Pub Date : 2021-04-12DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1861409
J. Baptista, Anabela Gradim
The spread of fake news poses a serious threat to democracy and journalism. Fake news has found the ideal tools to thrive in the digital world. Therefore, it is urgent to understand this phenomenon. The purpose of this review is to analyse the various stages of the fake news circuit, in order to clarify the phenomenon, its causes and processes, identifying the various routes for spreading fake news, the reasons behind its manufacture and the factors that contribute to its rapid proliferation and success. Our results showed that the problem is not just social media, but the entire digital and technological universe, as well as user behaviour. On the one hand, programmatic web advertising, coupled with ideological motivations, remains an incentive for the creation of fake news. On the other hand, malicious bots and bad algorithms (initially created with good intentions) are being the great allies of fake news, promoting the creation of filter bubbles and echo chambers. In addition, literature has shown that filter bubbles are created not only by bad algorithms, but also by users who are unaware of how the algorithms work and prefer to consume information according to their beliefs, limiting themselves to a closed view.
{"title":"“Brave New World” of Fake News: How It Works","authors":"J. Baptista, Anabela Gradim","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1861409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1861409","url":null,"abstract":"The spread of fake news poses a serious threat to democracy and journalism. Fake news has found the ideal tools to thrive in the digital world. Therefore, it is urgent to understand this phenomenon. The purpose of this review is to analyse the various stages of the fake news circuit, in order to clarify the phenomenon, its causes and processes, identifying the various routes for spreading fake news, the reasons behind its manufacture and the factors that contribute to its rapid proliferation and success. Our results showed that the problem is not just social media, but the entire digital and technological universe, as well as user behaviour. On the one hand, programmatic web advertising, coupled with ideological motivations, remains an incentive for the creation of fake news. On the other hand, malicious bots and bad algorithms (initially created with good intentions) are being the great allies of fake news, promoting the creation of filter bubbles and echo chambers. In addition, literature has shown that filter bubbles are created not only by bad algorithms, but also by users who are unaware of how the algorithms work and prefer to consume information according to their beliefs, limiting themselves to a closed view.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"426 - 443"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1861409","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44560741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1921522
Ksenija Vidmar Horvat
This paper examines the rise of conspiracy theories amidst the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic. Conspiracy theories have been a historic sojourner in Western modern societies, stretching from witch hunts in early modern Europe to the 1950s anti-communist witch hunt of the McCarthy era in the U.S. During the COVID-19 health crisis, however, the conspiracy theories have gained a fresh impetus, travelling globally and forming diverse communities of believers. Moreover, once a predominantly fringe phenomenon, at present, they have moved to the centre of the public debate, deliberating on the reliability of scientific evidence as well as the legitimacy of lockdowns and other public health measures. This makes the COVID-19 conspiracy believers an integral part of the public sphere where, in open conflict with expert knowledge and science, they act as a “pandemic counter-public.” I observe the rise of this pandemic counter-public in the context of the current political crisis in Slovenia, arguing that post-socialist legacies of democratic protest bear a vital role in contesting the conspiracy groups, as well as maintaining the resilience of the liberal democratic ideals of responsible citizenship and common good.
{"title":"Conspiracy Theories and the Crisis of the Public Sphere: COVID-19 in Slovenia","authors":"Ksenija Vidmar Horvat","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1921522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921522","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the rise of conspiracy theories amidst the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic. Conspiracy theories have been a historic sojourner in Western modern societies, stretching from witch hunts in early modern Europe to the 1950s anti-communist witch hunt of the McCarthy era in the U.S. During the COVID-19 health crisis, however, the conspiracy theories have gained a fresh impetus, travelling globally and forming diverse communities of believers. Moreover, once a predominantly fringe phenomenon, at present, they have moved to the centre of the public debate, deliberating on the reliability of scientific evidence as well as the legitimacy of lockdowns and other public health measures. This makes the COVID-19 conspiracy believers an integral part of the public sphere where, in open conflict with expert knowledge and science, they act as a “pandemic counter-public.” I observe the rise of this pandemic counter-public in the context of the current political crisis in Slovenia, arguing that post-socialist legacies of democratic protest bear a vital role in contesting the conspiracy groups, as well as maintaining the resilience of the liberal democratic ideals of responsible citizenship and common good.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"219 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921522","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47103330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1921521
T. Oliveira, Simone Evangelista, M. Alves, Rodrigo Quinan
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brasilian government has undergone a significant political dispute over the use of hydroxychloroquine as a measure to confront the disease and contested scientific and healthcare organisations findings related to the drug's effectiveness. In this article, we seek to understand the manner in which an illiberal populist government and the supporters thereof refer to scientific discourse during the pandemic, with a focus on the debates on Brasilian far-right networks on Twitter. Using a mixed methodology with statistical methods, social media analysis, natural language processing and qualitative content analysis, this study seeks to investigate which sources and stakeholders were referenced and the narratives that structured the arguments of far-right supporters who defended the use of hydroxychloroquine. The results highlight the use of sources that are ideologically aligned to the right and a reconfiguration of scientific authority that was supported by illiberal values. Among the main discourses, we observed an epistemic challenge with a partisan bias, which led to the scientific authority legitimising some arguments and discrediting others. We also identified the spread of conspiracy theories that reflected the epistemic challenge, in addition to conservative, revivalist and individualistic postures.
{"title":"“Those on the Right Take Chloroquine”: The Illiberal Instrumentalisation of Scientific Debates during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brasil","authors":"T. Oliveira, Simone Evangelista, M. Alves, Rodrigo Quinan","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1921521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921521","url":null,"abstract":"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brasilian government has undergone a significant political dispute over the use of hydroxychloroquine as a measure to confront the disease and contested scientific and healthcare organisations findings related to the drug's effectiveness. In this article, we seek to understand the manner in which an illiberal populist government and the supporters thereof refer to scientific discourse during the pandemic, with a focus on the debates on Brasilian far-right networks on Twitter. Using a mixed methodology with statistical methods, social media analysis, natural language processing and qualitative content analysis, this study seeks to investigate which sources and stakeholders were referenced and the narratives that structured the arguments of far-right supporters who defended the use of hydroxychloroquine. The results highlight the use of sources that are ideologically aligned to the right and a reconfiguration of scientific authority that was supported by illiberal values. Among the main discourses, we observed an epistemic challenge with a partisan bias, which led to the scientific authority legitimising some arguments and discrediting others. We also identified the spread of conspiracy theories that reflected the epistemic challenge, in addition to conservative, revivalist and individualistic postures.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"165 - 184"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921521","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48138830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1922191
M. Caiani, B. Carlotti, Enrico Padoan
Social media is considered a particularly conducive arena for hate speech, a form of communication often linked to the radical right. The goal of this study is to offer an empirical contribution that comparatively explores the presence and features of hate speech in the social media discourse of the radical right (leaders and parties) in Italy and the UK during the first year of the pandemic. This mixed-methods study analyses 21,360 tweets using wordcloud analysis (to conceptually map the social media discourse of the radical right and mainstream parties), topic modelling (to identify the main topics of the radical right’s tweets and how they relate to Covid-19) and formalised content analysis (to better understand how hate speech is related to the virus). We find that radical right leaders have managed to bring exclusion-oriented issues to the agenda at this time of crisis, albeit in different ways, by emphasising different understandings of in-groups and out-groups in relation to Covid-19.
{"title":"Online Hate Speech and the Radical Right in Times of Pandemic: The Italian and English Cases","authors":"M. Caiani, B. Carlotti, Enrico Padoan","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1922191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1922191","url":null,"abstract":"Social media is considered a particularly conducive arena for hate speech, a form of communication often linked to the radical right. The goal of this study is to offer an empirical contribution that comparatively explores the presence and features of hate speech in the social media discourse of the radical right (leaders and parties) in Italy and the UK during the first year of the pandemic. This mixed-methods study analyses 21,360 tweets using wordcloud analysis (to conceptually map the social media discourse of the radical right and mainstream parties), topic modelling (to identify the main topics of the radical right’s tweets and how they relate to Covid-19) and formalised content analysis (to better understand how hate speech is related to the virus). We find that radical right leaders have managed to bring exclusion-oriented issues to the agenda at this time of crisis, albeit in different ways, by emphasising different understandings of in-groups and out-groups in relation to Covid-19.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"202 - 218"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1922191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49221865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1921528
Enrique Peruzzotti, S. Waisbord
In this article, we examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic opens opportunities for consensual politics and the reconstruction of a pluralistic public sphere in countries characterised by polarised politics. Our focus is on how the Alberto Fernández administration in Argentina managed the crisis during 2020 and the window of opportunity that the pandemic created for a post-populist, depolarised scenario. Although the government initially tried to pursue consensual policymaking and foregrounded a public health response to the crisis, the prolonged nature of the health crisis, the toll of the pandemic, and the failure of government policies to address multiple aspects of the crisis reactivated political polarisation. The Argentine case helps to understand whether the politics of depolarisation amid the pandemic are possible and sustainable. Even with scientific expertise gaining significant presence, legitimacy and initial consensus, it is insufficient to chart out a path to depolarisation given persistent structural dynamics that foster sharp divisions.
{"title":"Public Sphere and Post-populism in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Short Life of Depolarisation in Argentina","authors":"Enrique Peruzzotti, S. Waisbord","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1921528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921528","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic opens opportunities for consensual politics and the reconstruction of a pluralistic public sphere in countries characterised by polarised politics. Our focus is on how the Alberto Fernández administration in Argentina managed the crisis during 2020 and the window of opportunity that the pandemic created for a post-populist, depolarised scenario. Although the government initially tried to pursue consensual policymaking and foregrounded a public health response to the crisis, the prolonged nature of the health crisis, the toll of the pandemic, and the failure of government policies to address multiple aspects of the crisis reactivated political polarisation. The Argentine case helps to understand whether the politics of depolarisation amid the pandemic are possible and sustainable. Even with scientific expertise gaining significant presence, legitimacy and initial consensus, it is insufficient to chart out a path to depolarisation given persistent structural dynamics that foster sharp divisions.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"149 - 164"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1921528","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47074159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1919385
H. Trenz, Annett Heft, Michael Vaughan, B. Pfetsch
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted “normal” modes of public sphere functioning and activated an experimental mode of coping, reinventing forms of publicness and communicative exchanges. We conceptualise the social responses triggered by the crisis as particular forms of public sphere resilience and assess the role of digitalisation and digital spaces in the emergence of distinct modes and dynamics of resilience. Four areas of enhanced public sphere experimentation are examined with respect to our conceptualisation: political consumerism, digital modes of solidarity, political protest mobilisation, and news consumption. We discuss overarching features of public sphere resilience across societal sub-spheres and highlight the dynamics and hybridities which structure the emerging public spaces. Resilience practices are accompanied by dynamics of politicisation and depoliticisation coupled with shifting boundaries of publicness and privateness. Our observations likewise reveal the dynamic interplay between resilience and resistance.
{"title":"Resilience of Public Spheres in a Global Health Crisis","authors":"H. Trenz, Annett Heft, Michael Vaughan, B. Pfetsch","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1919385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1919385","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted “normal” modes of public sphere functioning and activated an experimental mode of coping, reinventing forms of publicness and communicative exchanges. We conceptualise the social responses triggered by the crisis as particular forms of public sphere resilience and assess the role of digitalisation and digital spaces in the emergence of distinct modes and dynamics of resilience. Four areas of enhanced public sphere experimentation are examined with respect to our conceptualisation: political consumerism, digital modes of solidarity, political protest mobilisation, and news consumption. We discuss overarching features of public sphere resilience across societal sub-spheres and highlight the dynamics and hybridities which structure the emerging public spaces. Resilience practices are accompanied by dynamics of politicisation and depoliticisation coupled with shifting boundaries of publicness and privateness. Our observations likewise reveal the dynamic interplay between resilience and resistance.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"111 - 128"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1919385","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44069309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1919381
Sevasti Chatzopoulou, Theofanis Exadaktylos
To what extent do public health crises create unity or polarise the public sphere? We investigate the development and dynamics of the public debate in Greece in light of Covid-19 to detect polarisation within the public sphere. We cover the first wave of the pandemic (March-May 2020), assessing reactions to government measures. In times of crises, the public looks for shortcuts in the media to assess the overabundance of information and digest the complexity of a crisis. Hence, people look at opinion leaders for guidance or to reinforce their own views. To assess the formation of the public debate and public responses we look at the cues the public receives via the media. Through a content analysis of editorial pieces in Greek newspapers we code references to government responses, the public response or the responsibility of fellow citizens, and the role of experts in providing professional advice to the government and guidance to society. The differential of positive and negative references reflects and determines a polarised debate that triggers public mobilisation and engagement with specific repertoires of action. The findings assist in understanding the adherence to government guidance by the public and the passive reception or contestation of measures.
{"title":"Whose Opinion Is It? Public Debates and Repertoires of Action in Greece During the First Covid-19 Lockdown Period","authors":"Sevasti Chatzopoulou, Theofanis Exadaktylos","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1919381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1919381","url":null,"abstract":"To what extent do public health crises create unity or polarise the public sphere? We investigate the development and dynamics of the public debate in Greece in light of Covid-19 to detect polarisation within the public sphere. We cover the first wave of the pandemic (March-May 2020), assessing reactions to government measures. In times of crises, the public looks for shortcuts in the media to assess the overabundance of information and digest the complexity of a crisis. Hence, people look at opinion leaders for guidance or to reinforce their own views. To assess the formation of the public debate and public responses we look at the cues the public receives via the media. Through a content analysis of editorial pieces in Greek newspapers we code references to government responses, the public response or the responsibility of fellow citizens, and the role of experts in providing professional advice to the government and guidance to society. The differential of positive and negative references reflects and determines a polarised debate that triggers public mobilisation and engagement with specific repertoires of action. The findings assist in understanding the adherence to government guidance by the public and the passive reception or contestation of measures.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"28 1","pages":"185 - 201"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1919381","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42404310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-19DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1889833
N. Carpentier
Freedom is approached in this article as an empty signifier and as an object of discursive struggle, from a discourse-theoretical perspective. The hegemonic centrality of freedom in Western discourse and identity construction is acknowledged, but at the same time the article argues that hegemony is never total and all-encompassing. In other words, hegemonic constructions are seen as always particular, with their universal claims displaying cracks and gaps. Especially when different discursive communities (e.g. the West and Russia) engage in global discursive struggles, these cracks become visible through dislocatory strategies. The second part of the article then addresses a case study about how this discursive struggle is organised in practice, focussing on the RT mini-series How to Watch the News, which prominently features Slavoj Žižek. The discourse-theoretical analysis demonstrates how the mini-series deconstructs the Western articulation of freedom, in three ways, namely by showing the failures of Western liberal democracies, and the divided nature of Western societies, and by critiquing the individualistic articulation of freedom. The article concludes by pointing to the ambiguities related to the centrality of freedom, the role of RT and the role of Žižek as public intellectual.
{"title":"The Dislocation of the Empty Signifier Freedom as a Tool in Global Political Struggles: A Case Study on RT’s Mini-Series How to Watch the News","authors":"N. Carpentier","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1889833","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889833","url":null,"abstract":"Freedom is approached in this article as an empty signifier and as an object of discursive struggle, from a discourse-theoretical perspective. The hegemonic centrality of freedom in Western discourse and identity construction is acknowledged, but at the same time the article argues that hegemony is never total and all-encompassing. In other words, hegemonic constructions are seen as always particular, with their universal claims displaying cracks and gaps. Especially when different discursive communities (e.g. the West and Russia) engage in global discursive struggles, these cracks become visible through dislocatory strategies. The second part of the article then addresses a case study about how this discursive struggle is organised in practice, focussing on the RT mini-series How to Watch the News, which prominently features Slavoj Žižek. The discourse-theoretical analysis demonstrates how the mini-series deconstructs the Western articulation of freedom, in three ways, namely by showing the failures of Western liberal democracies, and the divided nature of Western societies, and by critiquing the individualistic articulation of freedom. The article concludes by pointing to the ambiguities related to the centrality of freedom, the role of RT and the role of Žižek as public intellectual.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"29 1","pages":"66 - 81"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889833","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48092874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-19DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1889831
M. Hartmann
The emphasis in this article is on the freedom to communicate, which differs from both the right to communicate and communication rights. Instead of focussing directly on the freedom to communicate, the path taken instead is an emphasis on (digital) “non-communication.” This is subsequently expanded to a freedom not to communicate. The article begins with a cursory theoretical definition of communicative freedom, based on the notions of communicative action, social justice and reciprocal recognition. It then turns to a range of examples of “non-communication.” These stretch from corporate environments and their attempts to introduce “non-communication” top-down (mostly via time-based restrictions of the use of company-related communication tools) via the experience of a “digital diet” workshop at the university to instances of “digital detox,” which are offered on the life-improvement markets today. Through these examples, the question of the freedom not to communicate will be explored. Most of the examples underline the many current limitations of this freedom to communicate. The tentative alternative suggested is a new version of distant proximity, enacted through temporary dis-connectivity. This, so the claim, is needed to resist the growing framework of constant connectivity that we are constantly confronted within both private and working lives.
{"title":"“Install Freedom Now!” Choosing not to Communicate with Digital Media at Work and Home","authors":"M. Hartmann","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1889831","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889831","url":null,"abstract":"The emphasis in this article is on the freedom to communicate, which differs from both the right to communicate and communication rights. Instead of focussing directly on the freedom to communicate, the path taken instead is an emphasis on (digital) “non-communication.” This is subsequently expanded to a freedom not to communicate. The article begins with a cursory theoretical definition of communicative freedom, based on the notions of communicative action, social justice and reciprocal recognition. It then turns to a range of examples of “non-communication.” These stretch from corporate environments and their attempts to introduce “non-communication” top-down (mostly via time-based restrictions of the use of company-related communication tools) via the experience of a “digital diet” workshop at the university to instances of “digital detox,” which are offered on the life-improvement markets today. Through these examples, the question of the freedom not to communicate will be explored. Most of the examples underline the many current limitations of this freedom to communicate. The tentative alternative suggested is a new version of distant proximity, enacted through temporary dis-connectivity. This, so the claim, is needed to resist the growing framework of constant connectivity that we are constantly confronted within both private and working lives.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"29 1","pages":"17 - 32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889831","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45602512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-15DOI: 10.1080/13183222.2021.1889832
Rita Figueiras
The article explores articulations between capital, the state, and the media by taking Angola and Portugal as the empirical context to examine specific relations between neoliberal and state influence against media democracy normativity in the aftermath of the Eurozone economic crisis. This includes questioning the neoliberal narrative of capital both as a hegemonic force that disempowers nation states and homogenises national media configurations. In order to do it, the “Angolanisation” of the Portuguese economy will be addressed to, then, look at the role of the Portuguese media in consolidating Angola's position within Portuguese society. It is argued that Portuguese media defined their basic commitment as promoters of Angolan interests and together with other institutions they were part of a larger system that worked as internal colonisation agents. The article contends a more differentiated perspective on neoliberalism and offers arguments to move media democratic theories beyond its normativity in the field of media studies by looking at neoliberalism as a context sensitive concept and at the media as an expression of specific relations between neoliberal and state influence in articulation with other logics. In the case in point, Portugal's peripheral condition and colonial heritage.
{"title":"The Empire Strikes Back? Media Freedom, Public Interest and Neoliberalism in the Aftermath of the Eurozone Economic Crisis","authors":"Rita Figueiras","doi":"10.1080/13183222.2021.1889832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889832","url":null,"abstract":"The article explores articulations between capital, the state, and the media by taking Angola and Portugal as the empirical context to examine specific relations between neoliberal and state influence against media democracy normativity in the aftermath of the Eurozone economic crisis. This includes questioning the neoliberal narrative of capital both as a hegemonic force that disempowers nation states and homogenises national media configurations. In order to do it, the “Angolanisation” of the Portuguese economy will be addressed to, then, look at the role of the Portuguese media in consolidating Angola's position within Portuguese society. It is argued that Portuguese media defined their basic commitment as promoters of Angolan interests and together with other institutions they were part of a larger system that worked as internal colonisation agents. The article contends a more differentiated perspective on neoliberalism and offers arguments to move media democratic theories beyond its normativity in the field of media studies by looking at neoliberalism as a context sensitive concept and at the media as an expression of specific relations between neoliberal and state influence in articulation with other logics. In the case in point, Portugal's peripheral condition and colonial heritage.","PeriodicalId":93304,"journal":{"name":"Javnost (Ljubljana, Slovenia)","volume":"29 1","pages":"50 - 65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13183222.2021.1889832","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41937251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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