Disinformation, social media, bots, and astroturfing: the fourth wave of digital democracy

Abstract

This article reflects on the conceptualization and the salient features of the ecology of e-democracy. The authors identify four distinct waves marked by technological innovations and studied under the control–participation dichotomy. In the first wave, during the 1990s, political actors begin to establish their online presence but without any other notable changes in communication. The second wave takes place from 2004 to 2008 and features the consolidation of social networks and the increasing commodification of audience engagement. The third wave begins to take shape during Obama’s 2008 election campaign, which featured micro-segmentation and the use of big data. The fourth wave, starting in 2016 with the Brexit campaign and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, has been defined by the front and center use of Artificial Intelligence. Some recent phenomena that challenge or buttress the make-up of critical public opinion are the following: a) digital platforms as political actors; b) the marked use of Artificial Intelligence and big data; c) the use of falsehoods as a political strategy, as well as other fake news and deep fake phenomena; d) the combination of hyperlocal and supranational issues; e) technological determinism; f) the search for audience engagement and co-production processes; and g) trends that threaten democracy, to wit, the polarization of opinions, astroturfing, echo chambers and bubble filters. Finally, the authors identify several challenges in research, pedagogy and politics that could strengthen democratic values, and conclude that democracy needs to be reimagined both under new research and political action frameworks, as well as through the creation of a social imaginary on democracy.

Innovation, digitization, and disinformation management in European regional television stations in the Circom network

“…The rise and impact of disinformation through social networks are already inescapably part of the fourth wave of digital democracy (Ireton;Posetti, 2018), whose the most notable milestones in shaping public opinion are the intensive use of artificial intelligence and Big Data, the search for engagement with audiences, and the validation of lies as a political strategy, with a combination of hyperlocal and supranational elements (García-Orosa, 2021). Consequently, disinformation causes an alteration and manipulation of public space and democratic dialog, including pseudo-media and web content that mimic the format of traditional media through narratives that alter reality, which though they have been present since the beginning of public life, have never before had the resources to achieve large-scale repercussions (Palau-Sampio;Carratalá, 2022).…”

“…This leads to a responsibility of public media and their commitment both to a citizenry who may feel defenseless in the midst of this scenario because they are not able to distinguish real statements from false ones that use deception to hide their true nature (Kušen;Strembeck, 2020;Wölker;Powell, 2021;García-Orosa, 2021), and to providing the means, techniques, and tools necessary to combat disinformation available, including media literacy to citizens, and to which the European Union attaches increasing importance (Sádaba;Salaverría, 2022).…”

Nuevos medios en campaña. El caso de las elecciones autonómicas de Madrid 2021 en TikTok

“…La investigación gira en torno al análisis de la campaña de las elecciones autonómicas de Madrid 2021 en TikTok y se presenta como una aproximación exploratoria que trata de aportar los primeros hallazgos respecto al uso que los partidos políticos hacen de esta red social en época de comicios. El trabajo se sitúa en la cuarta ola de la comunicación digital en la que se dibuja un escenario de actores híbridos y procedimientos líquidos (García-Orosa, 2021). Los resultados de los estudios buscan ofrecer luz sobre un escenario muy cambiante y complejo y ofrecen, en ocasiones, interpretaciones diferenciadas sobre fenómenos similares.…”

Jóvenes y adolescentes desde el prisma de la desinformación

“…De acuerdo con García-Orosa (2021) y Tandoc, Thomas y Bishop (2021), este hecho -el uso mayoritario de las redes sociales como fuente de noticias-parece constituir uno de los principales motivos que han favorecido el incontrolable crecimiento del fenómeno de la desinformación en el último lustro. A través de estas vías el flujo informativo adquiere un doble sentido o dirección: cualquier usuario ahora tiene la posibilidad de ser no solo receptor de mensajes, sino también productor y emisor de sus propios contenidos (Bode y Vraga, 2018;Valarezo-Cambizaca y Rodríguez-Hidalgo, 2019).…”