Weaving the internet together: Imagined communities in newspaper comment threads

Online newspapers (and other spaces) are increasingly seeking to utilise user-generated content alongside professionally developed material. However, this might leave websites increasingly vulnerable to trolls, who work to disrupt online communications in online spaces. Such behaviour can have serious consequences both in peoples online and offline lives, and for the development of coherent online communities. One means of controlling is through the manipulation of the online space to create social norms of polite behaviour through the founding of ‘imagined communities’ online. Approaching the issue from a discursive psychological perspective, this paper draws upon comments published in two online British newspaper comment sections responding to the publication of an academic article on trolling. Imagined communities are shown to arise irrespective of the presence of the virtual infrastructure to support the development of these imagined communities. Key features of imagined communities identified here are: individuation (as opposed to deindividuation); mutual influence between posters; shared history for both the users and the online space; the use of humour to cement social bonds. Analysis also revealed tensions in posters understanding of online and offline behaviours. This research holds implications for understanding online spaces, and the interactions between users within these spaces.N/

Tweeting the July 2018 Elections in Zimbabwe

Abstract: This chapter discusses the use of Twitter in mediating Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections. It provides an understanding of how two visible and contesting groups appropriated the platform during this period. The chapter responds to two specific questions: In what ways did the contesting groups make use of Twitter during the election period? What themes emerged from this use of the platform? It finds that Twitter became a space where the physical violence prevalent in Zimbabwe’s previous elections was enacted through discourse. It was also a space where opposition supporters challenged the hegemony of the ruling party and provided a space for political resistance. It further finds that there is an overall decline in civility on the platform with regard to election discourses