Week 4

Question 1

Van Aelst et al (2017) – 6 concerns about recent changes in the political environment

Answer 1

1. declining amount of political news
2. declining quality of news
3. power concentration and decreasing diversity
4. increasing polarization and fragmentation
5. increasing relativism towards facts
6. increasing inequalities

Question 2

diversity paradox

Answer 2

more outlets (because of the online world) but they are less diverse
-	The more media outlets, the fewer outlets people consume and stick to their niche

Question 3

Bennet article - a new logic

Answer 3

Self-motivated participation (a need to express one’s feelings) → participation is not a cost

Question 4

howard and hussein article - preference falsification

Answer 4

• People are afraid of speaking up and protesting (repression)
• They do not share their private (anti-government) beliefs

Question 5

howard and hussein article - shared grievances

Answer 5

• State-controlled media
• Citizens rather uninformed about a wide range of grievances
• Via social media they can bypass government censorship and learn about new grievances

Question 6

Bandwagon effect

Answer 6

• People don’t want to be the first ones to go on the streets (repression)
• When a critical mass already on the streets, individual repression is less likely
• Social media flooded with images of peoples already on the street

Question 7

5 phases of the story of digital media & Arab spring

Answer 7

1. Preparation: early tech-savvy activists who start sharing grievances and building community
2. Ignition: incident / triggering event
3. Street protests
4. International buy-in
5. Climax: win or lose moment

Question 8

the three F’s

Answer 8

fear, friction and flooding

Question 9

Three main ways in which politicians use social media:

Answer 9

• Marketing: building a public image
• Mobilization: campaign events, volunteer, donate, vote, etc.
• Dialogue: the most revolutionary from a normative view