Pub Date : 2023-07-06DOI: 10.1177/02673231231186581
T. Flew
Regulation—The very idea In 2018, the Economist newspaper identified a ‘techlash’ that was holding Big Tech responsible for multiple imbalances and inadequacies of local and global communication systems (Economist, 2018). The immediate background was intensifying public and policy debate in the wake of Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelation of massive online surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal revealing Facebook’s involvement in the monetization of personal information and its recycling for political gain, and other instances of whistleblowing exposing abuses of power in and by communication (Di Salvo, 2022). In a slightly longer historical perspective, the techlash was responding to a new category of critical infrastructure that had become entrenched in less than two decades: the internet as configured by the Big Five platforms (Alphabet [Google], Amazon, Apple, Meta [Facebook], and Microsoft). The two books I review here together offer knowledgeable and balanced guidance—in the complementary genres of textbook systematics and essayistic reflections—for readers to understand how the ‘platformization’ of the internet came about in the first place, and to reflect further on what might be the sequel to platformization. What comes after the techlash is still an open question, subject to geopolitical contestations and scholarly interventions imagining what the internet could become, beyond cycles of tech utopias and dystopias since the 1990s. The common theme of the two volumes is regulation and its constituents: Who should regulate digital platforms—the platforms themselves, communities of users, political authorities, or some public-private partnership—and what is to be regulated: technical standards, business models, freedoms of information and communication? The subtitle of the essay Review Essay
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Pub Date : 2023-07-04DOI: 10.1177/02673231231185879
Konca Yumlu
{"title":"Book review: Young People and the Smartphone: Everyday Life on the Small Screen by Michela Drusian, Paolo Magaudda and Cosimo Marco Scarcelli","authors":"Konca Yumlu","doi":"10.1177/02673231231185879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231185879","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44731841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-04DOI: 10.1177/02673231231184702
Lone Sorensen
This paper argues that understanding populism as a communicative process and contextualising its modern forms in relation to our current political communication environment improves our understanding of how it grips citizens. The paper identifies the disruptive communicative practices of modern populist politicians as characteristic of a digital media-dominated fourth age of political communication in extension of Blumler's account. It explores the reaction of the current wave of populism against institutional norms of political communication and its recognition and construction of a perceived disconnect between public representatives and citizens. The paper identifies three aspects of modern populist communication that, through this oppositional positioning, erode institutional communication in the fourth age: a populist pragmatics of disruptive symbolic action, an ontology that sees directness as the only means of breaching the divide between appearance and reality in politics, and an epistemological stance that replaces expertise with authenticity. These constitute an injection of grassroots communicative forms into institutional politics. The result is the exposition but also deepening of the lopsided efficacy of the fourth age whereby citizens feel inefficacious in relation to institutional politics but increasingly able to participate at a grassroots level.
{"title":"Populist disruption and the fourth age of political communication","authors":"Lone Sorensen","doi":"10.1177/02673231231184702","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231184702","url":null,"abstract":"This paper argues that understanding populism as a communicative process and contextualising its modern forms in relation to our current political communication environment improves our understanding of how it grips citizens. The paper identifies the disruptive communicative practices of modern populist politicians as characteristic of a digital media-dominated fourth age of political communication in extension of Blumler's account. It explores the reaction of the current wave of populism against institutional norms of political communication and its recognition and construction of a perceived disconnect between public representatives and citizens. The paper identifies three aspects of modern populist communication that, through this oppositional positioning, erode institutional communication in the fourth age: a populist pragmatics of disruptive symbolic action, an ontology that sees directness as the only means of breaching the divide between appearance and reality in politics, and an epistemological stance that replaces expertise with authenticity. These constitute an injection of grassroots communicative forms into institutional politics. The result is the exposition but also deepening of the lopsided efficacy of the fourth age whereby citizens feel inefficacious in relation to institutional politics but increasingly able to participate at a grassroots level.","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49227477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-02DOI: 10.1177/02673231231186580
Kenneth W. Murphy
{"title":"Book review: Media Engagement by Peter Dahlgren and Annette Hill","authors":"Kenneth W. Murphy","doi":"10.1177/02673231231186580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231186580","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43647453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-27DOI: 10.1177/02673231231185880
Limin Huang
more confidence in their computers than smartphones. The use of smartphones by young adults leads on to the debate of ‘addiction’. Are people addicted to smartphones? This question is discussed in the last chapter of the book. For some, there is ‘a generation of smartphone and social media addicts incapable of taking their eyes off Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’ (p. 108). For others, it is ‘a gateway into socialising’ (p. 109). The young are aware of their attachment to this technology coupled with their need to be connected, but they are also critical about such technologies having taken primacy over human relations. The authors suggest that the use of smartphones ‘must be seen as a cultural practice integrated within a more complex interweaving between consumption, production, representation, and (self) regulation practices. This enables us to go beyond the idea of addiction and embrace a vision capable of encompassing the behaviours and dynamics around young people and new communication technologies’ (p. 123). This book is the result of a well-designed research project. The authors have approached key questions from their background and expertise in sociology and culture, and these areas of interest add to its strengths. Questions relating to the use of smartphones by young people are explored by means of in-depth interviews as well as by a thorough examination of the literature relating to the usage of digital technologies. I recommend it highly for academics, researchers, educators and scholars.
{"title":"Book review: News Discourse and Power: Critical Perspectives on Journalism and Inequality by Henry Silke, Fergal Quinn and Maria Rieder","authors":"Limin Huang","doi":"10.1177/02673231231185880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231185880","url":null,"abstract":"more confidence in their computers than smartphones. The use of smartphones by young adults leads on to the debate of ‘addiction’. Are people addicted to smartphones? This question is discussed in the last chapter of the book. For some, there is ‘a generation of smartphone and social media addicts incapable of taking their eyes off Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’ (p. 108). For others, it is ‘a gateway into socialising’ (p. 109). The young are aware of their attachment to this technology coupled with their need to be connected, but they are also critical about such technologies having taken primacy over human relations. The authors suggest that the use of smartphones ‘must be seen as a cultural practice integrated within a more complex interweaving between consumption, production, representation, and (self) regulation practices. This enables us to go beyond the idea of addiction and embrace a vision capable of encompassing the behaviours and dynamics around young people and new communication technologies’ (p. 123). This book is the result of a well-designed research project. The authors have approached key questions from their background and expertise in sociology and culture, and these areas of interest add to its strengths. Questions relating to the use of smartphones by young people are explored by means of in-depth interviews as well as by a thorough examination of the literature relating to the usage of digital technologies. I recommend it highly for academics, researchers, educators and scholars.","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42737422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-26DOI: 10.1177/02673231231184703
M. Hameleers, T. G. van der Meer, T. Dobber
Although deepfakes are conventionally regarded as dangerous, we know little about how deepfakes are perceived, and which potential motivations drive doubt in the believability of deepfakes versus authentic videos. To better understand the audience's perceptions of deepfakes, we ran an online experiment ( N = 829) in which participants were randomly exposed to a politician's textual or audio-visual authentic speech or a textual or audio-visual manipulation (a deepfake) where this politician's speech was forged to include a radical right-wing populist narrative. In response to both textual disinformation and deepfakes, we inductively assessed (1) the perceived motivations for expressed doubt and uncertainty in response to disinformation and (2) the accuracy of such judgments. Key findings show that participants have a hard time distinguishing a deepfake from a related authentic video, and that the deepfake's content distance from reality is a more likely cause for doubt than perceived technological glitches. Together, we offer new insights into news users’ abilities to distinguish deepfakes from authentic news, which may inform (targeted) media literacy interventions promoting accurate verification skills among the audience.
{"title":"They Would Never Say Anything Like This! Reasons To Doubt Political Deepfakes","authors":"M. Hameleers, T. G. van der Meer, T. Dobber","doi":"10.1177/02673231231184703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231184703","url":null,"abstract":"Although deepfakes are conventionally regarded as dangerous, we know little about how deepfakes are perceived, and which potential motivations drive doubt in the believability of deepfakes versus authentic videos. To better understand the audience's perceptions of deepfakes, we ran an online experiment ( N = 829) in which participants were randomly exposed to a politician's textual or audio-visual authentic speech or a textual or audio-visual manipulation (a deepfake) where this politician's speech was forged to include a radical right-wing populist narrative. In response to both textual disinformation and deepfakes, we inductively assessed (1) the perceived motivations for expressed doubt and uncertainty in response to disinformation and (2) the accuracy of such judgments. Key findings show that participants have a hard time distinguishing a deepfake from a related authentic video, and that the deepfake's content distance from reality is a more likely cause for doubt than perceived technological glitches. Together, we offer new insights into news users’ abilities to distinguish deepfakes from authentic news, which may inform (targeted) media literacy interventions promoting accurate verification skills among the audience.","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46451055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-29DOI: 10.1177/02673231231175623c
{"title":"Book notes: The Currency of Truth: Newsmaking and the Late-Socialist Imaginaries of China’s Digital Era by Emily H. C. Chua","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/02673231231175623c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231175623c","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45002545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-29DOI: 10.1177/02673231231175623a
{"title":"Book notes: Eating Disorders in Public Discourse: Exploring Media Representations and Lived Experiences by Laura A. Cariola (Editor)","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/02673231231175623a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231175623a","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44180322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-29DOI: 10.1177/02673231231175623d
{"title":"Book notes: The Dancer’s Voice: Performance and Womanhood in Transnational India by Rumya Sree Putcha","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/02673231231175623d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231175623d","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45022362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-29DOI: 10.1177/02673231231175623b
{"title":"Book notes: Architecture, Media, Populism … and Violence: Reification and Representation II by Graham Cairns (Editor)","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/02673231231175623b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231231175623b","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47765,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48734931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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