On December 2nd, Shannon McGregor discussed the role of identity, power, and social media in her presentation titled "Political Campaigns, Social Media, Journalism, and the Identitarian Citizen in a Democracy” hosted by the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin. McGregor presented research she’s done with Daniel Kreiss, Regina Lawrence, and Eric Peterson on questions like: What does it mean to be a citizen in a democracy? What are the roles of the press, the role of social media platforms, and the work of campaigns in promoting democratic values? In creating a more equal society? In confronting polarization?
McGregor argued that polarization should not be something we should fear. Polarization is a symptom of a democracy recognizing and beginning to reckon with historic identity-based inequalities. Scholars, practitioners, and journalists must ground our analysis of polarization in a critical understanding of how people with different social identities are treated differently.
Political ads and political posts on social media [from campaigns] are primarily not about issues. They’re about identity.
McGregor also offered hope, imagining what a democratically resilient model of the press might look like. The press doesn’t need to prioritize concerns of the public when those concerns are based on fear and hatred, and they can clearly and repeatedly cover attempts to undermine the foundations of democracy.
Watch the full presentation:
Publications and appearances
“We can see very interestingly in some ways that Musk is using Twitter the same way Trump used Twitter, which is if you don’t like the story, tweet about a new one… In terms of this very sort of public red pilling that we’ve seen him go through, this fits with what we’ve observed about him trying to make it look more hospitable to those on the right.” Shannon McGregor spoke to The Hill about Twitter’s moderation changes.
“We have a moment when the public can hear a compelling story about why a suite of public platforms are necessary. We should figure out how to structure them, fund them, and build them.” Tressie McMillan Cottom talks about Twitter’s suspension of journalists and the impact on communities in her latest Twitter thread.
Affiliate Scott Timcke co-authored an essay about the drawbacks of using private platforms to carry African digital culture.
Coming soon
December 18: The Platform Governance Research Network’s deadline for abstracts.
May 30, 2023: Release date for Alice Marwick’s The Private Is Political: Networked Privacy and Social Media.
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📹 Some good news for you this week!
📄 We’re reading NiemanLab’s predictions for journalism 2023, specifically A.J. Bauer’s Covering the right wrong.