Transnational digital and media tactics
We hope everyone had a restful holiday break, and happy new year!
Last week, Francesca Tripodi presented at the Winter School of the Catholic University of Lisbon. There, she discussed The Propagandists’ Playbook and explored the digital tactics of Donald Trump and conservative politicians. While there, she spoke with Sábado magazine about how her work applies in a Portuguese context.
Portugal is experiencing its own anti-immigration discourse, driven in part by André Ventrua’s Chega party and inspired by Trump’s digital tactics. In Portugal, many are trying to fight disinformation. “I know that anti-immigrant rhetoric is transnational – and it seems to be popping up everywhere as one of the main banners of the far right,” she noted. “Can media literacy solve it? It might help us deal with search engines and get credible information, something that still doesn't happen, but it won't solve racism.”
When asked if the political class manipulates people intentionally, Francesca says:
Political strategists and public interest politicians know perfectly well what they are doing. I don't think the average Trump voter knows, but I do believe elites, officeholders and public figures have a deep understanding of the message they are spreading and how best to interact with their target audience.
Publications and appearances
“ChatGPT impersonates sentiment with sophisticated word choice but still there’s no élan. The essay does not invoke curiosity or any other emotion. There is a voice, but it is mechanical. It does not incite, offend, or seduce. That’s because real voice is more than grammatical patternmaking.” Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses ChatGPT and its humanlike qualities in her latest New York Times piece.
“Science has become increasingly politicized. Understanding the different ways media outlets can frame a story, at times for partisan purposes, is important.” Deen Freelon spoke to UNC’s The Well about teaching science literacy to both the creators and consumers of media.
“If we see the exodus of huge swabs of groups of people, if all journalists leave or most journalists leave, or if the prominent figures of Black Twitter all leave, these would be signs that I think would really change the importance and discourse on Twitter. We haven’t seen that happen yet.” Shannon McGregor spoke to Matt Grossman about the influence of Twitter on journalism and politics.
Tressie McMillan Cottom was ranked among the top 200 education scholars in the nation on Education Week's "2023 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings" list!
Coming soon
January 18: The Institute for Data, Democracy, & Politics’ first research spotlight webinar of the semester. Affiliate Enrique Armijo will be discussing opinion polarization in a digital world.
January 19: The CITAP spring speaker series begins with Elizabeth Dubois delivering a talk on political journalists and health communicators exposing themselves to hate, harassment, and credibility attacks online. Event information and registration.
March 9 & 10: The virtual QAnon Research Conference. Event information.
May 30, 2023: Release date for Alice Marwick’s The Private Is Political: Networked Privacy and Social Media.
Rest of Web
💼 The Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University is accepting post-doctoral fellowship applications. The deadline is February 3.