"How can current debates on ‘media capture’ be understood within the contexts of Africa and Latin America? This edited collection provides a nuanced exploration of media capture—a critical yet contested concept that examines and illuminates how media can become skewed in favour of power—whil
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e also highlighting spaces and strategies of resistance. By adopting a South-South perspective, it brings together scholars focused on these issues in both regions, featuring a dialogue between two leading scholars, Herman Wasserman and Silvio Waisbord in the Foreword. The book not only demonstrates how media practices in Africa and Latin America are influenced by the political economy of their media systems, but also contributes significantly to advancing empirical, theoretical, and comparative research on media in non-Western settings." (Publisher description)
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"• Engagement with traditional media sources such as TV, print, and news websites continues to fall, while dependence on social media, video platforms, and online aggregators grows. This is particularly the case in the United States where polling overlapped with the first few weeks of the new Trum
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p administration. Social media news use was sharply up (+6pp) but there was no ‘Trump bump’ for traditional sources.
• Personalities and influencers are, in some countries, playing a significant role in shaping public debates. One-fifth (22%) of our United States sample says they came across news or commentary from popular podcaster Joe Rogan in the week after the inauguration, including a disproportionate number of young men. In France, young news creator Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) reaches 22% of under-35s with content distributed mainly via YouTube and TikTok. Young influencers also play a significant role in many Asian countries, including Thailand.
• News use across online platforms continues to fragment, with six online networks now reaching more than 10% weekly with news content, compared with just two a decade ago. Around a third of our global sample use Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) for news each week. Instagram (19%) and WhatsApp (19%) are used by around a fifth, while TikTok (16%) remains ahead of X at 12%.
• Data show that usage of X for news is stable or increasing across many markets, with the biggest uplift in the United States (+8pp), Australia (+6pp), and Poland (+6pp). Since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022 many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently. Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news.
• Changing platform strategies mean that video continues to grow in importance as a source of news. Across all markets the proportion consuming social video has grown from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025 and any video from 67% to 75%. In the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and India more people now say they prefer to watch the news rather than read it, further encouraging the shift to personality-led news creators.
• Our survey also shows the importance of news podcasting in reaching younger, better-educated audiences. The United States has among the highest proportion (15%) accessing one or more podcasts in the last week, with many of these now filmed and distributed via video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. By contrast, many northern European podcast markets remain dominated by public broadcasters or big legacy media companies and have been slower to adopt video versions.
• TikTok is the fastest growing social and video network, adding a further 4pp across markets for news and reaching 49% of our online sample in Thailand (+10pp) and 40% in Malaysia (+9pp). But at the same time people in those markets see the network as one of the biggest threats when it comes to false or misleading information, along with Facebook.
• Overall, over half our sample (58%) say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year. Concern is highest in Africa (73%) and the United States (73%), with lowest levels in Western Europe (46%).
• When it comes to underlying sources of false or misleading information, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest threat worldwide (47%), along with national politicians (47%). Concern about influencers is highest in African countries such as Nigeria (58%) and Kenya (59%), while politicians are considered the biggest threat in the United States (57%), Spain (57%), and much of Eastern Europe." (Executive summary, page 10-11)
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"What does it mean to decolonise academia in Africa? Is this important project limited to the humanities? Is it a project for the future? Are there forerunners at African universities today? The contributors to this volume show different trajectories for anthropology as a discipline and for decoloni
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sing academia across the continent and beyond. They offer a variety of perspectives, especially regarding collaboration between African and German scholars in the areas of research, teaching and institutional development: While some are hopeful and take inspiration from earlier experiences of disciplinary and methodological developments in academic decolonisation and international collaborations, others remain critical and call for more radical attempts at decolonisation." (Publisher description)
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"In Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes, an international team of prominent scholars examines both long-term media systems and fluctuating trends in media usage around the world. Integrating country-specific summaries and cross-cutting studies of geopolitical regions, this i
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nterdisciplinary reference work describes key elements in the political, social, demographic, cultural, and economic conditions of media infrastructures and public communication. Enabling the mapping of media landscapes internationally, Media Compass contains up-to-date empirical surveys of individual countries and regions, as well as cross-country comparisons of particular areas of public communication. 45 entries, each guiding readers from a general summary to a more in-depth discussion of a country’s specific media landscape, address formative conditions and circumstances, historical background and development, current issues and challenges, and more." (Publisher description)
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"This book provides an important set of critical reflections from a selection of foundational scholars of African media and communication studies through biographical method. The book interrogates the center of mainstream academic scholarship by providing the foundational history and origins of an A
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fricanist conceptual model while highlighting its significance globally. The editors use biographical and life story interviews to critically review the respondents’ interpretations of their key works and arguments in relation to key moments in the field, the continent and globally. Though the book is focussed on recovering pioneering arguments by key thinkers in African media and communication, efforts of individual academics are to be understood in the context of their work with others and within institutions that are networked, locally and globally. By bringing together many of the leading figures of African communication and media studies in a single volume, this book provides a critical corrective to the dearth of knowledge and information about who the key thinkers are and what their key arguments, theories and models for media and communication in African contexts entail." (Publisher description)
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"The presence of cameras, at the forefront of crises, either in the hands of journalists, bystanders or passers-by and sometimes even parties to the crises, has inspired multiple visual notations, commentaries and perspectives. Thus, efforts and resources are channelled towards documenting crises, t
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o help us better understand them and play a part in their resolution. Sometimes, the camera also participates in the adjudication of cases arising from crises or, indeed, even in the reconciliatory efforts after a crisis. The book aims to explore the multi-dimensional role of the camera in times of crises, with particular interest in how scholars view the camera as a [useful] tool in times of crisis in Africa. Hopefully, this book will help unravel the multi-layered tendencies of the camera as an instrument of documentation, history verification, (re)presentation of the other, and perhaps the legitimisation of narratives. The camera’s subjective framings of crisis narratives, as a manipulative tool for influence, inference and power are also explored. The book is structured into three parts. The first part focusses on the visual narratives of crises. The second part of the book explores the camera’s tendency to be a tool for representation and agency, while the third segment discusses the use of the camera as an entity for activism and advocacy in crises. These structured parts are intended to broaden the understanding of readers about the greater possibilities that images and imageries from the camera as a tool possess." (Abstract introduction, page 1)
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"Through extensive fieldwork and archival research, Febe Armanios explores how Western evangelicals and indigenous Christians harnessed terrestrial and satellite technologies to promote Christian television in the Middle East. The sixteen channels analyzed in this study fall into three main categori
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es: Western-backed conservative outlets with a charismatic and apocalyptic outlook; middle-ground channels that sought to balance their international sponsors' expectations with local interests; and grassroots initiatives rooted in ancient church traditions. The histories and programming strategies of primarily Arabic, but also Turkish and Persian, Christian channels reveal how media producers forged unexpected political alliances, pursued sectarian objectives, and navigated various transnational influences. Satellite Ministries explores how modern expressions of faith, technology, and political power intersected and clashed across the Global South and beyond." (Publisher description)
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"This article investigates the production culture and routines of “troll farms” in three Arab countries—Tunisia, Egypt, and Iraq—from a production studies approach. A production studies approach enables us to focus on the working conditions of paid trolls. We employed qualitative methods to
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look inside the “black box” of Arab troll farms. From February to April 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight disinformation workers at both managerial and staff levels. We propose to understand disinformation work as a specific type of digital labor, characterized by very intense shifts and emotionally burdensome daily tasks, absence of legal job contracts, and highly surveilled work environments. The article contributes to understand disinformation practices outside and beyond the West; it situates disinformation activities within the broader context of digital media industries; it provides a detailed analysis of the features that distinguish troll farms in the Arab world from those that emerged in other regions of the Global South; and it reconnects the research on disinformation to digital labor studies." (Abstract)
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"While much attention has been paid to how China’s rise as a digital superpower could threaten US hegemony over cyberspace, much less has been written on what the Digital Silk Road, or the presence of Chinese tech firms in developing countries more broadly, means for technological upgrading and de
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velopment. This article contributes to filling this gap by investigating the technology spillovers emanating from two Chinese tech giants – Huawei and ZTE – in Algeria and Egypt. Using a political economy framework that combines insights from structuralist economic development and techno-politics and drawing on over 70 semi-structured interviews and field-observations, it argues that despite localizing activities that bear the promise of generating significant linkages, the two Chinese tech firms created no meaningful learning opportunities for domestic entities that contribute to technological upgrading. What could at first seem like developmental connections that promote technology transfers are found to be linkages diffusing Chinese infrastructures, hardware, software, processes, and standards that shape distinct digital systems. Without pro-active policies from host governments, the Digital Silk Road risks creating new technological dependencies; locking local ICT actors into activities and relationships captured and defined by Chinese tech giants." (Abstract)
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"Conspiracy theories present a relevant phenomenon in society and are studied within dif-ferent disciplines. One of the aspects of analyzing conspiracy theories is understanding the pattern whereby social movements utilize the media to construct and spread those narratives. In that regard, social mo
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vements frame certain events as part of a conspiracy. By applying an international compar-ative approach, this study examines the media framing of events as a conspiracy theory in the USA and Egypt. The study focuses on political conspiracies targeting the local elite or political establish-ment as serving foreign enemies. Qualitative framing analysis is applied to analyze news segments (n = 140), 80 articles, and 60 videos from the Egyptian Islamist media and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) conservative media in the USA. The results show a huge similarity in the frames uti-lized by the media in both countries in constructing conspiracy theories. The Egyptian and American media constructed conspiracy narratives about claimed secret collusion between the elite leaders and foreign enemies. Whereas the Egyptian media morally framed the conspiracy as treason, the Ameri-can media framed it as part of corruption. Moreover, the historical continuity in the Egyptian con-spiracy theories was more obvious than in the theories in the USA. The empirical analysis shows that conspiracy theories are strategically used in the media to achieve certain political goals." (Abstract)
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"Les pratiques « médiactivistes » numériques offrent de nouveaux cadres pour la formation et le développement des mobilisations sociales contemporaines. Elles élargissent le champ de la lutte et incitent à s'interroger sur le rôle que jouent les dispositifs numériques dans l'amplification o
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u l'amoindrissement de l'agir collectif.Cet ouvrage issu d'une recherche scientifique se base sur un travail empirique réalisé en France et en Algérie. Il invite les lecteurs à réfléchir sur les modalités de luttes contemporaines : en effet, les répertoires d'actions collectives ne sont pas figés dans l'espace et dans le temps, mais évoluent sans cesse au contact des dispositifs numériques." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"Efforts to support the resolution of armed conflicts through the facilitation of peace negotiations and dialogues increasingly involve digital technologies. While traditionally perceived as a human-centered activity, peace mediation now commonly entails information- and data-driven methods to enhan
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ce talks, support the analysis of conflict stakeholder needs and interests, and ground mediation efforts in better evidence. Digital technologies also promise to make peace efforts more future-oriented by helping to predict or anticipate upcoming developments, build scenarios, and increase readiness for emerging challenges. However, little is known about how such methods can be employed in dialogue and negotiation settings, where participants may have subjective and incompatible views on the conflict context, and more data and evidence don’t necessarily help to determine what a more peaceful future could look like. Through a qualitative study of the use of digitally enhanced dialogue efforts in Yemen and Libya, we demonstrate that future-oriented peacemaking requires the balancing of ‘sincere’ technology affordances that encourage an engagement with the past and present reality of conflict, with ‘subjunctive’ technology affordances that encourage an engagement with possible futures that are more peaceful. In practice, this requires combining data- and evidence-generating methods concerned with the world ‘as is’ with data analysis and visualization methods concerned with how the world ‘should’ or ‘could’ be. Our findings haveimplications for the study of digital methods in the facilitation of contentious political processes where the provision of data and evidence may create hurting deadlocks." (Abstract)
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"This study examines how digital disinformation occurs through the creation and sustenance of figures or cultural tropes. It focuses primarily on the figure of the ecommittees, a phenomenon that refers to online fake accounts mobilized by various political actors to tarnish their opponents and propa
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gate their own ideologies online. Based on a frame analysis of Egyptian news articles published between 2011 and 2021, we trace the emergence of this figure in the wake of the 25th of January revolution, its development over time, and its impact on (dis)information. We illus trate how the framing of ecommittees contributes to an atmosphere of chaos and confusion about the digital realm, and how such framing tactics can be understood as a practice of digital authoritarianism. The study proposes a novel theoretical and methodological approach to studying disinformation from a cultural studies perspective that is centered around the role of every day media messages." (Abstract)
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"In this article, we use Shoemaker and Reese’s hierarchy of influences (HOI) model as a framework to investigate the ways in which Egyptian journalists perceive the influences exerted on them in the context of the post-Arab Spring transition. Our findings show that perceptions of limitations to jo
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urnalism practice can extend to all levels in the HOI model and that journalistic autonomy is particularly impeded due to factors at the social system level. This leads to an adaptation of the HOI model as we find that the perceived closure of the public sphere and a complicated network of clientelism at the social system level has impacted journalism practice negatively in Eg ypt and has a wider influence on the rest of the four levels in the model. In other words, routines, individuals, organizations, and social institutions all seem to mediate the social system’s influence on journalistic behavior." (Abstract)
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"This article investigates news distortion within the Arab media ecosystem, as manifested on Arab media Facebook pages and perceived by Arab journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic. A textual analysis was conducted on 6 news Facebook pages affiliated with major local media channels in 6 Arab countr
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ies: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Tunisia. In addition, a survey was administered to 116 Arab journalists residing in these countries. The findings revealed five main distortion categories in pandemic reporting: (1) overestimating the official response, (2) underestimating the public response, (3) diverting readers’ attention, (4) concealing information about the outbreak, and (5) posting unverified information. Moreover, the findings indicate that news distortion in Arab media during the pandemic is often influenced by institutional, rather than individual, pressures, including those from media organizations, government institutions, and societal norms." (Abstract)
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"GeoPoll’s latest report, “Gaming in Africa,” provides a detailed exploration of the burgeoning gaming scene across Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Drawing from the perspectives of more than 2,500 gamers, this report shines a light on the habits, preferences, and challenges of the Afr
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ican gaming community. Highlights from the survey include the following:
The Prevalence of Mobile Gaming: The survey reveals a significant tilt towards mobile gaming, with an astounding 92% of respondents playing games on their mobile phones. This preference is driven by increasing smartphone penetration and the Android platform’s dominance, with 92% of respondents having downloaded games from the Google Play Store.
Engagement: Gaming serves as a primary source of entertainment, relaxation, and a remedy for boredom for the majority of gamers, with 73% playing for fun and 64% for stress relief.
Expenditure: Financial investment in gaming is noteworthy, with 63% of gamers having made a purchase related to gaming. The amount spent varies, with 29% spending between $2 to $5 monthly, illustrating a willing but cost-conscious gamer base.
Navigating the Barriers: The report also identifies barriers to gaming purchases, with 47% preferring free games and 44% citing a lack of funds. The cost-related challenges extend beyond purchases, as gamers list the cost of data bundles (42%) and expensive gaming hardware (31%) among their top challenges.
A Call for Cultural Representation: Over half of the respondents value cultural relevance in games, and a substantial 44% feel there are not enough games with characters that look like them or environments similar to their life, signaling an untapped market for local content creation.
In-Game Advertising Insights: Despite mixed feelings about ads in games, a surprising 63% have made a purchase after seeing an ad in a game. This suggests that while ads may be met with some resistance, they remain a potent tool for engagement and monetization within the gaming ecosystem.
The Local Gaming Scene: A striking 56% of respondents are unaware of any games made in Africa, highlighting a significant gap in visibility and market penetration for local developers. However, there is a growing interest in supporting local talent, with varied sentiments across countries regarding the importance of local games." (Key findings summary)
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"This bulletin summarises the key findings and recommendations for strengthening collective efforts on communication and community engagement in the Libya floods response. The findings are drawn from a qualitative consultation with more than 30 representatives from the humanitarian community conduct
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ed in November 2023–January 2024." (About this bulletin)
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