As the January 6 hearings continue, there’s been a growing number of TikTok users who are using the platform to explain and recap the committee’s findings. Shannon McGregor appeared on MSNBC this week to discuss this with Symone D. Sanders.
“If people are using sources that’s always a good sign. We can also see, does this align with information that you’re getting in other places as well? Whether it’s on TikTok or whether it’s in other places where you’re getting information.” said Shannon when asked about how to spot misinformation and red flags on TikTok.
During the conversation, Sanders asked how TikTok will be reshaping political messaging in the coming years.
I think this is a place where people can get information from individuals or types of content that they trust, especially as it aligns with their own identity. Whether that’s being Gen Z or whether it’s being a young woman or being a young conservative. Identifying with someone along those lines where you’re getting information we know is really important. So we’re going to see campaigns whether it’s around candidates or issues obviously continue to be trying to utilize this site as much as they can.
To researchers interested, this week Deen Freelon wrote a TikTok scraper using python (pyktok) that collects video, text, and metadata. It’s available to anyone who’d like to test it out.
Publications and appearances
“A lot of times, Black and brown creators get famous but then see their work monetized by white creators…The next generation of creators is very aware of this inequity. Some are already using social media to hold people and platforms accountable for appropriation.” Alice Marwick spoke to Cosmopolitan about the future of celebrity culture and monetary control.
“This new phase seems likely to be defined by the intensity of the disagreements about what people should be permitted to say online, with abortion-related speech serving as a proxy for how people value life, privacy, and gender.” Affiliate Matt Perault wrote a new piece on the speech policy battle between parties in the wake of Dobbs.
“The success story of Debojit Saha, whom millions voted for via landlines and mobile phones, highlights global broadcast media practices, the expansion of telecommunication reach in the wake of the neoliberal economy, and the materialities of media distribution.” Affiliate Sagorika Singha wrote an article on early mobile communication technologies and the emergence of reality television contestants in India.
“Through his regular critiques of fact‐checking and fact‐checkers, Bongino presents mainstream journalists as hostile toward conservatives as well as professionally incompetent. This positions Bongino as the only trusted arbiter of truth.” Affiliate Patrick R. Johnson’s new paper discusses how far-right and right-wing podcasters hijack journalistic norms.
If you’re teaching a class on mis/disinformation, Affiliate Rachel E. Moran and Kolina Koltai released a guide on how to research misinformation online.
Coming soon
August 1: Submissions for the Labor Tech Book and Graduate Student Paper Awards are due.
August 4: Asian Americans and Disinformation: A Critical Discussion hosted by the Asian American Disinformation Table (AADT).
August 15: Starling Lab Journalism Fellowship application deadline.
August 16: Francesca Tripodi presents The Propagandists’ Playbook at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.
Rest of Web
NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP) is looking for a new research data scientist.
UNC’s Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media (CISLM) is looking for graduate student researchers.
The Observatory on Social Media has launched three new social media research tools!