Democracy in the Disinformation Age: Influence and Activism in American Politics

Regina Luttrell · Lu Xiao · Jon Glass

May 2021 · Routledge

About this ebook

In this book established researchers draw on a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives to examine social media’s impact on American politics. Chapters critically examine activism in the digital age, fake news, online influence, messaging tactics, news transparency and authentication, consumers’ digital habits and ultimately the societal impacts that continue to be created by combining social media and politics. Through this book readers will better understand and approach with questions such as:

• How exactly and why did social media become a powerful factor in politics?

• What responsibilities do social networks have in the proliferation of factually wrong and hate-filled messages? Or should individuals be held accountable?

• What are the state-of-the-art of computational techniques for measuring and determining social media's impact on society?

• What role does online activism play in today’s political arena?

• What does the potent combination of social media and politics truly mean for the future of democracy?

The insights and debates found herein provide a stronger understanding of the core issues and steer us toward improved curriculum and research aimed at a better democracy. Democracy in the Disinformation Age: Influence and Activism in American Politics will appeal to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics with an interest in areas including political science, media studies, mass communication, PR, and journalism.

About the author

Regina Luttrell is Associate Dean of Research and Creative Activities and Assistant Professor of public relations at Syracuse University within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where she researches, publishes and discusses public relations, social media for strategic communication, Gen Z and the Millennial generation, and the intersection of social media within society. Dr. Luttrell’s research has been published in several books in academic journals.

Lu Xiao is an Associate Professor within the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. She obtained a Ph.D. degree from the College of Information Sciences & Technology, Pennsylvania State University. Broadly speaking, Dr. Xiao is interested in how people reason in social media, the major factors that affect the process and outcome of these reasoning activities, and the main effects imposed on people by the activities.

Jon Glass is a Professor of Practice for Magazine, News and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where he focuses on current news industry issues, social media and digital storytelling. He is executive producer of TheNewsHouse.com, an award-winning, student-produced news, sports and entertainment website for the SU community. Prior to joining the Newhouse School in 2007, Jon was the online content director for PalmBeachPost.com, where he spent 11 years in the newsroom and online departments.