„Dark participation in online media“
(5.02.2021) Social media and online communities are plagued by hate communication and trolling these days, and even moderated journalistic forums seem to degrade into toxic environments. This ‚reversed‘, dark form of online participation has become an area of heightened scientific interest, in communication studies and related fields. The latest thematic issue of open access journal Media and Communication contains more than a dozen papers focusing on dark participation, including the work of IfK scholars.
The thematic issue named “Dark participation in online media: The World of the Wicked Web” is edited by IfK professor Thorsten Quandt, who introduces the collection of papers with the decisive question “Can we hide in shadows when the times are dark?” - asking whether science needs to position itself and become active in these difficult times. The issue answers this question with a number of recent studies and theoretical works on mis- and disinformation, hate speech and uncivil participation. The latter concept is core to the work of IfK scholars Lena Frischlich, Tim Schatto-Eckrodt, Svenja Boberg and Florian Wintterlin, who empirically explore the “roots of incivility”.
Other authors include world-leading experts like David Rand (MIT), Philip Howard (Oxford Internet Institute), Emilio Ferrara (University of Southern California, LA), Edson Tandoc (NTU Singpore), Miriam Metzger and Andrew Flanagin (University of California, Santa Barbara), to name but a few. Their research is contextualized by commentaries, authored by the current president of the International Communication Association (ICA), Claes de Vreese (ASCOR, University of Amsterdam), and Digital Journalism editor Oscar Westlund (Oslo Metropolitan University). The thematic issue is fully open access, and can be downloaded for free from Media and Communication’s website.