Anti-Racist Video Activism: Framing and production of new knowledges that challenge the post-truth hegemonic project

In recent years, the rise of right-wing populism and post-truth politics has created a dangerous cocktail, enabling ‘immigration’ and ‘anti-racism’ to be framed within dominant political and media coverage in such a way that it stigmatises and marginalises foreign nationals migrating to the United Kingdom, replicating social injustice. Several activist groups within the broader anti-racist movement are engaging in contemporary forms of video activism alongside protest action to resist and challenge these frames and framing processes. This thesis makes the necessary four-way theoretical and methodological links between hegemony, qualitative frame analysis, video activism and knowledge production to explore the ways in which dominant framings of immigration are resisted by the broader anti-racist movement. Using a broad framework combining film theory/studies and cinematography, the analysis of the visual strategies employed by eight activist groups within this movement within video activist footage disseminated on YouTube and Facebook provides unique insights into the groups themselves, and the various stylistic, shot, angling, sound and editing strategies employed that open up opportunities for framing. A further qualitative, and discursive, frame analysis explores the various frames that are used by the groups through video activism itself; persecution, hardship, heroism, empowerment, incompetence and anti-racism; producing different new knowledges surrounding organisational knowledges of the movement (including collective identity), social injustice in general, dominant hegemonic narratives, and, most importantly, the struggles of migrants and refugees. In doing so, it makes significant contribution to knowledge by proposing three unique typologies to demonstrate how the contemporary hegemonic post-truth narratives surrounding immigration can be, and are being, resisted in order to reinforce social justice

The Effects of Deepfakes and Synthetic Media on Communication Professionals

The spread of misinformation and disinformation is regarded as one of the most salient challenges for communication professionals around the world. Now, a new technology called DeepFakes or “Synthetic Media” has the potential to further uproot the infosphere. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable the mass creation of synthetic audio-visual content that resembles real videos, in which people will appear to say or do things they never actually said or did. The existing literature predominantly focuses on three aspects of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media: the technical background, coverage of preexisting DeepFakes and possible solutions to combat the malicious use of the technology. This research study specifically explored whether communication professionals are adequately prepared for this new phenomenon, as it is likely to increase uncertainty, erode public trust and create a myriad of liabilities, in terms of crisis and reputation management. Data was gathered through a survey and interviews with communication professionals, as well as interviews with technology and policy experts. The analysis of the data confirmed my hypotheses that communication professionals are not adequately prepared for the challenge of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media, both in terms of digital literacy and communication strategy. The study further highlighted an alignment gap between communication professionals and experts, as it pertains to combating the malicious use of the technology, as well as embracing potentially positive applications. The study recommends integrating information on DeepFakes and Synthetic Media into education curricula for communicators. Expert data suggested that the challenge of the new technology is too complex to be handled by communication and information technology (IT) departments of individual companies. It is, therefore, important for companies to connect with specialists and consultants that can tie into large-scale efforts by governments, university researchers and large tech platforms to combat the spread and malicious use of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media. By taking steps to alleviate insecurity and fear around the issue, communication departments could feel more empowered to embrace positive applications of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media, while, at the same time, having tools and strategies at their disposal to combat their malicious use

Constructing a \u27good death\u27 : news media framing of the euthanasia debate from 1975 to 1997

Social and legal acceptance of euthanasia—including physician-assisted suicide has picked up considerable momentum in the 20th century. Among the most important chroniclers and shapers of cultural attitudes, beliefs, and values about issues such as euthanasia are the mainstream news media. The purpose of this study is to examine the national, print news media\u27s role in conditioning public knowledge abouteuthanasia and its consequences. To accomplish this task, news framing analysis wasconducted of all Time and Newsweek euthanasia articles published in the roughlytwo-decade period between the two major United States Supreme Court cases thatencase this controversial issue (the 1976 Quinlan case and the Court\u27s 1997 decisionupholding state laws prohibiting physician-assisted suicide). Using a variety of framing strategies advanced by framing theorists, 57 stories were analyzed according to their dominant frames and ideological positions. In order to explore the dynamic between the\u27 news media and social change processes, shifts in framing stages overtime were also charted, and special attention was devoted to assessing some of the factors triggering these changes.Results showed dominant frames to reflect pro-euthanasia views in air but a few of the stories analyzed, a phenomenon that held true throughout the two decades of research. Moreover, journalists represented this highly complex and emotionally laden issue through two basic frames: medicine and law. Given the broad spectrum of topics euthanasia encompasses—including metaphysics, philosophy, ethics, sociology,psychology, and religion—such narrow coverage raises troubling questions. Unliketheir forebears, whose exposure to death was intimate and commonplace, individuals in late 20th-century America know about death primarily through the mass media. Yet news consumers relying on the mainstream news publications in this study for information on euthanasia were offered a meager selection of perspectives and positions from which to assess this critically important issue

"Forgive me for all I have done and all I must do" - Portrayals of Negative Motherhood in George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords

Tämän pro gradu -tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia negatiivista äitiyttä George R. R. Martinin fantasiakirjasarjassa A Song of Ice and Fire. Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat sarjan kolme ensimmäistä osaa A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings sekä A Storm of Swords. Tutkimuksen aiheena ovat teoksissa esiintyvät äitihahmot, sekä näiden kuvaus vallankäyttäjinä sekä poliittisella että yksityisellä tasolla. Tutkimuksen tutkitaan äitiyden kuvausta monitahoisena aiheena genrelleen epätyypillisen fantasiateoksen kehyksessä. Tämän avulla tutkimus pyrkii esittämään suhtautumista äitiyteen nykypäivän populaarikirjallisuudessa. Tutkimuksessa sovelletaan feminististä teoriaa fantasiakirjallisuuden kritiikin, feministisen äitiyden sekä vallan käsitteiden osalta. Tutkimuksessa perehdytään myös nais- ja äitihahmojen kuvaukseen fantasiakirjallisuudessa. Negatiivista äitiyttä tutkitaan psykoanalyysin sekä kirjallisuuden historian kautta. Tutkimuksen keskeinen pääväite on, että Martinin kirjoissa esiintyvät äitihahmot toteuttavat kirjallisuuden perinteestä tuttua käsitystä negatiivisesta äitiydestä, vaikka ne haastavat samanaikaisesti fantasiakirjallisuuden stereotypioita. Negatiivinen äitiys ilmenee kirjoissa psynoanalyyttisellä sekä yhteiskunnallisella tasolla. Vaikka äitiyttä kuvataan yksilöllisen olemassaolon sekä aktiivisen toimijuuden kautta, niihin yhdistyy myös äitiyden kuvauksen monimutkaisuus ja ristiriitaisuus. Tutkimuksen loppupäätelmänä voi pitää hahmojen tekojen sekä niiden seurausten tukevan mallia, jonka mukaan aktiivinen ja itsenäinen äitiys rikkoo väistämättä äitiyden perimmäistä luonnetta. Asiasanat:fantasia, fantasiakirjallisuus, feminismi, äitiys, George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fir