"In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist die Internetnutzung von Kindern und Jugendlichen stark angestiegen. Dabei gilt die Sorge vor allem denjenigen Kindern und Jugendlichen, die eine stark überdurchschnittliche Nutzung zeigen und deren Nutzung mit deutlichen Beeinträchtigungen einhergeht. Für die medie
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npädagogische Perspektive, das Bildungssystem und das System der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe geht es auch darum, präventiv-erzieherisch Einfluss zu nehmen und (Medien-)Kompetenzen zu fördern, die eine selbstbestimmte Mediennutzung ermöglichen. Mit diesem Band soll ein Beitrag geleistet werden, aktuelle Befunde zusammenzutragen, die Perspektiven von Jugendlichen zu berücksichtigen und Präventions- und Interventionsmaßnahmen zu diskutieren." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Despite increased academic attention’s focus on conspiracy theories on Telegram, existing research has two major limitations: (1) a lack of combined examination of the distribution and reception of conspiracy theories, and (2) insufficient understanding of the relationship between the reception o
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f conspiracy messages and political attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, or political engagement. To address these gaps, our study adopts a two-pronged approach, linking the distribution and reception of conspiracy theories and mobilization calls on Telegram while exploring the implications for recipients’ conspiracy beliefs and protest behavior. Our research design includes a manual content analysis of 3,162 Telegram posts from German conspiracy-related channels (Study 1), and a survey of 318 Telegram users in these channels and 320 traditional media users (Study 2). Our results reveal characteristics of Telegram fringe group users that make them susceptible to conspiratorial and mobilizing content, such as anti-system attitudes and a readiness for protest behavior. These findings have broader implications for understanding the role of digital media in the spread of conspiracy theories and the mobilization of resistance during crises, as well as the importance of continued research on the relationship between digital media use, political attitudes, and engagement to mitigate the negative impacts of conspiracy theories and preserve democratic values." (Abstract)
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"The entanglement of Jihad, Political Violence, and Media has determined the lives of Muslims in Europe and the US over the past 20 years. This book unravels the nexus of these elements, to critically examine how their conjunction is perpetuated, reproduced, or disputed. In 16 case studies, the cont
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ributors critically reflect on the identification of jihad with political violence, address the academic, legal, political and broader public production of knowledge on this topic, examine the aesthetic formations involved in the mediation and reaffirmation of this narrow understanding, explore the experiential worlds of people whose ideas and actions are labelled as and affected by notions of violent jihad, and illuminate the institutional and media contexts (e.g. of archives) in which an entanglement of jihad and political violence takes effect, with profound consequences." (Publisher description)
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"Increased understanding of the root causes, scale, and impact of online harmful content and the effectiveness of the existing frameworks and tools: 10 research reports examining the national legal frameworks governing harmful content [...] Local stakeholders empowered and new cooperation and practi
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cal tools and mechanisms developed to counter harmful content online: 3 National Multistakeholder Coalitions for Content Moderation and Freedom of Expression launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) (with 17 stakeholders), Indonesia (with 12 stakeholders), and Kenya (with 30 stakeholders) [...] Enhanced support and promotion of peacebuilding narratives through digital technologies, in particular social media: 194 representatives from 121 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) trained (60 from 20 CSOs in BiH, 50 from 44 CSOs in Kenya, 31 from 20 CSOs in Indonesia, and 53 from 20 CSOs in Colombia) [...]" (Pages 1-2)
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"The three countries [Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, and Kenya] provide evidence of online hate speech and disinformation affecting human rights offline. The evidence is not comprehensive yet clear enough to raise serious concerns. Online gender-based violence is also reported as critical in the
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three countries. In the three countries, national legislation to address harmful content shows some degree of inconsistency in comparison to international standards, notably in relation to the protection of freedom of expression. The reasons for such inconsistency vary among countries. The effective enforcement of legal frameworks is uneven in all three countries. Social and cultural inequalities are often reproduced in government or judicial decisions, and vagueness in legislation opens space for discretionary decisions. Platform companies have offices in Indonesia and Kenya, but not in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the three countries, there is a lack of transparency in how companies allocate the roles of moderation tasks, including the number of different language moderators and their trusted partners and sources. Companies do not process content moderation in some of the main local languages and community standards are not entirely or promptly available in local languages." (Executive summary)
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"Ukraine has been building its capacity to use humour as a strategic communications tool since Russian first invasion in 2014. After Russia launched the full-scale war in February 2022, this often grassroots effort was multiplied by many new actors joining it. Foreign supporters of Ukraine stepped i
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n to expose lies of Russian officials in social media, resulting in a creation of NAFO movement. The use of humour by the Ukrainian government officials also pushed the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in digital diplomacy. Numerous jokes and memes have been created that will remain in the historical record of this war, such as the “Russian warship” meme, “sunflower seeds in a pocket”, “bavovna”( cotton), and others. However, humour should not overshadow the terrible reality of war Ukrainians have to face daily until this day. It should not distract attention from the need for Ukraine to win and Russia to be held accountable for its war crimes. Humour helped Ukrainians cope with the trauma of war and preserve mental health. For foreign audiences, especially in the West, it helped to introduce Ukraine as a country that is a part of the same cultural space, has similar values, and is worthy of support. Witty jokes and creative memes opened a window for many to discover Ukrainian history and culture. Satire helped to expose the absurdity of Russian imperialist ideology and propaganda narratives the Kremlin used to launch its invasion of Ukraine." (Conclusion)
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"Social media platforms have a wide and influential reach, and as such provide anopportunity to increase vaccine uptake. To date, there is no large-scale, robust evidence on the offline effects of online messaging campaigns. We aimed to test whether pre-tested, persuasive messaging campaigns from UN
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ICEF, disseminated on Facebook, influenced COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ukraine, India, and Pakistan. In Ukraine, we deployed a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial (RCT). Half of the 24 oblasts (provinces) received five weeks of the intervention, the other half ten weeks of the intervention. In India, an RCT with an augmented synthetic control was conducted in five states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan), whereby 40 out of 174 districts were randomized to receive six weeks of intervention. In Pakistan we deployed a pre-post design, whereby 25 city districts received six weeks of the intervention. Weekly COVID-19 vaccination data was sourced through government databases. Using Poisson regression models, the association between the intervention and vaccine uptake was estimated. In Ukraine we conducted a survey among Facebook users at three time points during the RCT, to ascertain vaccination intentions and trust in vaccines. The campaigns reached more than 110 million Facebook users and garnered 2.9 million clicks. In Ukraine, we found that the intervention did not affect oblast-level vaccination coverage (Relative Risk (RR): 0.93, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.86-1.01). Similarly, in India and Pakistan we found no effect of our intervention (India: RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.70-1.04; Pakistan: RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.01-29.9). The survey among Facebook users in Ukraine showed that trust in vaccines and information sources was an important predictor of vaccination status and intention to get vaccinated. Our campaigns on Facebook had a wide reach, which did not translate in shifting behaviours. Timing and external events may have limited the effectiveness of our interventions." (Abstract)
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"In order to spread Russian narratives about Ukraine that create a false impression of the country among external and internal audiences, the Russian Federation uses a whole complex of information and communication channels. Their main task is to replace the target audience's existing ideas about th
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e real, factual state of affairs with ideas that are considered to be more beneficial to the aggressor country. Russia rejects democratic principles and Ukraine's desire for a European future. Depending on the tasks and results (successes/failures) of operations to influence the internal politics of Ukraine and the formation of its image among the Western audience, Russian narratives changed from a presentation of Ukrainians and Russians as “brotherly” peoples or even one people to the importance of the complete extermination of "Ukrainian nationalists and Nazis," denial of the very existence of Ukrainians as a distinct ethnic group (thereby “justifying” genocide), returning supposed "historical territories of Russia," and promoting the idea that Ukraine has never really been a proper state or is a historic mistake. The narratives of Russian propaganda intertwine, sometimes reinforcing and sometimes contradicting each other. But whatever the Russian narrative may be, its main goal is to undermine Ukraine’s democratic development and its integration into the Western world, to weaken the desire of Ukrainians to determine their future outside Russian influence, within the European family, as well as to weaken international support for Ukraine. The Kremlin's disinformation campaign led to the emergence of a number of stereotypes that influenced the decision-making of Ukraine's partners at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which led to numerous human casualties, the destruction of Ukrainian economy and infrastructure, and a real threat to the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Fortunately, Ukraine has persevered. Unbreakable people of an unbreakable country continues its fight not only for itself but the whole democratic world." (Summary)
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"Digital transformations have had catalytic efects on African and European governance, economies, and societies, and will continue to do so. The COVID-19 pandemic has already accelerated the penetration of digital tools all over the globe and is likely to be perceived as a critical juncture in how a
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nd to what purpose the world accepts and uses new and emerging technologies. This book ofers a holistic analysis of how Africa and Europe can manage and harness digital transformation as partners in a globalised world. The authors shed light on issues ranging from economic growth, youth employment, and gender, to regulatory frameworks, business environments, entrepreneurship, and interest-driven power politics. They add much-needed perspectives to the debates that shape the two continents’ digital transformation and innovation environments." (Publisher description)
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"Many fear that social media enable more potent influence operations than traditional mass media. This belief is widely shared yet rarely tested. We challenge this emerging wisdom by comparing social media and television as vectors for influence operations targeting Ukraine. This article develops a
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theoretical framework based on media structure, showing how and why decentralized and centralized media offer distinct opportunities and challenges for conducting influence operations. This framework indicates a relative advantage for television in both dissemination and persuasiveness. We test this framework against the Russo-Ukrainian conflict (before the 2022 escalation), contributing new data from a national survey and a new dataset of Telegram activity. We identify fifteen disinformation narratives, and, using statistical analysis, examine correlations between media consumption, audience exposure to, and agreement with, narratives, and foreign policy preferences. To explore causal mechanisms, we follow up with content analysis. Findings strongly support our theoretical framework. While consuming some partisan social media channels is correlated with narrative exposure, there is no correlation with narrative agreement. Meanwhile, consumption of partisan television channels shows clear and consistent correlation. Finally, agreement with narratives also correlates with foreign policy preferences. However, and importantly, findings indicate the overall limitations of influence operations." (Abstract)
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"This article advances extant research that has audited search algorithms for misinformation in four respects. Firstly, this is the first misinformation audit not to implement a national but a cross-national research design. Secondly, it retrieves results not in response to the most popular query te
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rms. Instead, it theorizes two semantic dimensions of search terms and illustrates how they impact the number of misinformative results returned. Furthermore, the analysis not only captures the mere presence of misinformative content but in addition whether the source websites are affiliated with a key misinformation actor (Russia’s ruling elites) and whom the conspiracy narratives cast as the malicious plotters. Empirically, the audit compares Covid-19 conspiracy theories in Google search results across 5 key target countries of Russia’s foreign communication (Belarus, Estonia, Germany, Ukraine, and the US) and Russia as of November 2020 (N = 5280 search results). It finds that, across all countries, primarily content published by mass media organizations rendered conspiracy theories visible in search results. Conspiratorial content published on websites affiliated with Russia’s ruling elites was retrieved in the Belarusian, German and Russian contexts. Across all countries, the majority of conspiracy narratives suspected plotters from China. Malicious actors from the US were insinuated exclusively by sources affiliated with Russia’s elites. Overall, conspiracy narratives did not primarily deepen divides within but between national communities, since – across all countries – only plotters from beyond the national borders were blamed. To conclude, the article discusses methodological advice and promising paths of research for future cross-national search engine audits." (Abstract)
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