Platforms, alternative influence, and networked political brokerage on YouTube

Abstract

This article interrogates political brokerage on YouTube by examining the platform’s role in the construction of political discourses and in configuring the action of a new genre of political actors advancing a political agenda through historical revisionism. Using assemblage theory and drawing from technography, we propose the concept of “networked political brokerage” to characterize the mutually affirming relationship of YouTube’s governance mechanisms and alternative political influencers’ microcelebrity practices in building, complementing, and magnifying historical revisionist narratives through and within a network of algorithmically sanctioned videos. We illustrate how this interplay of platform logics and ‘cultures of use' privileges and legitimizes political content into knowledge without accountability. We argue for the importance of examining YouTube as a socio-technical driver of this political brokerage process in curating political information in this contemporary political scene.

The great replacement: Strategic mainstreaming of far-right conspiracy claims

“…The rise of interactive communication has contributed to new and revitalized forms of civic engagement, including both actors from the far right as well as from conspiracy milieus. The subsequent section highlights features pertaining to digital media logics more broadly, and to interactive communication logics on online platforms (Soriano and Gaw, 2021) in particular. It then discusses their impact on conspiracy claims and theories.…”

Broadcasting anti-media populism in the Philippines: YouTube influencers, networked political brokerage, and implications for governance

“…Earlier work on 'networked political brokerage' characterized the mutually affirming relationship between YouTube's governance mechanisms and 'alternative political influencers' practices in building political narratives through and within a network of algorithmicallysanctioned videos (Soriano & Gaw, 2022;Laaksonen, et al, 2020;Raun, 2018). While investigating the content, branding, and engagement strategies of influencers on the platform is crucial, this body of research highlights YouTube's political role and its implications to public discourse through an analysis of the networked relationships afforded by the platform.…”

“…While some influencers speak for the establishment, influencers can also serve as spokespersons of the critique of established structures and values of dominant culture. Social media platforms emphasize the same, with YouTube romanticizing 'broadcast yourself' and reinstating its agenda of empowering the ordinary person as a legitimate political interlocutor (Burgess & Green, 2018;Soriano & Gaw, 2022). Baldwin-Philippi (2019) argued that studying technological performance in populism necessitates investigating this interaction of technological and human agency in the construction of anti-media populist discourses.…”

“…Our piece contributes to this special issue by attending to the role of influencers in networked political spheres and their consequences for democracies, reflecting on the complex governance questions this dynamic surfaces. Engaging the concept of 'networked political brokerage' (Soriano & Gaw, 2022), we draw from a critical examination of the tactics deployed by selected Filipino YouTubers who advance partisan political commentary, deceptive narratives, and defamatory interlocution to advance hostile rhetoric towards media institutions.…”

Broadcasting anti‐media populism in the Philippines: YouTube influencers, networked political brokerage, and implications for governance

“…Our piece contributes to this special issue by attending to the role of influencers in networked political spheres and their consequences for democracies, reflecting on the complex governance questions this dynamic surfaces. Engaging the concept of "networked political brokerage" (Soriano & Gaw, 2022), we draw from a critical examination of the tactics deployed by selected Filipino YouTubers who advance partisan political commentary and deceptive narratives to advance hostile rhetoric toward media institutions. Using network analysis and discourse analysis to analyze the issue network of the ABS-CBN shutdown, we problematize how influencers engage platform affordances and cultures of use to enable, amplify, and fortify the brokering of their political agenda within a larger network of political actors, while eliding accountability.…”