Policing and social media: The framing of technological use by Canadian newspapers (2005–2020)

Abstract

As digital platforms that expand opportunities to create, distribute, and access content online, social media are transforming the policing landscape. While scholars have considered social media’s contradictory effects on police services’ public image and operational capacity, less is known about how patterns of technological use are reported within the mainstream press. Employing a mixed-methods content analysis, this article assesses how Canadian newspapers framed the policing-social media relationship over a 15-year period, and how such representations can affect public opinion and policy. It finds, despite minor fluctuations over time and across outlets, news organizations prioritized police perspectives and offered overwhelmingly favourable assessments with social media being constructed as a valuable tool of crime prevention and control. The broader implications of these findings for perceptions of law enforcement and relations between the news media and institutional power are provided.

Representation of Police in Kanjuruhan Stampede

“…This study seeks to examine the meaning the producers want to present through the video "The Promptness of the Indonesian National Police in Evacuating Kanjuruhan Victims" on Twitter. Previous research found that police use social media to communicate their brands to the public (Colbran, 2020;Jungblut et al, 2022;Walsh et al, 2022;Wood & McGovern, 2021). Establishing legitimacy, a persistent challenge for police organizations worldwide, has led them to engage in image management activities, such as proactive media engagement, to gain the goodwill, trust, and cooperation of the public (Ellis & McGovern, 2016;Wood & McGovern, 2021).…”

“…This study will add to the repertoire of how law enforcement shapes their public perception within the realm of digital platforms. Prior research indicates that police utilize social media to convey their brands to the public (Colbran, 2020;Jungblut et al, 2022;Walsh et al, 2022;Wood & McGovern, 2021), while some studies highlight visual communication as a means by which police shape their image on social media (Dolamore et al, 2022;Walby & Wilkinson, 2023). However, no such study has found how police manage their representation though audiovisual content on social media.…”