Authors: Hubert Au, Jonathan Bright, Philip N. Howard Given the evolving nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—and public understanding of the crises—we provide a weekly briefing about the spread of coronavirus information across multiple social media platforms. For the week leading up to 20-04-2020 we find: • Content from state-backed […]
Abstract Social media is an important source of news and information in the United States. But during the 2016 US presidential election, social media platforms emerged as a breeding ground for influence campaigns, conspiracy, and alternative media. Anecdotally, the nature of political news and information evolved over time, but political […]
The Internet certainly disrupted our understanding of what communication can be, who does it, how, and to what effect. What constitutes the Internet has always been an evolving suite of technologies and a dynamic set of social norms, rules, and patterns of use. But the shape and character of digital […]
Helped with a Washington Post story on how social media is used by radical libertarians in the US. Howard, who teaches communications at the University of Washington and Oxford University, noted that social media is a critical tool for protest movements, allowing groups such as the Oregon occupiers to build communities and reach people […]