{"title":"Becoming Red-Pilled: Affective production in online countercultural collectives","authors":"Mikael Andéhn, Joel Hietanen, Alice Wickström","doi":"10.1177/14614448241305420","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241305420","url":null,"abstract":"Advances in information and communication technologies present remarkable potential for globally dispersed people to connect and engage around a variety of interests. While online communities seemed to initially offer vast potential for social cohesion, their ephemeral nature continues to raise doubts about their ability to facilitate meaningful togetherness. It has also been suggested that the largely automated nature of commercially driven social media can excite aggression and polarisation and thus bring about far-reaching negative social outcomes. Drawing from a long-term immersive online ethnography of the Red Pill, a conspiratorial collective battling their conception of feminine power in society, we adapt Bernard Stiegler’s philosophy of technology to assess its production of affect and social cohesion. Our findings reframe online counterculture, emphasising how its expressions are predicated on a techno-affective overdetermination that forecloses the possibility of meaningful participation and community-building.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142886900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roland Verwiebe, Claudia Buder, Sarah Weissmann, Chiara Osorio-Krauter, Aaron Philipp
{"title":"“The algorithm is like a mercurial god”: Exploring content creators’ perception of algorithmic agency on YouTube","authors":"Roland Verwiebe, Claudia Buder, Sarah Weissmann, Chiara Osorio-Krauter, Aaron Philipp","doi":"10.1177/14614448241307931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241307931","url":null,"abstract":"Algorithmic systems wield substantial influence in contemporary society. Since it is mostly unknown how algorithms specifically work, content creators (CCs) on YouTube who rely on them for economic reasons are in a constant state of sensemaking regarding the characteristics and perceived preferences of the algorithm. To understand these perceptions, we draw from previous research on technological agency and examine the ways in which CCs view the algorithm as an independent entity with agentic features. We do this by conducting a thematic analysis of 30 interviews with German CCs on YouTube. We find that CCs do perceive agentic qualities of the algorithm and that their assessment depends on their experience and exposure to it. Four key themes were identified: The algorithm is perceived as (1) non-transparent and largely unpredictable; (2) intentional, autonomous, and human-like; (3) number-based and communicating through metrics; and (4) exerting a great deal of power while constantly reinforcing hierarchies.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142886904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The theoretical wedding of computational propaganda and information operations: Unraveling digital manipulation in conflict zones","authors":"Yirgalem A Haile","doi":"10.1177/14614448241302319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241302319","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores the theoretical fusion of computational propaganda and information operations in the Tigray war, centering on algorithmic manipulation techniques. Utilizing theoretical frameworks of agenda-setting theory, framing, and information ecology, the study formulates three hypotheses. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, it integrates qualitative and quantitative methods, leveraging tools such as Twitter API (X), twerc, NVivo, Botometer, and Rstat within the Netnographic method. The analysis reveals temporal dynamics of new account infiltrations on Twitter during war, emphasizing their engagement in hashtag campaigns for information/influence operations. A surge in new account creation coinciding with the war’s onset is identified, along with the strategic deployment of political bots within these accounts for algorithmic manipulation. The findings affirm that the theoretical intertwining of computational propaganda and information operations manifests through social media’s agenda-setting and framing effects. The study significantly contributes to the discourse on information warfare in contemporary conflicts by unraveling the intricate web of digital manipulation during the Tigray war.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142879634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TikTok and the algorithmic transformation of social media publics: From social networks to social interest clusters","authors":"Paolo Gerbaudo","doi":"10.1177/14614448241304106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241304106","url":null,"abstract":"The rise of TikTok has sparked a debate on the consequences of algorithmic content curation for social experience. My thesis is that TikTok represents a second generation of social media, which differs from first-generation social media in the way users are exposed to content. While first-generation social media revolved around ‘networked publics’ formed by explicit interpersonal connections, second-generation social media introduces ‘clustered publics’. These are statistically constructed ‘neighbourhoods’ of users, in which people are brought together based on their past online behaviour and their similarity in interest and taste. Clustering users around shared interests has proven very effective in driving online engagement, leading other platforms to mimic TikTok, in what can be described as ‘TikTokification’. However, this transformation of online publics carries a series of problematic implications: the depersonalisation of online experience; a growing opacity of the structures of online communication; and the further subcultural fragmentation of an already divided digital public sphere.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nextdoor use and support for aggressive policing","authors":"Toby Hopp, Pat Ferrucci, Hunter Reeves","doi":"10.1177/14614448241303114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241303114","url":null,"abstract":"This study developed and tested a model interrelating Nextdoor use and support for aggressive policing. The results of an online survey ( n=1806) suggested that Nextdoor use is positively associated with crime concern; that crime concern is positively associated with support for aggressive policing; and that Nextdoor use is both indirectly and directly associated with support for aggressive policing. The results also indicated that social trust may play a complex role in the relationship between Nextdoor use and support for aggressive policing.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The technology multiple: The robot avatar substituting for the ill body","authors":"Maja Nordtug, Marit Haldar","doi":"10.1177/14614448241304658","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241304658","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we explore how a very simple telepresence robot avatar becomes a technology multiple when interacting with humans. Based on Mol’s notion of the body multiple, we explore how AV1 – a social telepresence robot avatar designed to act as a substitute in schools for homebound students – becomes a technology multiple. The analysis is based on 105 interviews, including interviews with homebound students and kindergarteners in Norway using AV1 and/or their guardians, interviews with school workers, and focus group interviews with classmates. In the analysis, we explore AV1 as a plastic bust, a toy, a creep, an avatar, and a reverse cyborg. The different perceptions come into being in interaction with human bodies, and the technology thus arguably emerges and is co-constructed with human bodies, creating a technology that is more than technological.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142831953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan A Brown, Josephine Lukito, Meredith L Pruden, Martin J Riedl
{"title":"Making academia suck less: Supporting early career researchers studying harmful content online through a feminist ethics of care","authors":"Megan A Brown, Josephine Lukito, Meredith L Pruden, Martin J Riedl","doi":"10.1177/14614448241303999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241303999","url":null,"abstract":"Early career researchers (ECR) in communication and media research face increasing problems and stressors due to systemic challenges in academia, including the precarity of being an ECR and the politicization of research and targeting of researchers. For researchers studying harmful content online (HCO), research-related trauma (RRT) can compound these stressors. In this study, we present results from interviews with 18 ECRs from communication studies and adjacent disciplines studying HCO. We find researchers frequently experience RRT from harmful content, pressure from superiors to conduct research on harmful content, and outside harassment related to their research. In addition, researchers frequently use individualized self-care practices for dealing with RRT or couch their trauma. Drawing from widespread consensus by our participants that their needs are not being institutionally met, we offer a vision of what an ethics of care framework for ECRs should provide.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"86 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142820671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Controlling the keys to the Golden City”: The payment ecosystem and the regulation of adult webcamming and subscription-based fan platforms","authors":"Rébecca S Franco","doi":"10.1177/14614448241303465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241303465","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the role of payment intermediaries in regulating the platformized adult industry and demonstrates how the adult industry responds to their power and the rules they set. Based on 16 expert interviews, fieldwork at 3 industry conferences, and document analysis of rules, content guidelines, terms, and conditions, the author teases out the intricate interplay between credit card networks, payment processors, and adult platforms. Visa and Mastercard’s rules, enforced by payment processors and implemented by platforms, create a selective, private ordering of permissible content that surpasses legal requirements. This process is impelled by the brand safety and commercial interests of global corporations, without accountability to the industry or consideration for sex workers’ needs. The article calls for the need to hold payment intermediaries as de facto regulators of online sexual commerce and key actors in platform governance accountable toward the industry and workers they impact.","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142815673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The platformization of music production: How digital audio workstations are turned into platforms of labor market relations","authors":"Yngvar Kjus","doi":"10.1177/14614448241304660","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241304660","url":null,"abstract":"Recent decades have seen the proliferation of digital music production technologies, led by digital audio workstations (DAWs) such as Pro Tools and Live. The companies behind them, including Avid and Ableton, resemble music distributors in their ongoing process of platformization—that is, in making themselves the foundation of an increasing range of interactions and transactions. The article discusses economic, social, and cultural aspects of platformization before zooming in on key DAW enterprises and the ways in which they have extended their presence across adjacent markets, including record production, live performance, audiovisual media, instrument manufacturing, sample sales, and music education. These companies have gone beyond selling tools to reorganizing the music industry and rearticulating what is needed to prevail in it, thereby intervening in labor market relations in ways that should not remain hidden “backstage.”","PeriodicalId":19149,"journal":{"name":"New Media & Society","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142810094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}