Facebook, the Media and Democracy

Facebook, the Media and Democracy examines Facebook Inc. and the impact that it has had and continues to have on media and democracy around the world. Drawing on interviews with Facebook users of different kinds and dialogue with politicians, regulators, civil society and media commentators, as well as detailed documentary scrutiny of legislative and regulatory proposals and Facebook’s corporate statements, the book presents a comprehensive but clear overview of the current debate around Facebook and the global debate on the regulation of social media in the era of ‘surveillance capitalism.’ Chapters examine the business and growing institutional power of Facebook as it has unfolded over the fifteen years since its creation, the benefits and meanings that it has provided for its users, its disruptive challenge to the contemporary media environment, its shaping of conversations, and the emerging calls for its further regulation. The book considers Facebook’s alleged role in the rise of democratic movements around the world as well as its suggested role in the election of Donald Trump and the UK vote to leave the European Union. This book argues that Facebook, in some shape or form, is likely to be with us into the foreseeable future and that how we address the societal challenges that it provokes, and the economic system that underpins it, will define how human societies demonstrate their capacity to protect and enhance democracy and ensure that no corporation can set itself above democratic institutions. This is an important research volume for academics and researchers in the areas of media studies, communications, social media and political science

Facebook, the Media and Democracy

Facebook, the Media and Democracy examines Facebook Inc. and the impact that it has had and continues to have on media and democracy around the world. Drawing on interviews with Facebook users of different kinds and dialogue with politicians, regulators, civil society and media commentators, as well as detailed documentary scrutiny of legislative and regulatory proposals and Facebook’s corporate statements, the book presents a comprehensive but clear overview of the current debate around Facebook and the global debate on the regulation of social media in the era of ‘surveillance capitalism.’ Chapters examine the business and growing institutional power of Facebook as it has unfolded over the fifteen years since its creation, the benefits and meanings that it has provided for its users, its disruptive challenge to the contemporary media environment, its shaping of conversations, and the emerging calls for its further regulation. The book considers Facebook’s alleged role in the rise of democratic movements around the world as well as its suggested role in the election of Donald Trump and the UK vote to leave the European Union. This book argues that Facebook, in some shape or form, is likely to be with us into the foreseeable future and that how we address the societal challenges that it provokes, and the economic system that underpins it, will define how human societies demonstrate their capacity to protect and enhance democracy and ensure that no corporation can set itself above democratic institutions. This is an important research volume for academics and researchers in the areas of media studies, communications, social media and political science

Facing Down Facebook: Reclaiming Democracy in the Age of (Anti) Social Media

A report examining the role Facebook has played in abuses of personal data for political purposes and the spread of disinformation, particularly during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016. The report examines the growth of Facebook and details the ways in which the social media giant has consistently misrepresented facts to the public and to regulators in order to conceal the ongoing abuses to which it has been party. To ensure that such abuses are curtailed in future, the report ends with some key policy recommendations to EU and UK policy-makers

Digital platforms and the reconfiguration of politics: the formation of new political actors in the United States

Existing approaches to studying digital platforms and politics in the context of the American landscape have focused on how “fringe” actors on the far-right and left sides of the spectrum have used social media to gain wider publicity for their ideas and values (Daniels 2018; Barnes 2020); the economic imperatives underlying the construction of platforms (Terranova 2004; Couldry and Mejias 2019); or the need for digital platforms to be regulated by lawmakers in order to protect American democracy (Hawley and Cruz 2019). However, this thesis will argue that each of these perspectives is only giving a glimpse of the overall picture. Digital platforms such as Twitter and Facebook cannot be viewed as passive tools for human actors to make use of, nor are they neutral infrastructure through which social relations are channeled. While platforms are owned and operated by private corporations for profit, the relations they give rise to exceed the relationship of user data exploitation and extraction. Furthermore, a closer examination will show both platform users and platform owners do not make sense of this relationship in solely economic terms either, but in terms of political governance. Finally, debates about how best to regulate social media miss the question of what exactly is to be regulated. This thesis will argue, using key tenets of actor-network theory as put forth by Bruno Latour, that digital platforms fundamentally reconfigure the materiality of politics, giving rise to new techno-economic formations that human actors must struggle to make sense of

The roles of social media in disseminating HIV/AIDS information to young people aged 18-24 in Harare Zimbabwe

HIV infection is a serious problem among young persons aged 15-24 years in Zimbabwe. According to a United Nations statement, the reduction of HIV and AIDS in this age group is important for monitoring the epidemic among the general population. Because the legal age of majority in Zimbabwe is eighteen years, this study investigated the roles of social media to improve the dissemination of HIV/AIDS information to young people aged 18-24 in Harare. The main aim was to establish a model that encapsulates the special roles for social media to improve the dissemination of HIV/AIDS information to this target group. To collect relevant data, questionnaires and interviews with young people and HIV/AIDS organisations in Harare complemented an extensive literature review of the extant models for disseminating HIV/AIDS. The review revealed that there are several models for disseminating HIV/AIDS information via social media platforms. However, they lack the special requirements for an African city like Harare, and for this age group. Drawing on the strengths of these models and the unique data set generated by the research instruments, the study proposes a model fitting the special circumstances and challenges of 18-24 year old people in Harare. The Harare HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Programme for Young People model (HAIDYP) will for the first time unite all Zimbabwean organisations involved in disseminating HIV/AIDS information to focus on a specially targeted group. This model is especially sensitive to the indigenous languages of Ndebele, Shona, and Venda languages and advocates links with international, regional, and national organisations. HAIDYP’s special counselling role elaborates on the formal and informal teaching dimensions of existing models, and it has the potential of extending the benefits of social media to improve the dissemination of HIV/AIDS in other cities in Zimbabwe.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Information SciencePhDUnrestricte

From communication to communigation: a conceptual model to strengthen South Africa’s government communication system – the case of Mpumalanga Province

Text in EnglishThis study adopted a quantitative approach in order to produce numbers in relation to the diffusion of the new media. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted – with sampling done in multi-stage probability – which comprised clustering, simple random, systematic, stratified sampling techniques, convenience and census sampling. A sample size of 379 respondents was selected, comprising 347 citizen-respondents and 32 government communicators (heads of communication). Data was collected utilising two (2) standardised questionnaires – one tailor-made for the citizens and the other for government communicators. Informed by the Diffusion of Innovations theory, this study has established that new media channels have difussed extensively within communities in the Province of Mpumalanga. This has provided a strong motivation to recommend that the communication policy of the South African government be amended, to include new media channels, like social media, as official government communication channels.Communication ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Communication

Law Enforcement Perception of Social Media as an Influence in Mass Shootings

Mass shootings have been a persistent issue in the United States, and the underlying factors that continue to influence this crime are not yet evident. This study explored the effects of social media as an influence on mass shootings in the United States. Its purpose was to address the role of social media in spreading opinionated ideologies. The research question addressed the role of social media in influencing the actions of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States. The study framework was based on the social-ecological model to facilitate classification of the susceptibilities of social media users to adverse ideologies; 7 experts on mass shootings were interviewed in the study. Findings revealed that social media tend to influence mass shooting in 4 capacities: as enablers of the conceptualization process of the crime until the final act of mass violence; as facilitators of the individual or personal agenda of the mass shooter; as platforms that harness emerging technology for knowledge building during the planning phase and create operational efficiency for the final act; and as coordinators of group or symphonic terrorism. Government authorities in charge of combating mass shootings perform their tasks through actionable intelligence, legislation and policy, training of police and other first responders, mechanical barriers or deterrents, and brainstorming for new techniques and strategies. They are, however, constrained by considerable odds, which often come conjointly with their methods of crime resolution and strategies. Predictive technologies, as vehicles to fight or prevent mass shootings, have limiting influences on government action, particularly relating to the First and Fourth Amendments and the culture of hate that is nurtured and sustained through social media

Public space or public sphere? An examination of Facebook as a new space for political talk through online ethnographic study of citizen engagement during a UK general election

This thesis considers the place of Facebook within the public sphere by focusing on whether the social network provides new, distinct spaces for political discussion. In doing so, the study makes an original contribution to knowledge by assessing the role of Facebook in enabling or limiting political debate. It considers whether the corporate cultural development of Facebook’s architecture influences such debate, set against broader interpersonal political communication and social capital theory. While other studies have considered Facebook’s contribution to the public sphere by studying the role of the internet generally or of social media more broadly, this research focuses on Facebook itself, arguing that the scale, reach and corporate ecology of Facebook necessitates studying it as a political actor in its own right. The research hypothesised that Facebook’s corporate ambition and its global scale and dominance of online social debate potentially created a new form of social public sphere - one that is the product of today’s more horizontal networked society (Castells, 2010). The thesis argues that it is this social aspect of using Facebook, coupled to the company’s commercial focus on what an individual may be (or should be) interested in, that has the potential to affect public opinion and thus political actions. The study used data collected during the 2015 UK General Election, supplemented by additional material gathered during 2017’s “snap” UK General Election, to look at how citizens engage in political talk on Facebook. The mixed methods research includes quantitative surveys alongside qualitative online ethnographic study and direct intervention via a case study to test theory. By focusing on particular online spaces (political candidates’ public Facebook pages) and a particular time period (the month preceding a general election) when political debate might be expected to happen, this research assesses whether Facebook’s architecture encourages or discourages such debate. The thesis explores whether these online spaces – political candidate’s public Facebook pages - offer a 21st century version of Habermas’s 18th century coffee houses and salons as a place where debate among peers is expected and encouraged. However, the study finds that, even in these favourable circumstances, debate is less likely to happen, with Facebook’s architecture having a chilling effect on political talk. Users are more likely to avoid debate than to engage in it via Facebook and, while the scale and connectedness of Facebook has enabled protest or para-political movements from Occupy to The 48% group to quickly gather momentum, the commercial ecology of its architecture is not able to sustain debate leading to broader civic action, within the context of a Habermasian public sphere. Further, Facebook’s architecture may undermine the public or civic sphere, not only by discouraging reasoned debate but by making it less likely that users will be exposed to opposing views or new ideas with which they might want to engage. None-the-less, the thesis hypothesises that the presence of particular users on a candidate’s page (the “right” people - defined as visible leaders, supportive policers, aware producers and engaged openers) can counter the negative effects of Facebook’s architecture to enable political talk, albeit within limited parameters. Finally, the thesis concludes that Facebook is not part of the Habermasian public sphere, rather it has undermined or disintermediated the public sphere as it is largely understood

Law Enforcement Perception of Social Media as an Influence in Mass Shootings

Mass shootings have been a persistent issue in the United States, and the underlying factors that continue to influence this crime are not yet evident. This study explored the effects of social media as an influence on mass shootings in the United States. Its purpose was to address the role of social media in spreading opinionated ideologies. The research question addressed the role of social media in influencing the actions of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States. The study framework was based on the social-ecological model to facilitate classification of the susceptibilities of social media users to adverse ideologies; 7 experts on mass shootings were interviewed in the study. Findings revealed that social media tend to influence mass shooting in 4 capacities: as enablers of the conceptualization process of the crime until the final act of mass violence; as facilitators of the individual or personal agenda of the mass shooter; as platforms that harness emerging technology for knowledge building during the planning phase and create operational efficiency for the final act; and as coordinators of group or symphonic terrorism. Government authorities in charge of combating mass shootings perform their tasks through actionable intelligence, legislation and policy, training of police and other first responders, mechanical barriers or deterrents, and brainstorming for new techniques and strategies. They are, however, constrained by considerable odds, which often come conjointly with their methods of crime resolution and strategies. Predictive technologies, as vehicles to fight or prevent mass shootings, have limiting influences on government action, particularly relating to the First and Fourth Amendments and the culture of hate that is nurtured and sustained through social media

Pandemic Exposures

For people and governments around the world, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to place the preservation of human life at odds with the pursuit of economic and social life. Yet this simple alternative belies the complexity of the entanglements the crisis has created and revealed not just between health and wealth but also around morality, knowledge, governance, culture, and everyday subsistence. Didier Fassin and Marion Fourcade have assembled an eminent team of scholars from across the social sciences conducting research on six continents to reflect on the multiple ways the coronavirus has entered, reshaped, or exacerbated existing trends and structures in every part of the globe. The contributors show how the disruptions caused by the pandemic have both hastened the rise of new social divisions and hardened old inequalities and dilemmas. An indispensable volume, Pandemic Exposures provides an illuminating analysis of this watershed moment and its possible aftermath