Over the last decade, conspiracy theories and beliefs in them have become a more pressing social and political problem. Despite different media being the main channels through which conspiracy theories are circulated, our knowledge of the linkages between media use and conspiracy thinking is however still limited. This holds in particular with respect to the linkage between media use and conspiracy mindset, in contrast to beliefs in specific conspiracy theories. To remedy this, this study investigates the longitudinal relationship between media use and conspiracy mindset, taking into account the use of social media as well as mainstream news media and political alternative media. Empirically, the study draws upon a four-wave panel study from Sweden. Among other things, the results suggest that there is a mutual longitudinal relationship between conspiracy mindset and use of right-wing alternative media and to some extent social media, and that use of mainstream news media might mitigate conspiracy mindset. This suggests a development where the demand for conspiracy theories (conspiracy mindset) has become more easily matched with the supply of conspiracy theories (on right-wing alternative and social media), which might have far-reaching societal implications.
The link between artificial intelligence (AI) and substantive freedom is underexplored in current scholarship and deserves more attention. Our main thesis is that the use of AI in public institutions intercepts freedom-enabling control at citizen level and shifts it to AI systems and the actors that develop and deploy them. Building on Amartya Sen and Philip Pettit's work for conceptual scaffolding, we argue that the citizens' ability to exercise indirect and virtual control over democratic processes via institutional mechanisms is undermined. Thereby, the legitimacy of public decision-making is compromised and refusing AI in public institutions is justified.
Political influencer scholarship is still in its infancy. To date, there is no clear consensus on what constitutes a political influencer. This is essential to advance theoretical development, enable systematic empirical research, and inform public debate in an increasingly mediatized political landscape. To address this gap, we conducted two studies to develop a comprehensive conceptualization of political influencers. First, we conducted a scoping literature review (N = 60) to identify and synthesize existing definitions. Second, by conducting a qualitative survey, we explored how young adults (N = 490), one of the main key audiences, identify political influencers. Based on the academic literature and grounded on the experiences and perceptions of their key audience, we present a definition of political influencers, and the Political Influencer Categorization (PIC) that positions political influencers along two intersecting axes that capture key dimensions of their online presence: (1) the frequency and focus of political content, and (2) the level of reach. By doing so, we aim to enhance the conceptual validity of the term and provide a robust foundation for future research in this evolving field.
This paper analyzes how India and Indonesia, two of the most populous countries in the Indo-Pacific, characterize and mitigate disinformation. By comparing state rhetoric at key United Nations forums (the OEWG and the Ad Hoc Committee) against regional guidelines and domestic legislative measures, we identify a shift toward "digital sovereignty." While both nations champion human rights globally, their domestic frameworks typify disinformation as a national security threat and enable centrally coordinated content control. This study concludes that these state-led information environments pose significant challenges to the right to free expression and complicate global cooperation.
In a campaign landscape dominated by broadcasting media, political parties typically pursued either issue ownership or wave-riding strategies to shape their campaign agendas. Social media introduce a third strategy where parties adapt to the instant feedback users provide. This article uses parties' issue strategies to demonstrate how they combine traditional and digital media logics in their social media campaigning. Conceptually, the study provides a framework for understanding political communication on social media by fusing mediatization and agenda-setting literature. Methodologically, it suggests how different logics can be measured through content analysis. I apply the conceptual framework to a typical Western European multiparty campaign context. Using a manual, standardized content analysis of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X) posts (n = 1,616) from 9 political parties and their party leaders in the 2021 Norwegian election campaign, the study asks: To what extent is parties' issue emphasis shaped by issue ownership, wave-riding, and engagement logics? The analysis shows that parties predominantly follow a wave-riding logic, an issue ownership logic, and, to a lesser degree, an engagement logic. Thus, agenda-setting logics traditionally tied to broadcasting media persist on social media and have more influence on parties' issue emphasis than the engagement logic introduced by social media.
