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CRITICAL THEORY and AUTHORITARIAN POPULISM Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism
CDSMS EDITED BY JEREMIAH MORELOCK CRITICAL THEORY AND AUTHORITARIAN POPULISM Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism edited by Jeremiah Morelock Critical, Digital and Social Media Studies Series Editor: Christian Fuchs The peer-reviewed book series edited by Christian Fuchs publishes books that critically study the role of the internet and digital and social media in society. Titles analyse how power structures, digital capitalism, ideology and social struggles shape and are shaped by digital and social media. They use and develop critical theory discussing the political relevance and implications of studied topics. The series is a theoretical forum for in- ternet and social media research for books using methods and theories that challenge digital positivism; it also seeks to explore digital media ethics grounded in critical social theories and philosophy. Editorial Board Thomas Allmer, Mark Andrejevic, Miriyam Aouragh, Charles Brown, Eran Fisher, Peter Goodwin, Jonathan Hardy, Kylie Jarrett, Anastasia Kavada, Maria Michalis, Stefania Milan, Vincent Mosco, Jack Qiu, Jernej Amon Prodnik, Marisol Sandoval, Se- bastian Sevignani, Pieter Verdegem Published Critical Theory of Communication: New Readings of Lukács, Adorno, Marcuse, Honneth and Habermas in the Age of the Internet Christian Fuchs https://doi.org/10.16997/book1 Knowledge in the Age of Digital Capitalism: An Introduction to Cognitive Materialism Mariano Zukerfeld https://doi.org/10.16997/book3 Politicizing Digital Space: Theory, the Internet, and Renewing Democracy Trevor Garrison Smith https://doi.org/10.16997/book5 Capital, State, Empire: The New American Way of Digital Warfare Scott Timcke https://doi.org/10.16997/book6 The Spectacle 2.0: Reading Debord in the Context of Digital Capitalism Edited by Marco Briziarelli and Emiliana Armano https://doi.org/10.16997/book11 The Big Data Agenda: Data Ethics and Critical Data Studies Annika Richterich https://doi.org/10.16997/book14 Social Capital Online: Alienation and Accumulation Kane X. -
Automated Meme Magic: an Exploration Into the Implementations and Imaginings of Bots on Reddit”
1 “Automated Meme Magic: An Exploration into the Implementations and Imaginings of Bots on Reddit” Jonathan Murthy | [email protected] | 2018 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................................3 Abstract......................................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Research Questions.........................................................................................................................6 1.2.1 Why Reddit..............................................................................................................................7 1.2.2 Bots..........................................................................................................................................9 1.3 Outline...........................................................................................................................................10 2 Bot Research.........................................................................................................................................11 2.1. Functional Bots.............................................................................................................................13 2.2 Harmful Bots.................................................................................................................................14 2.2.1 The Rise of Socialbots...........................................................................................................16 -
Free Speech Under Pressure: the Effect of Online Harassment on Literary Writers
Media and Communication (ISSN: 2183–2439) 2020, Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 145–157 DOI: 10.17645/mac.v8i4.3252 Article Free Speech Under Pressure: The Effect of Online Harassment on Literary Writers Juliane Wegner 1, Elizabeth Prommer 1,* and Carlos Collado Seidel 2 1 Institute for Media Research, University of Rostock, 18055 Rostock, Germany; E-Mails: [email protected] (J.W.), [email protected] (E.P.) 2 Department of History and Cultural Studies, Philipps-University Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany; E-Mail: [email protected] * Corresponding author Submitted: 12 May 2020 | Accepted: 18 August 2020 | Published: 15 October 2020 Abstract In the perception of writers in Germany, free speech is under strong pressure. A survey study, in which 526 literature writ- ers took part, reveals innumerable aspects of hate speech, online harassment, and even physical assaults. Every second person has already experienced assaults on his or her person and is also aware of attacks on colleagues. Three quarters are concerned about freedom of expression in Germany and complain of an increase in threats, intimidation, and hateful reactions. The research project was developed in collaboration between the Institute for Media Research, University of Rostock, and the PEN Center Germany. Keywords democratic discourse; freedom of expression; hate speech; self-censorship Issue This article is part of the issue “Freedom of Expression, Democratic Discourse and the Social Media” edited by Maria Elliot (Linnaeus University, Sweden) and Kristoffer Holt (Linnaeus University, Sweden). © 2020 by the authors; licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- tion 4.0 International License (CC BY). -
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M V 7>DB4>540AC7)Get a chic blueprint with no carbon footprint | 8]bXST A PUBLICATION OF | P L A N Y O U R N I G H T A T W W W. E X P R E S S N I G H T O U T. C O M | OCTOBER 3-5, 2008 | -- 5A44++ Weekend C74A>03F0AA8>AB --;Pbc]XVWc½bSTQPcTT]STSPUcTa C74A43B:8=B4G?42C0C>D675867C8=?78;;Hk ! 4g_aTbb½STPS[X]T5X]SX]ST_cW R^eTaPVTPcfPbWX]Vc^]_^bcR^\ <R2PX] 2^]RTSTb CHRIS O’MEARA/AP Evan Longoria hit two home runs in the Rays’ win. <XRWXVP] APhbA^[[)Longoria powers Losing ground, Republican Tampa to first playoff win | # writes off battleground state F0B78=6C>=k Republican presidential can- ATbRdT4UU^ac) Push to get didate John McCain conceded battleground Michigan to the Democrats on Thursday, GOP bailout passed gains steam | " officials said, a major retreat as he struggles to regain his footing in a campaign increas- 5^bbTcc2[dTb) Wreckage of ingly dominated by economic issues. These officials said McCain was pulling adventurer’s plane found | # staff and advertising out of the economically distressed Midwestern state. With 17 elec- 4=C4AC08=<4=C toral votes, Michigan voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004, but Republicans had poured money into an effort to try to place it in their column this year. ?[PhX]V=XRT) The decision allows McCain’s resources Michael Cera acts to be sent to Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and other more competitive states. But it also sweetly awk- means Obama can shift money to other ward .. -
Computational Propaganda, Jewish-Americans and the 2018 Midterms
A report from the Center on Technology and Society OCT 2018 Computational Propaganda, Jewish-Americans and the 2018 Midterms: The Amplification of Anti-Semitic Harassment Online Our Mission: To stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. ABOUT CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY AND THE BELFER FELLOWS In a world riddled with cyberhate, online harassment, and misuses of ADL (Anti-Defamation technology, the Center for Technology & Society (CTS) serves as a resource League) fights anti-Semitism to tech platforms and develops proactive solutions. Launched in 2017 and and promotes justice for all. headquartered in Silicon Valley, CTS aims for global impacts and applications in an increasingly borderless space. It is a force for innovation, producing Join ADL to give a voice to cutting-edge research to enable online civility, protect vulnerable populations, those without one and to support digital citizenship, and engage youth. CTS builds on ADL’s century of protect our civil rights. experience building a world without hate and supplies the tools to make that a possibility both online and off-line. Learn more: adl.org The Belfer Fellowship program supports CTS’s efforts to create innovative solutions to counter online hate and ensure justice and fair treatment for all in the digital age through fellowships in research and outreach projects. The program is made possible by a generous contribution from the Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Family Foundation. The inaugural 2018-2019 Fellows are: • Rev. Dr. Patricia Novick, Ph.D., of the Multicultural Leadership Academy, a program that brings Latino and African-American leaders together. -
Fake News and Misinformation Policy Lab Practicum (Spring 2017)
ST ANFORD Fake News & Misinformation Policy Practicum 2017 PRACTICUM RESEARCFacebookH TEAM: Research Team Jacob Finkel, JD ’19, Steven Jiang,Mufan BS ’17, Luo, PhD ‘22 Mufan Luo, PhD ’22, Rebecca Mears, JD/MPP ’19, Danaë Metaxa-Kakavouli, PhD ’20Camille, Peeples, JD ‘18 Camille Peeples, JD ’18, BrendanArjun Sasso, Shenoy,JD ’19, JD ‘19 Arjun Shenoy, JD ’19, Vincent Sheu, JD/MS ’18 , Nicolás Torres-Echeverry, JSM ’17 Google Research Team INSTRUCTOR AND PROJECTDanaë LEAD MetaxaS: -Kakavouli, PhD ‘20 Nicolás Torres-Echeverry, JSM ‘17 SENATOR RUSS FEINGOLD Edwin A. Heafey, Jr., Visiting Professor of Law Luciana Herman, Ph.D. Twitter Research Team Lecturer in Law Program Director, Law and Policy LabJacob Finkel, JD ‘19 Steven Jiang, BS ‘17 Ashwin Aravind, JD ‘18 Teaching Assistant Rebecca Mears, JD/MPP ‘19 Katie Joseff, MA ‘19 Research Assistant Reddit Research Team October POLICY CLIENT: Brendan Sasso, JD ‘19 Hewlett Foundation MadisonVincent Initiative Sheu, JD/MS ’18 2017 1 Acknowledgements This report reflects the research and analysis of an inter-disciplinary law and graduate student team enrolled in the Stanford Law School Fake News and Misinformation Policy Lab Practicum (Spring 2017). Under the guidance of instructor Senator Russ Feingold, the Edwin A. Heafey Visiting Professor of Law, the practicum surveyed the roles of four major online platforms in the spread of fake news beginning with the 2016 U.S. election. Assisting Senator Feingold in the practicum were Policy Lab Program Director and Lecturer Luciana Herman, Ph.D., and Teaching Assistant Ashwin Aravind, J.D. ’18. Brendan Sasso, J.D. ’19, served as the exceptional lead student editor for the report. -
Can Public Diplomacy Survive the Internet?
D C CAN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY SURVIVE THE INTERNET? BOTS, ECHO CHAMBERS, AND DISINFORMATION Edited by Shawn Powers and Markos Kounalakis May 2017 TRANSMITTAL LETTER Tothe President, Congress, Secretary of State and the American People: Established in 1948, the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) is authorized pur suant to Public Law 114- 113 to appraise all U.S. government efforts to understand, inform and in fluence foreign publics. We achieve this goal in a variety of ways, including, among other efforts, offering policy recommendations, and through our Comprehensive Annual Report, which tracks how the roughly $1.8 billion in appropriated funds is spent on public diplomacy efforts throughout the world. Part of the Commission’s mandate is to help the State Department prepare for cutting edge and transformative changes, which have the potential to upend how we think about engaging with foreign publics. This report aims to achieve precisely that. In order to think carefully about public diplomacy in this ever and rapidly changing communications space, the Commission convened a group of private sector, government, and academic experts at Stanford University’s Hoover Insti tution to discuss the latest research and trends in strategic communication in digital spaces. The results of that workshop, refined by a number of follow-on interviews and discussions with other organizations interested in similar questions, are included in this report. Can Public Diplomacy Survive the Internet? features essays by workshop participants that focus on emergent and potentially transformative technology and communication patterns. The essays also highlight the potential challenges and opportunities these changes create for public diplomacy practitioners in particular and the U.S. -
Fake News: Potential Solutions to the Online Epidemic Lee K
NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW Volume 96 | Number 1 Article 7 12-1-2017 Fake News: Potential Solutions to the Online Epidemic Lee K. Royster Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Lee K. Royster, Fake News: Potential Solutions to the Online Epidemic, 96 N.C. L. Rev. 270 (2017). Available at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol96/iss1/7 This Recent Developments is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Law Review by an authorized editor of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 96 N.C. L. REV 270 (2017) FAKE NEWS: POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO THE ONLINE EPIDEMIC* On December 4, 2016, police arrested Edgar Maddison Welch for assault with a dangerous weapon at Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C.1 At some point before that day, Welch came across a story, transmitted online through 4chan, Reddit, and Twitter, along with other websites,2 stating that Hillary and Bill Clinton used Comet Ping Pong as a “front for a pedophile sex ring; the back room was supposedly used for kidnapping and trafficking children.”3 Welch accepted this story as true and decided he had to put a stop to it.4 He grabbed his assault rifle and drove 360 miles from his home in Salisbury, North Carolina to Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C,5 operated by the Clinton’s “co-conspirators,” to end the supposed scheme himself.6 He entered the store with family patrons present, walked up to the counter, and pointed his assault rifle directly at the cashier’s face.7 No one was injured, and Welch was apprehended and arrested by Washington police outside the restaurant soon after the incident.8 This “Pizzagate” conspiracy started when James Alefantis, Comet Ping Pong’s owner, was mentioned in an email sent from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager because he was considering organizing a fundraiser for Clinton’s presidential campaign.9 * © 2017 Lee K. -
Breaking the Spin Cycle: Teaching Complexity in the 19.3
Lane Glisson 461 Breaking the Spin Cycle: Teaching Complexity in the 19.3. Age of Fake News portal Lane Glisson publication, abstract: This article describes a discussion-based approach for teaching college students to identify the characteristics of ethical journalism and scholarly writing, by comparingfor fake news with credible information in a strategically planned slideshow. Much has been written on the need to instruct our students about disinformation. This librarian shares a lesson plan that engages students’ critical thinking skills by using a blend of humor, analysis, and a compelling visual presentation. The teaching method is contextualized by research on the distrust of the press and scientific evidence since the rise of hyper-partisan cable news, Russian trollaccepted farms, and alternative facts. and Introduction edited, Throughout our culture, the old notions of “truth” and “knowledge” are in danger of being replaced by the new ones of “opinion,” “perception” and “credibility.” copy Michio Kakutani1 What if truth is not an absolute or a relative, but a skill—a muscle, like memory, that collectively we have neglected so much that we have grown measurably weaker at using it? How might we rebuild it, going from chronic to bionic? reviewed, Kevin Young2 npeer 2015, I knew I had a problem. After several years of teaching library instruction is classes, I noticed that my conception of factual- ity and that of my students had diverged. Most Most students preferred Istudents preferred Google and YouTube to do their mss. Google and YouTube to do research. When asked in my classes how they dis- cerned the credibility of a website, most shrugged their research. -
Post-Digital Cultures of the Far Right
Maik Fielitz, Nick Thurston (eds.) Post-Digital Cultures of the Far Right Political Science | Volume 71 Maik Fielitz, Nick Thurston (eds.) Post-Digital Cultures of the Far Right Online Actions and Offline Consequences in Europe and the US With kind support of Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Na- tionalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No- Derivatives 4.0 (BY-NC-ND) which means that the text may be used for non-commer- cial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ To create an adaptation, translation, or derivative of the original work and for com- mercial use, further permission is required and can be obtained by contacting [email protected] Creative Commons license terms for re-use do not apply to any content (such as graphs, figures, photos, excerpts, etc.) not original to the Open Access publication and further permission may be required from the rights holder. The obligation to research and clear permission lies solely with the party re-using the material. © 2019 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld Cover layout: Kordula Röckenhaus, Bielefeld Typeset by Alexander Masch, Bielefeld Printed by Majuskel Medienproduktion GmbH, Wetzlar Print-ISBN 978-3-8376-4670-2 PDF-ISBN 978-3-8394-4670-6 https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839446706 Contents Introduction | 7 Stephen Albrecht, Maik Fielitz and Nick Thurston ANALYZING Understanding the Alt-Right. -
The Long Weekend: Exclusion, Intrusion, Trolls, and Punks
The Long Weekend: Exclusion, Intrusion, Trolls, and Punks BENJAMIN HARBERT Abstract This essay describes the indie punk scene in Washington, DC, in the days approaching and immediately after the Women’s March 2017. The scene became a cultural target of the right, as musicians were threatened by online trolls from 4chan and other rightwing message boards, culminating in the “Pizzagate”-inspired attack on the venue, Comet Ping Pong. Musicians staged a series of concerts and performances around the march, helping to dispel the sense of threat through intersectional political congregation as well as maintaining a longer steady protest locally. In this article, I will describe the local lead-up to the weekend of the Women’s March, including a protest concert the night before and an after-party the night of the march. The narrative draws out the growing sense of threat to musicians as online trolls from right-wing message boards became active. Then, the narrative continues to detail the ways in which the two events at the rock venues dispelled the fear through intersectional political congregation. I hope that this article offers insight on how eclectic urban musics that embolden the left can also provide cultural targets for the right. I am writing not only as a music scholar, but also as a resident of the nation’s capital embedded in a music scene and economic bracket and as a US citizen making sense of socio-political shifts. This article allows for this blur, eschewing the detached writing of scholarship and provocative agit-prop of activism. I write as a concerned local interlocutor who is fluent, at least, in speaking of music’s role in social change. -
Fake News Onslaught Targets Pizzeria As Nest of Child-Trafficking
Fake News Onslaught Targets Pizzeria as Nest of Child-Trafficking By CECILIA KANGNOV. 21, 2016 Section 1 WASHINGTON — Days before the presidential election, James Alefantis, owner of a local pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong, noticed an unusual spike in the number of his Instagram followers. Within hours, menacing messages like “we’re on to you” began appearing in his Instagram feed. In the ensuing days, hundreds of death threats — one read “I will kill you personally” — started arriving via texts, Facebook and Twitter. All of them alleged something that made Mr. Alefantis’s jaw drop: that Comet Ping Pong was the home base of a child abuse ring led by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief, John D. Podesta. When Mr. Alefantis discovered that his employees were getting similar abusive messages, he looked online to unravel the accusations. He found dozens of made-up articles about Mrs. Clinton kidnapping, molesting and trafficking children in the restaurant’s back rooms. The articles appeared on Facebook and on websites such as The New Nationalist and The Vigilant Citizen, with one headline blaring: “Pizzagate: How 4Chan Uncovered the Sick World of Washington’s Occult Elite.” None of it was true. While Mr. Alefantis has some prominent Democratic friends in Washington and was a supporter of Mrs. Clinton, he has never met her, does not sell or abuse children, and is not being investigated by law enforcement for any of these claims. He and his 40 employees had unwittingly become real people caught in the middle of a storm of fake news. “From this insane, fabricated conspiracy theory, we’ve come under constant assault,” said Mr.