Episodes - Social Media and Politics

#176: Media Systems, Digital Media, and the Hybridity Cycle, with Prof. Daniel Hallin

October 18, 2024

Professor Daniel C. Hallin, Distinguished Professor of Communication at UC San Diego, shares his thoughts on media systems and how digital media relates to the concept. We discuss the components of a ‘system’ and current debates around the concept of ‘hybridity’ in media studies. This leads to a broader discussion of conceptual stretching, media capture, and how single case studies can be made comparative through dialogue with existing scholarship.

The recording took place while Prof. Hallin was a Visiting Professor at the Department of Communication and Media at Lund.

Here are the two articles we discuss in the episode:

Comparative Research, System Change, and the Complexity of Media Systems (2020)
The Concept of Hybridity in Journalism Studies (2023)

#175: Countering Project 2025 with Google Search Ads, with Kindred Motes

September 1, 2024

Kindred Motes, Founder and Managing Partner at KM Strategies Group (KMSG), shares his advocacy work to counter the online reach of Project 2025. Working with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, KMSG launched a paid campaign on Google Search before Project 2025 became mainstream. Kindred shares how TikTok played a role in catalyzing Project 2025 as a political issue, as well as some of the challenges that nonprofits face in running digital ad campaigns. We also discuss the benefits and trade-offs of social media for advocacy work, and end with some practical tips for how nonprofits can effectively communicate in today’s fragmented media landscape.

#173: Micro-Influencer Marketing for Political Campaigns, with Ryan Davis

April 21, 2024

Ryan Davis, Co-Founder of People First, discusses how “micro-influencers” or “micro-creators” are being used in political campaigns. We discuss the benefits of using micro-influencers for engagement, as well as how they can be used to target specific blocks of voters. Ryan also shares how these creators can inform the political strategy of campaigns through panels and focus groups, and how the comments to creators’ content can reveal themes and sentiments important for the campaign.

Here’s a list of resources on micro-influencers written by Ryan and People First:

White paper on micro-influencers

2024 election guide on micro-influencers

In-and-outs of influencer outreach

An overview of influencer trends

#172: Far Right Women Influencers on YouTube and Instagram, with Dr. Eviane Leidig

April 7, 2024

Dr. Eviane Leidig, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Tilburg University, discusses her book “The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization.”

We break down the role of social media for the alt-right movement, and how platforms like Instagram and YouTube work to mainstream extremist views. These insights come from Dr. Leidigs research conducting digital ethnography on women influencers prominent on the American Right.

#171: Wikipedia Public Relations for Politics, Brands, and Crisis Communication, with Rhiannon Ruff

March 24, 2024

Rhiannon Ruff, Wikipedia Expert and Founding Partner at Lumino, discusses how politicians and brands can effectively manage their Wikipedia presence. We discuss why Wikipedia is important for Google Search and AI like ChatGPT, and how the tone, norms, and editors of Wikipedia make editing your own page difficult. Rhi shares her tips on how to manage a Wikipedia page in the right way, and why that’s crucial for politicians and political parties.

Here’s a list of links discussed in the episode:

Rhi’s book on Wikipedia and Crisis Communications

Rhi’s column on Why Wikipedia can be a PR Problem for Political Campaigns

Stanford Internet Observatory Report on Wikipedia and Elections in British Columbia

A bit more on the infamous Alan MacMasters!

#170: Race, Racism, and Resistance on Social Media, with Dr. Rob Eschmann

February 24, 2024

Dr. Rob Eschmann, Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University, discusses his latest book When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age (University of California Press).

We cover how social media works to unmask everyday experiences of racism, and how this affects student life at American universities. Dr. Eschmann also shares his research on social media, racial microaggressions, and Black Twitter; thoughts on TikTok and algorithmic bias; and how resisting racism requires engaging in conversation.

#169: Data-Driven Campaigning: How Political Campaigns use Data, Analytics, and Technology, with Prof. Kate Dommett and Dr. Simon Kruschinski

February 11, 2024

Prof. Kate Dommett, Professor of Digital Politics at the University of Sheffield, and Dr. Simon Kruschinski, Postdoctoral Researcher in Communication at the University of Mainz, discuss their new book: Data-Driven Campaigning and Political Parties.

We discuss the book’s theoretical framework on how system-level, regulatory-level, and party-level factors explain variation in data-driven campaigning across five democracies: the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia.

Prof. Dommett and Dr. Kruschinski also break down their findings on how data, analytics, targeting, and personnel differ across these five cases, and how regulation might need to focus on broader structures in the electoral system to minimize the potential harms of campaign practices.

#168: China’s Digital Strategy for Information Control, with Dr. Andrew MacDonald

January 28, 2024

Dr. Andrew W. MacDonald, Assistant Professor of Social Science at Duke Kunshan University, shares research from his new book Directed Digital Dissidence in Autocracies: How China Wins Online.

We discuss the Chinese digital and social media context, citizens’ perceptions of online propaganda, and how the state manipulates digital information to further its political interests.

We also discuss survey methodology, how citizens circumvent the Great Firewall, and what affect using the internet and VPNs has on trust in the state.