The Affective Algorithms of Conspiracy TikTok

Grandinetti, Justin; Bruinsma, Jeffrey

doi:10.1080/08838151.2022.2140806

Cited by 16 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…However, TikTok's algorithm is known for having a strong locking mechanism through which content that has been previously viewed or engaged with is prospectively prioritized (Gao et al, 2023). This tendency is also observed by Grandinetti and Bruinsma (2022), who find that TikTok's algorithm quickly adapts to polarized political content. As a result, users often encounter one-sided video content in many of their suggested videos.…”

Section: Tiktok and The Far Rightmentioning

confidence: 87%

Analyzing Radical Visuals at Scale

Hohner,

Kakavand,

Rothut

2024

jdsr

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Research examining radical visual communication and its manifestation on the trending platform TikTok is limited. This paper presents a novel methodological framework for studying mobilization strategies of far-right groups on TikTok, employing a mixed-method approach that combines manual annotation, unsupervised image classification, and named-entity recognition to analyze the dynamics of radical visuals at scale. Differentiating between internal and external mobilization, we use popularity and engagement cues to investigate far-right mobilization efforts on TikTok within and outside their community. Our findings shed light on the effectiveness of unsupervised image classification when utilized within a broader mixed-method framework, as each observed far-right group employs unique platform characteristics. While Conspiracists flourish in terms of overall popularity and internal mobilization, nationalist and protest content succeeds by using a variety of persuasive visual content to attract and engage external audiences. The study contributes to existing literature by bridging the gap between visual political communication at scale and radicalization research. By offering insights into mobilization strategies of far-right groups, our study provides a foundation for policymakers, researchers, and online platforms to develop proactive measures to address the risks associated with the dissemination of extremist ideologies on social media. The study contributes to existing literature by bridging the gap between visual political communication at scale and radicalization research. By offering insights into mobilization strategies of far-right groups, our study provides a foundation for policymakers, researchers, and online platforms to develop proactive measures to address the risks associated with the dissemination of extremist ideologies on social media.

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Section: Tiktok and The Far Rightmentioning

confidence: 87%

Analyzing Radical Visuals at Scale

Hohner,

Kakavand,

Rothut

2024

jdsr

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“…TikTok is particularly hospitable not only for conspiracy theory knowledge cultures, but for queer knowledge cultures (Duguay, 2023; Grandinetti & Bruinsma, 2023). While its restrictive and often biased content moderation policies are frequently challenging for queer users and users of color, communities are still able to operationalize the platform’s affordances and algorithmic tailoring to cohere and co-create knowledges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You Could Hear a Hair Pin Drop”: Queer Utopianism and Informal Knowledge Production in the Gaylor Closeting Conspiracy Theory

Eadon

2024

Social Media + Society

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Rumors about Taylor Swift’s sexuality have persisted since the early days of her career. They have coalesced into an online subculture known as “Gaylor.” Gaylor is a novel kind of conspiracy theory known as a “Closeting Conspiracy Theory” (CCT). CCTs involve speculating about a public figure’s sexuality, gathering pertinent evidence, and producing fan knowledges, often informally, on social media. Like shipping and slash fiction (which they often involve) CCTs are largely feminized. Through a qualitative content analysis of 200 TikTok videos, this article situates Gaylor as a CCT that has developed into a kind of knowledge culture. Analyzing this knowledge culture using Emily Coccia’s notion of too-close reading and José Muñoz’s queer utopianism reveals specialized practices of knowledge production, including informal boundary work. As Gaylors get “too close” to Swift’s star text, triangulating lyrics and music videos with images and videos from Swift’s life, they produce folk literary criticism. Muñoz’s queer utopianism saturates Gaylor discourses, with many Gaylors engaging in a specific type of conspiracy-inflected queer utopianism: the doomsday coming-out. The doomsday coming-out pushes the date of the Swift’s purported coming out back further and further after each anticipated album or music video release, not unlike the date of the apocalypse in a doomsday cult. Ultimately, the function of producing CCT knowledge in the Gaylor community is propelled forward by imagining queer futures, reflecting on personal identity, building community, and pushing back against heterosexist consensus.

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“…Researchers have also argued that algorithmic power operates through ‘affective modulations’ rather than psychological and emotional manipulation (Karppi, 2018: 115). It is this ‘affective pull’ that would make algorithmic systems prone to the spread of misinformation and conspiracy content (Grandinetti and Bruinsma, 2022: 1).…”

Section: Algorithmic Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluid agency in relation to algorithms: Tensions, mediations, and transversalities

Siles

Cruz

Quijano

2023

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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This paper argues for a fluid approach to the study of agency in relation to algorithms, one that promotes crossing the boundaries of established analytical positions and breaking away from dualistic forms to frame its study. Building on various intellectual traditions, we develop three sensibilities for implementing such an approach: (a) working with tensions as an alternative to thinking about algorithmic power and human agency as an either/or binary; (b) examining mediations to reverse the tendency to treat algorithms as an ahistorical and universal force; and (c) exploring transversalities to navigate the spaces that emerge between various temporalities and levels of analysis. To make our case, we examine a crucial tension in the study of agency and algorithms, namely how scholars have either attributed power to algorithms or agency to users of algorithmic systems. The conclusion situates our argument for fluidity within larger historical debates in the study of technological power and human agency.

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The Affective Algorithms of Conspiracy TikTok

Cited by 16 publications

References 35 publications

Analyzing Radical Visuals at Scale

Analyzing Radical Visuals at Scale

“You Could Hear a Hair Pin Drop”: Queer Utopianism and Informal Knowledge Production in the Gaylor Closeting Conspiracy Theory

Fluid agency in relation to algorithms: Tensions, mediations, and transversalities

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