The massive adoption of social media and digital platforms by organisations and citizens has been affecting many social activities and the relationship between government and society. This dissemination increased information spread and interaction, facilitating governmental communication and service delivery. At the same time, potential negative impacts on the population increased the government’s concerns with the challenges of monitoring and regulating such platforms. Based on this context, the Track accepts papers with theoretical and practical contributions, new methods of analysis, case studies, and other perspectives related to the use of digital media by governments and society. This Track welcomes papers investigating the role of social media and digital platforms in enhancing and promoting government activities, including communication and engagement strategies and the use of social media data. It also invites studies on the operation of social media and digital platforms, such as algorithms mechanisms, filter bubbles, and their influence on democracy, social movements, and trust in governments. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the use of social media and digital platforms in public policies, such as education and health policies; adoption of social media and digital platforms to communicate and engage with society; regulation and initiatives to fight against misinformation, disinformation, and fake news; impacts of digital media on democracy and citizens’ rights; the use of digital media data for crisis and emergency management, such as geolocation and AI.
#1 - Content evaluation and gamification for educational platforms | Richard Ferreira (Federal University of Paraná, Brazil)
#2 - Automated cluster analysis of communication strategies of legal Telegram channels | Boris Nizomutdinov (ITMO University, Russia), Anna Uglova, Irina Bogdanovskaya (The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Russia)[withdrawn on 1 August 2023 ]#3 - Social media, party narratives and supporters' opinions: Zimbabwe's post-2018 elections | Blessmore Nhikiti (University of Münster, Germany)
#4 - Informational co-option against democracy: comparing Bolsonaro's discourses about voting machines with the public debate | Ergon Silva (Getúlio Vargas Foundation, Brazil), Ana Neves (Santa Catarina State University, Brazil)
