Dr. Johan Farkas and Dr. Marcus Maloney discuss how the language used to describe digital media frames our understanding and the actions of policymakers. We break down how terms like "toxic", "trolls", and "filter bubbles" are often used uncritically and limit how we understand the relationships between digital media and social problems like misogyny, racism, and harassment.

Here's a link to the book discussed in the episode:

Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction (2024)

The 9th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review!

This year, we cover the platforms’ year in review reports, election interference in Romania, the battle over text and the "eXodus", and social media bans for teenagers.

Here are links to resources discussed in the episode, and see you in 2025!

Platform Reports:
Meta
TikTok
Snap
Pinterest
Twitch
Google
Pornhub

Ryan Davis, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at People First, guests for a debrief on content creators in the 2024 US election. We discuss content creator strategies between the two parties, how influencers have become professionalized, and what this means for communications and elections going forward.

Advertising, authenticity, and power flows are constantly in flux in this environment, and the very conceptions of old and new media are being challenged. A space to watch!

Check out People First's Substack to keep in the loop, and Ryan's Travel Podcast just for fun :)

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)

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.

Prof. Sebastian Stier, Scientific Director of Computational Social Science at GESIS and Professor of CSS at the University of Mannheim, discusses how web tracking data can inform social science questions. We discuss the data structure of web browsing data, how it is collected, and the types of incentives used to recruit participants. Prof. Stier also shares his insights and research integrating web browsing data with survey data, as well as how LLMs are opening up new methodological avenues in simulated data.

Here are the resources mentioned in the episode:

Analysis of Web Browsing Data: A Guide (2023)

Integrating Survey Data and Digital Trace Data: Key Issues in Developing an Emerging Field (2020)

Post Post-Broadcast Democracy? News Exposure in the Age of Online Intermediaries (2022)

The two R packages: webtrackR and adaR

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

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. Leidig's research conducting digital ethnography on women influencers prominent on the American Right.