How Migrants Experience Information Uncertainty and Vulnerability: Lessons for (Dis)information Studies

IF 5.5 1区文学 Q1 COMMUNICATION Social Media + Society Pub Date : 2024-10-30 DOI:10.1177/20563051241292571

Ignacio Siles, María Fernanda Salas, Silvio Waisbord

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Abstract

This article develops a phenomenological approach to examine the intersection of global migration and rising concerns about disinformation. Drawing on interviews with Venezuelans en route to the United States-Mexico border through Central America, the article analyzes how undocumented migrants live amid information precarity, how they relate to disinformation, and how disinformation affects their decisions. We demonstrate the centrality of information and communication practices in managing (dis)information during the migration experience. This includes distrusting traditional media, using various platforms like social media and messaging apps, and exchanging both information and disinformation with others. By adopting a phenomenological approach, the article demonstrates that migrants’ relationship with (dis)information is shaped by their conviction that each person has unique life experiences and a profoundly religious view of life and destiny. The article thus advocates for a deeper exploration of migrants’ sociocultural beliefs rather than focusing solely on issues such as information accuracy, accessibility, flows, and platforms when accounting for disinformation. In addition to valuable lessons for (dis)information studies, this approach could enrich communication interventions tailored to migrant communities in vulnerable conditions.

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移民如何体验信息的不确定性和脆弱性？对（失）信息研究的启示

本文采用现象学的方法来研究全球移民与日益增长的对虚假信息的担忧之间的交集。文章通过对途经中美洲前往美国-墨西哥边境的委内瑞拉人的采访，分析了无证移民如何在信息不稳定的环境中生活，他们与虚假信息的关系，以及虚假信息如何影响他们的决策。我们展示了信息和传播实践在移民经历中管理（虚假）信息的核心作用。这包括不信任传统媒体、使用社交媒体和信息应用程序等各种平台，以及与他人交流信息和虚假信息。通过采用现象学的方法，文章表明移民与（虚假）信息的关系是由他们的信念所决定的，即每个人都有独特的人生经历以及深刻的宗教人生观和命运观。因此，文章主张对移民的社会文化信仰进行更深入的探讨，而不是在解释虚假信息时只关注信息的准确性、可获取性、流量和平台等问题。除了为（虚假）信息研究提供宝贵经验外，这种方法还能丰富针对处于弱势的移民社区的传播干预措施。

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来源期刊

Social Media + Society COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

9.20

自引率

3.80%

发文量

111

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： Social Media + Society is an open access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal that focuses on the socio-cultural, political, psychological, historical, economic, legal and policy dimensions of social media in societies past, contemporary and future. We publish interdisciplinary work that draws from the social sciences, humanities and computational social sciences, reaches out to the arts and natural sciences, and we endorse mixed methods and methodologies. The journal is open to a diversity of theoretic paradigms and methodologies. The editorial vision of Social Media + Society draws inspiration from research on social media to outline a field of study poised to reflexively grow as social technologies evolve. We foster the open access of sharing of research on the social properties of media, as they manifest themselves through the uses people make of networked platforms past and present, digital and non. The journal presents a collaborative, open, and shared space, dedicated exclusively to the study of social media and their implications for societies. It facilitates state-of-the-art research on cutting-edge trends and allows scholars to focus and track trends specific to this field of study.