Speaker: Doctor Alice Marwick
Current roles: Assistant professor at UNC, Fellow at Data and Society Research Institute
Previous roles: Director of McGannan Centre for Communication Research, Assistant professor at Fordham University
Research focus: Social media and alt-right media manipulation.
Studies the coordination of far-right groups in the U.S. via social media.
Explores how social media spreads messages and news frames.
Identifies as part of the alt-right, which incorporates white nationalism, xenophobia, misogyny, and anti-Semitism.
Known for using media and technology effectively.
Example: In 2017, Cernovich linked the Chicago kidnapping case of a disabled man to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Created the hashtag #BLMkidnapping, which trended with 480,000 usages in 24 hours.
Resulted in media needing to disclaim links to Black Lives Matter in subsequent reports.
Demonstrates media manipulation through repetition and no concern for debunking.
Chain of Influence: Messages flow from alt-right organizing spaces to mainstream media.
Alt-Tech Platforms: Board sites like 4chan and 8chan, far-right clones of Reddit (Vote) and Twitter (Gab).
Hyper-Partisan Press: Sites like Breitbart, The Daily Caller, and Infowars relay ideologically slanted narratives.
Here's how ideas transition to mainstream media:
Discussion in underground spaces.
Spread via mainstream social media.
Amplified by hyper-partisan outlets.
Finally reaching mainstream media.
Financial Gain: Fake news generates revenue; studies showed pro-Trump stories were profitable for creators in the Balkans.
Pursuit of Fame: Figures like Milo Yiannopoulos gain notoriety through alt-right affiliation.
Trolling: Individuals enjoy causing controversy and disrupting mainstream media narratives.
Ideological motivations:
Different groups share a common anti-liberal culture ideology, pushing back on perceived attacks on their identities and beliefs.
Concept Definition: Inspired by The Matrix, "red-pilling" refers to awakening one’s awareness of the supposed truths underlying societal deceptions.
It becomes a means of recruiting others to far-right beliefs and spreading ideologies such as anti-feminism and anti-immigration.
Once individuals accept one conspiracy, they are more inclined to embrace others, impacting their perception of the media as inherently deceptive.
Common beliefs include ideas that media is controlled by Jewish interests or globalists.
Exploitation of Novelty and Sensationalism: Media outlets obsess over sensationalist topics.
Opening the Overton Window: Far-right ideas are framed as novel, allowing them entry into mainstream dialogue.
Algorithmic Gamification: Some outlets use media algorithms to gain attention but risk promoting unfounded narratives.
Example: The amplification of false narratives after events like mass shootings.
Strategic Ambiguity: Outlets like Breitbart utilize ambiguous messaging to distance themselves from radical elements while collaborating with them.
Collaborative Content Creation: Far-right users actively participate in creating and spreading shared narratives online.
Changing viewpoints and agendas through strategic media manipulation can reframe public perception.
Research shows misinformation can entrench existing beliefs rather than change them.
Trust in mainstream media has dropped significantly, particularly among conservative audiences.
Need for conclusions on far-right narratives in global contexts and the influence of state actors like Russia.
Importance of intervention strategies to prevent radicalization, especially among young men.
Journalistic responsibility in avoiding inadvertent propagation of harmful narratives.
Acknowledgment of collaborators and ongoing efforts in researching these phenomena.
Knowt
Note
Studied by 4 people
