min; odds ratio [OR] 1·06 [95% CI 1·03-1·09]; p<0·0001), ongoing (0·99 beats per min; 1·11 [1·08-1·14]; p<0·0001), and post-COVID-19 (0·52 beats per min; 1·04 [1·02-1·07]; p=0·0017) phases. An increased level of historical activity in the period from 24 months to 6 months preceding COVID-19 diagnosis was protective against long COVID (coefficient -0·017 [95% CI -0·030 to -0·003]; p=0·015). Depressive symptoms were persistently elevated following COVID-19 (OR 1·03 [95% CI 1·01-1·06]; p=0·0033) and were a potential risk factor for developing long COVID (1·14 [1·07-1·22]; p<0·0001). Mobile health technologies and commercial wearable devices might prove to be a useful resource for tracking recovery from COVID-19 and the prevalence of its long-term sequelae, as well as representing an abundant source of historical data. Mental wellbeing can be impacted negatively for an extended period following COVID-19. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, UK Research and Innovation, and Medical Research Council.

Neither private property nor public service: Critical reflections on the conceptual framework of public service media

Public service media (PSM) have long been seen as the necessary counterweight to the failures of a market model. Given the rise of private corporate power over communications systems, PSM have long been claimed to the be the ‘heart of a heartless world’ – spaces dominated not by the relentless logic of capital but by broader ambitions that involve citizen participation, social improvement and knowledge acquisition. This article offers a different interpretation. It argues that at their very best, PSM have improved an otherwise anaemic commercial landscape; at their worst, they are simply an accessory to state actors and contaminated media markets that reproduce elite power. Media practices and institutions based on the public service idea all too often lack the accountability and indeed the fundamental democratic oversight of the publics in whose name they operate. This article seeks first to contrast the values and structures of public service media with those of wholly commercial models and illustrates some of the ‘defensive’ arguments and initiatives that have been developed in response to threats to PSM. The article then explores a series of arguments that problematise what is often a reflexive defence of PSM. It considers whether being non-commercial necessarily positions an institution as pro-public and focuses on the role of the state in the creation of PSM institutions. It argues that the gap between normative accounts of public service and their institutional structures is not an accident or an aberration but reflects the structural imbalances of power built into PSM. Finally, the article analyses the different ways in which ‘the public’ has been conceptualised and deployed in the operational models of PSM, often as the ‘masses’ or as individuals in need of enlightenment or as sovereign consumers, but rarely as active agents of social change.

Evaluating large language models for health-related text classification tasks with public social media data.

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable success in natural language processing (NLP) tasks. This study aimed to evaluate their performances on social media-based health-related text classification tasks. We benchmarked 1 Support Vector Machine (SVM), 3 supervised pretrained language models (PLMs), and 2 LLMs-based classifiers across 6 text classification tasks. We developed 3 approaches for leveraging LLMs: employing LLMs as zero-shot classifiers, using LLMs as data annotators, and utilizing LLMs with few-shot examples for data augmentation. Across all tasks, the mean (SD) F1 score differences for RoBERTa, BERTweet, and SocBERT trained on human-annotated data were 0.24 (±0.10), 0.25 (±0.11), and 0.23 (±0.11), respectively, compared to those trained on the data annotated using GPT3.5, and were 0.16 (±0.07), 0.16 (±0.08), and 0.14 (±0.08) using GPT4, respectively. The GPT3.5 and GPT4 zero-shot classifiers outperformed SVMs in a single task and in 5 out of 6 tasks, respectively. When leveraging LLMs for data augmentation, the RoBERTa models trained on GPT4-augmented data demonstrated superior or comparable performance compared to those trained on human-annotated data alone. The results revealed that using LLM-annotated data only for training supervised classification models was ineffective. However, employing the LLM as a zero-shot classifier exhibited the potential to outperform traditional SVM models and achieved a higher recall than the advanced transformer-based model RoBERTa. Additionally, our results indicated that utilizing GPT3.5 for data augmentation could potentially harm model performance. In contrast, data augmentation with GPT4 demonstrated improved model performances, showcasing the potential of LLMs in reducing the need for extensive training data. By leveraging the data augmentation strategy, we can harness the power of LLMs to develop smaller, more effective domain-specific NLP models. Using LLM-annotated data without human guidance for training lightweight supervised classification models is an ineffective strategy. However, LLM, as a zero-shot classifier, shows promise in excluding false negatives and potentially reducing the human effort required for data annotation.

A Comprehensive Review on Image Encryption Techniques using Memristor based Chaotic System for Multimedia Application

Image encryption is one of the most widely used techniques for securing images in trusted and unrestricted public media. However, the drawback is weak security in chaotic encryption algorithms, small key space and hardware implementation complexities. Various appropriate encryption algorithms have been carried out for secure image transmission; it becomes a critical issue to protect image integrity, confidentiality and authenticity. To overcome these issues, this article examines several existing memristor-based image encryption algorithms with various chaotic maps. As a result, this research aims to deliver comprehensive literature on image encryption techniques through memristor to help the researchers. Finally, this survey provides all vital literature on the current image encryption techniques with their benefits, drawbacks, developments, and future directions. We also give a general guideline about cryptography. We conclude that all methods are helpful for real-time image encryption. A comparison has been made between many image processing approaches (conventional and memristor) based on metrics such as the number of pixels change rate (NPCR) with the value of 0.9986, histogram, entropy (7.9993), unified average varying intensity (UACI) achieves the value as 0.4996, energy consumption as 0.32pJ and time complexity as 0.9s. The experimental results of various approaches, key sensitivity and statistical analysis revealed that the survey of memristor-based image encryption schemes provides an effective way to secure image transmission in real-time application.

Bulgarian Media Since 1989: From Instrumentalization to Capture

In the second decade of the 21st century, Bulgaria earned the unsavory reputation of having the least media freedom in the EU’s (Reporters Without Borders). This paper examines the current state of Bulgarian media based on two research concepts: for instrumentalization, respectively the capture of media. The latter, especially when talking about the specifics and consequences of political-oligarchic pressure on media, is more appropriate for countries with serious deficits in their democratic development. The main purpose of the paper is to study media capture in Bulgaria at a structural level: regulatory capture, control of public service media, use of state financing as a control tool, ownership takeover (based on concepts by Dragomir, 2019, IPI, n. D.), including appropriate cases. The analysis makes use of material from to scientific articles, media publications, other publicly available sources, expert interviews.

Making public or quiet listening? Media logics and public inquiries into the abuse of children

This article examines the tensions between ‘publicness’ and ‘privacy’ in national commissions of inquiry. Through the insights of those who worked deep inside Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (RCIRCSA, 2013–2017), and the evidence provided in its final report, we explore the organisational and media logics of the Commission's highly publicised public hearings, and the ‘quiet’ institutional listening practices of its private sessions and engagement with marginalised communities. Royal Commissions are an important mechanism for raising awareness of past crimes on the public agenda. Our research finds that while the revelatory outcomes of the RCIRCSA have been well documented, its private sessions, engagement and research are less well understood. We argue ‘publicness’ is a relatively unchallenged good that is enacted through news media and the royal commission process, but media logics can limit their capacity to address the ongoing causes and impacts of child sexual abuse against the most impacted children. Participants reflected on the media logics that drove strategic decisions to ‘make public’ some cases and institutions, while others remained in the Commission's private realm. The article concludes that the confidential sharing of evidence has been undervalued in inquiry media studies that often centre the journalists’ role in uncovering and publicly revealing previously unheard stories. Drawing on international comparisons we find that while quiet listening risks negating the opportunity to amplify experience, it may also counter the potential silencing effects of unwanted public media scrutiny and protect potential witnesses from further harm.

Mission in polarized public social media interaction: Speaking out against injustice, standing up for truth, or loving your neighbor?

This study examines polarized US-based public social media interaction in which at least some participants support positions on public policy, politics, or social ethics using scripture, theological reasoning, spiritual authority, or ethical reasoning within a broadly Christian framework. Specifically, it considers social media interaction among commenters on public posts, in which some of the participants manifest a mission of speaking out against injustice, standing up for truth, and/or loving their online neighbors. It finds that speaking out against injustice often includes an argument about the nature of truth, but that standing up for truth can be done on its own. It also finds no incidences of loving one’s neighbor in ways that the neighbor would recognize as love, in interactions studied to date. It concludes that humility and charity are called for, because of disagreements about both justice and truth. Note that this article and the uploaded research data include social media interactions that are homophobic and transphobic, as well as interactions that may hurt or offend conservative believers.

Identification of Expected Growth in Crypto Currency

Identifying the expected growth in cryptocurrency involves analyzing a combination of market trends, technological advancements, regulatory developments, and economic indicators. Historical performance and adoption rates of major cryptocurrencies provide insight into market trends, while innovations in blockchain technology, such as Ethereum 2.0 and Layer 2 solutions, along with the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), highlight significant technological advancements. Regulatory developments, including supportive legislation and the involvement of institutional investors through financial products like Bitcoin ETFs, play a crucial role in shaping market confidence and investment. Economic indicators, such as inflation, monetary policies, and global events, also influence interest in cryptocurrencies as alternative assets. Investor sentiment, driven by public perception, media coverage, and social media activity, impacts market dynamics. Additionally, research from financial analysts, market research firms, and academic studies, along with corporate partnerships and the integration of crypto solutions with traditional systems, contribute to growth predictions. Monitoring market capitalization and trading volumes further helps gauge market interest and liquidity. By considering these multifaceted factors, a more comprehensive understanding of the potential growth in the cryptocurrency market can be achieved.

Different diversities: Policies and practices at three European public service VoD services

While globally operating SVoDs have discovered identity-based diversity as a branding strategy, diversity has a longer history and broader meaning in public service media (PSM) tied to the foundational ideals of universality and pluralism that oblige PSM to speak to all members of a society and to offer diverse programmes and viewpoints. We investigate: How are these two understandings of ‘diversity’ expressed 1) in legal and policy requirements to the PSM, 2) in strategy papers and audits issued by PSM, 3) in the presentation and exposure of content in VoD interfaces? And 4) How can PSMs' practice around diversity on VoD be tracked methodologically? The article examines these questions by comparing: BBC iPlayer (UK), DRTV (Denmark) and ARD Mediathek (Germany). A document analysis examines how legal remits and strategies governing these institutions talk about diversity. We analyse the presentation and exposure of ‘diversity’ in VoD content via longitudinal datasets that document the three VoD landing pages daily between early 2022 and late 2023, recording the position of every programme title at the VoDs’ front pages, as well as deck titles. We test four approaches to this dataset: Spotting diversity in deck titles, looking for content tagged as diverse on IMDb and by Chat GPT, calculating diversity of exposed content with the Gini-Simpson-Index and assessing diversity through a manual coding of deck titles and sampling content displayed in selected decks. The article shows how differently diversity can be conceptualised and operationalised in VoD practice and concludes that multi-dimensional methodological approaches are needed. This article is a report on different publishing strategies for ‘diversity content’ in PSM VoD interfaces; a discussion of the conflicting relation between public service ideals and the notion of identity-based ‘branded diversity' of globally operating VoDs; and a contribution to developing methods for monitoring diversity on VoD.

Kualitas Pelayanan Penerbitan Sertifikat Pengganti pada Badan Pertanahan Nasional Kota Blitar

A land certificate is legal and very important proof of land ownership. Therefore, people need to look after and maintain it well. However, there are still cases where the certificate is lost, so the land owner needs to make an application to obtain a replacement certificate at the local National Land Agency. In the certificate replacement process, there are several obstacles, such as the high costs for publication in the mass media, the length of bureaucracy that the applicant must go through, the long time required to complete the service, and the large number of documents that the applicant must submit. This research aims to evaluate the quality of service in the process of issuing replacement certificates at the Blitar City National Land Agency and identify the obstacles faced in this process. This research uses qualitative methods whose results will be processed into descriptive data. The data collected includes primary data obtained from interviews and observations, as well as secondary data obtained from literature reviews. The data collection process was carried out through interviews, direct observation and documentation. The results of this research are based on a series of analysis processes from interview data, observation and documentation, showing that the quality of replacement certificate issuance services at the Blitar City National Land Agency is good. Judging from the five indicators of service quality used, namely Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. There are obstacles faced, namely the occurrence of errors in the KKP system which is used to process all types of services, obstacles in making the oath agenda schedule which can hinder the completion of services

SONIC VIOLENCE CONTINUUM IN CONTEMPORARY BELARUS

This article analyses the use of sound — music, noise, and vocalization — within the context of politically motivated violence in Belarus since 2020. The goal of this study is to analyze the sonic violence practices and map their range. The first part of the text reviews literature about the use of sound and music for public space control, political indoctrination and “re-education”, interrogations, tortures, and executions by various — not only authoritarian — political regimes. The concept of sonic violence used in the following analysis, allows studying the use of musical and non-musical sounds, and focusing not only on external sonic influence but also on victims’ own voices weaponized and used against them. Since 2020, Belarusian pro-democratic media and human rights initiatives have gathered hundreds of interviews with people who underwent harsh treatment and violence from “law enforcers”. Many witnesses mention experiencing forced listening, speaking, chanting, singing, and other kinds of sonic violence. The article’s second part presents a qualitative analysis of publications in independent and state-funded media (2020–2023), reports of human rights NGOs, as well as other empirical materials (audio recordings, participant observations) that identify situations where sound, music, and vocalization were used by various Belarusian state agents in a coercive or violent context. Coding and categorizing such cases allows creating a typology that can be mapped as a continuum — according to the character, intensity, duration, and impact of violent techniques and traumatic experiences caused by them. This is the first study of sonic violence in contemporary Belarus, that not only shows its widespread and systemic character, but also analyzes its forms and strategies used to counteract it. The study shows the place of the current Belarusian events in the history and genealogy of sonic violence, revealing parallels with similar practices of other political regimes, both contemporary and historical.

Creating, publishing, and spreading processes of health-related contents in internet news sites: evaluation of the opinions of actors in health communication.

The accuracy and reliability of health information disseminated through news is crucial, as it directly impacts both individual and societal health outcomes. This study aims to analyze the publication process of health content in Türkiye and its implications for public health. By examining the perspectives of various health communication stakeholders, the study seeks to identify existing issues and propose potential solutions. The research uses a mixed-methods approach, including baseline content analysis of 846 news by 133 criteria, quantitative research with 78 participants encompassing bureaucrats, academics, journalists, and health association members, and 15 in-depth interviews for comprehensive insights. The content analysis indicated that 23.2% of the analyzed news articles lacked credible sources, while 63% did not mention the author's name. A striking 96.2% of respondents stated that inaccurate health news poses a risk to public health, emphasizing the urgent need for standardized reporting practices. The majority (90.9%) pinpointed the media as the primary catalysts for infodemic spread, with 93.5% citing gatekeepers as barriers to accurate information. Eroding trust in media, fueled by unethical practices, harms both media credibility and effective public health interventions. The study underscores the necessity for a collaborative approach among public institutions, academia, and media, focusing on responsibility, regulation, and sanctions against the infodemic. The research advocates for a balanced approach that prioritizes health rights and press freedom within a stakeholder-driven framework, highlighting that legislation alone cannot fully enhance the digital information ecosystem.

Factors affecting the readiness for ESG reporting in Vietnamese enterprises

Countries around the world are taking further steps toward transparency and corporate sustainability. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting will be required for all firms listed on European exchanges as of 2026 according to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Meanwhile, the companies’ rate in Vietnam reporting and disclosing ESG information is still limited. There is an empirical gap between the theory and practices of ESG reporting in Vietnam. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the determinants affecting the readiness for ESG reporting in Vietnamese enterprises. Survey questionnaires and quantitative analysis are employed based on the structural models using SmartPLS4 software to analyze the sample of 169 manufacturing, commercial, and service enterprises in Vietnam. The findings show that accountant qualifications, management processes, women on management boards, and information technology systems positively affect Vietnamese firms’ readiness to report ESG. The relationship between business executives’ ESG awareness, public media pressure, governmental guidelines, and the readiness for ESG reporting is not statistically supported. Based on the research results, Vietnamese enterprises should increase women’s participation on management boards, facilitate professional development and training for accountants, invest in information technology systems, and improve management processes to enhance the adoption of ESG reporting in Vietnam.

Transparency in the Management of Village-Owned Enterprises In Pulo Jantan Village, Na Ix-X District

there are still many BUMDes that do not operate, do not submit reports, their establishment is not supported by feasibility studies and they have not been orderly in their administration and reports The method used in this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. To obtain data and information, researchers conducted interviews with managers of Village-Owned Enterprises and the Pulo Jantan Village community. In addition, researchers also conducted observations and documentation to answer research problems. The data that has been obtained is analyzed using Kristianten's Transparency theory, namely Availability and Accessibility of Documents, Clarity and Completeness of Information, Process Openness and Regulatory Frameworks that Guarantee Transparency. Based on the research conducted, it can be seen that the Transparency of Management of Village-Owned Enterprises cannot be said to be Transparent. This is shown in the Document Availability and Accessibility indicator, namely the absence of publication media as a form of easy access provided to the public. The second indicator is Clarity and Completeness of Information, namely information related to the annual village meeting is still not clearly provided to the community. The third indicator is Process Openness, namely information related to the BUMDes program management process is still not optimally provided to the community.

When Prominence Overrules EminenceSubsidization of the Cultural Sectors in the Netherlands

What processes determine the allocation of state subsidies to a selection of cultural and artistic organizations? In the case of the Dutch cultural basic infrastructure (BIS) two main criteria are issued, namely quality and reputation. In this article, no attempt is made to define measures for artistic quality and reputation. Instead, it is observed by which criteria decision makers, public media, and artistic leaders refer to these concepts. The way in which the selection and granting are performed shows striking similarity with processes described in the literature. First, the theory of social comparison asserts that people in a shared activity compare opinions and abilities in a strife for growth. When technical constraints and limits impede the progress in ability, effort and attention shift to opinions on abilities of the members. In this social dimension, growth is more easily attained. This decoupling results into stagnation and inferior learning processes. Second, in an implicit elaboration of the social comparison theory, a model is proposed in which perceived quality and prominence determine which organization will receive price premiums. Perceived quality is indicated by the quality of the inputs and productivity assets. Prominence origins from media rankings and elicited preferences of intermediary organizations and affiliation with high-status actors. Prominence has more bearing in social processes in the institutional field than on quality indicators. This model provides a base for reputation bias among stakeholders of organizations. The theoretical approaches have been operationalized into an analytical framework. The framework appears to offer a powerful and accurate instrument to describe and explain courses of action and outcomes in Dutch cultural sectors. In discussion, it is questioned if it is wise to base a subsidization policy on social comparison. The strive for prominence in the institutional fields tends to overrule the search for quality and eminence. It is recommended to reconsider social comparison processes by reduction of the arbitrariness in the performance assessment and evaluation. In this respect, promising and high-quality performers are supported in their access to large audiences. It is proposed that the framework can be applied in all situations where resources and performance opportunities are allocated to a selection of executing actors. Choices will be based on a mix of past and future performances. The situations suited for application may vary from philanthropy to hard core and non-profit sectors to private business industries.

Bargaining (in)visibility: Rohingya refugees and the politics of visibility in India

Abstract Despite relatively low numbers, Rohingya refugees in India have faced a spiralling, multi-factorial crisis of negative visibility over the past decade, constructed by public opinion, politicians, and media coverage. This paper examines this process of negative visibility, largely outside of the community’s control, its very real consequences, and in response, how refugees navigate within an increasingly hostile policy landscape. Relying on qualitative data collected with refugees, community leaders, and NGOs in Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad (2022–23), we make three interrelated arguments. First, the visibility of the Rohingya as ‘illegal immigrants’ is driven by multiple spatial and episodic factors and actors embedded in India’s fragmented refugee governance. Second, refugees seem to adopt strategic mobilities/immobilities and pursue visibility in both mediated and coerced ways to protect themselves against the risks of negative visibility. Third, these strategies have unintended consequences for reassertion of hierarchical power relations within the community and with state authorities. Empirical evidence from the Rohingya case in India contributes to growing scholarly discussion on the co-constitutive politics of (in)visibility, (im)mobility, and fragmented refugee governance in South Asia.