Thread by @unc_citap

Disinformation isn’t a problem—at least, not in the way we typically understand it.

So then, how do we understand the challenges to inclusive democracy?

The Bulletin of Tech & Public Life asks what comes after disinformation: 🧵

#afterdisinfo

@TheoLenoir & Chris Anderson identify two problems with our current disinformation framework: it lacks analysis of power and interest, and fails to see how frequently falsehoods are used to maintain the status quo against the threat of greater equality.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/oijfl3sv/

@TheoLenoir Or, as @rachelkuo noted, “We can’t fact check our way out of global regimes of white supremacy and racial hierarchies.”

@TheoLenoir @rachelkuo Instead, what if we set aside “infocentric” analysis and consider the stylistic patterns of disinfo? @PeckReece writes about how conservative media companies originated a style of commentary that disinformation campaigns now rely on.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/vzttydqz/

Returning to the classics, @tstetsura explores how Russia uses public relations, issue management, and strategic communication to advance its narratives and calls for more research connecting disinformation to these traditional rhetorical approaches.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/8u3v9p8w/

Shaden Shabayek suggests that it's time to think about disinformation as a form of socially-constructed ignorance and focus on the actors who disseminate it in “Apocalypse Not.”

citap.pubpub.org/pub/wdp8otw7/

If you want to understand how the public is being harmed by disinformation, start by studying state violence, say @dude_crooks and Bryan Truitt.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/nvbi1ohh

And @schradie proposes three C’s—class, community, and context—that should inform more bottom-up studies of the people who consume and share disinformation, instead of top-down studies of platforms and politicians.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/aa61e89n/

Disinformation studies is limited by its focus on Western contexts. Nguyễn Yến-Khanh and @seanphelan8 use a Vietnamese context to reframe mis and disinformation in Western liberal democracies to offer fresh insights.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/wjedm75u/

Experts in Mali, the Sahel, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Senegal discuss how Africa-specific dynamics link widespread social media use to ethnic, religious, and political tensions with @bruce_mutsvairo and colleagues.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/lopohgbv/

Several pieces delve into the relationship between disinformation and democracy. @kirstenaeddy explores how partisan actors use moral claims as both political communication and disinformation strategy.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/6oi63cc7/

“My knowledge is better than yours”—@MaCinders describes the “bootstraps epistemology” that encourages solitary study and intellectual combat on the right.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/3j9x70jb/

Disinformation is about *speculation*, not about the truth, say @mckelveyf, Ganaele Langlois, and @greg_elmer, drawing on examples from politics, platforms, and venture capital.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/for0o4fs/

Could disinformation play a role in building a more democratic society? @ajbauer and @amnadler argue that epistemological stability serves only the powerful.

citap.pubpub.org/pub/u4qzry5p

🙏🙏🙏

This collection is edited by @alicetiara, @shannimcg, and Elaine Schnabel and based on the ICA pre-conference organized by Chris Anderson, @meredithdclark, @kreissdaniel, @rachelkuo, and @syparasie.

Read the full collection at citap.pubpub.org/what-comes-aft…