Uses and Abuses of Social Media

Social media have been hailed as the ultimate democratic tool, enabling users to self-organise and build communities, sometimes even contributing to the fall of dictatorships, as during the Arab Spring. But can social media also reinforce existing power relationships? What happens when access to social media is shut down? When social media are manipulated, so that only one story is shared?

Breakfast will be served in Jekteviksbakken 31.
You can also join us on Zoom.

Lisa Garbe is a research fellow at the WZB – Berlin Social Science Center. She investigates the determinants and effects of internet censorship notably in authoritarian developing contexts.

Marc Owen Jones is an assistant professor in Middle East Studies and Digital Humanities at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha. He currently works on issues related to propaganda, Twitter bots, and mapping sectarian speech.

David Herbert is an associate professor in sociology at the University of Bergen. He uses social media analysis to research the challenges and opportunities created by ethnic and religious diversity in contemporary cities.

The panel will be chaired by
Lovise Aalen, senior researcher at CMI.

Photo credit: Alice Donovan Rouse/Unsplash