About this Research Topic
Today's digital public space is not the democratic and social network that many had foreseen. We are immersed in a hyper-fragmented, platformized communicative ecosystem, which inevitably creates a visual or informational bias, both structurally and pragmatically. We see what we want to see or what this or that algorithm ‘believes’ that we are interested in seeing. Such an ecosystem is responsible for a variety of emerging phenomena, including political polarization, echo chambers, and mediatization.
The reputational crisis of journalism, added to the disinformation crisis, has led to the public’s loss of confidence in the media. We have now entered a new era of information consumption; an era where social media are becoming the central axis and source of information, and where the power of communication technologies to reach strategic audiences has become key to influencing public opinion. One consequence of all this is the emergence of so-called ‘information disorders,’ which in turn results in the adoption of narrow-minded views/attitudes, affects democratic health, and can even condition citizens’ political participation.
The aim of this Research Topic is to delve into the various dimensions of the (dis)information crisis, including one of the key solutions to it—media literacy. Specific themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:
• the disinformation strategies and techniques used by political and influential agents
• the effects of mis- and/or disinformation on democratic processes
• biased representations of ideologies, social groups, and institutions
• new communicative ecologies
• media centrality in the information ecosystem
• the media/journalism crisis and the ‘era of multiple authorities’
• public opinion dynamics
• media literacy.
Strong preference will be given to articles that are both theoretically motivated and empirically grounded. The use of innovative and creative methodologies is particularly encouraged.
Image credit: Jean-Daniel Francoeur
The reputational crisis of journalism, added to the disinformation crisis, has led to the public’s loss of confidence in the media. We have now entered a new era of information consumption; an era where social media are becoming the central axis and source of information, and where the power of communication technologies to reach strategic audiences has become key to influencing public opinion. One consequence of all this is the emergence of so-called ‘information disorders,’ which in turn results in the adoption of narrow-minded views/attitudes, affects democratic health, and can even condition citizens’ political participation.
The aim of this Research Topic is to delve into the various dimensions of the (dis)information crisis, including one of the key solutions to it—media literacy. Specific themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following:
• the disinformation strategies and techniques used by political and influential agents
• the effects of mis- and/or disinformation on democratic processes
• biased representations of ideologies, social groups, and institutions
• new communicative ecologies
• media centrality in the information ecosystem
• the media/journalism crisis and the ‘era of multiple authorities’
• public opinion dynamics
• media literacy.
Strong preference will be given to articles that are both theoretically motivated and empirically grounded. The use of innovative and creative methodologies is particularly encouraged.
Image credit: Jean-Daniel Francoeur
Keywords: democracy, information crisis, information disorders, media literacy
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
