Digital Democracy, Social Media and Disinformation

Petros Iosifidis is professor in Sociology and Media Policy at City, University of London, UK. He has acknowledged expertise in the realms of communications policy, public service media, regulation of social media and media coverage of sport. He is author of 8 books including Reinventing Public Service Communication (2010), Public Television in the Digital Era (2012), Global Media and Communication Policy (2013), Public Sphere and Mediated Social Networks (2016, with M. Wheeler) and Global Media & National Policies (2016, with T. Flew and J. Steemers). He has contributed numerous book chapters and has published extensively in peer-review journals. He has served as an ESRC Peer Review College reviewer, as Principal Editor of the Journal of Digital Media & Policy and Co-Editor of the Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business. He is Vice-Chair of IAMCR Global Media Policy group and has acted as national expert on European projects.Nicholas Nicoli is associate professor of Communication at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. His research focuses on communications policy and creative industry institutions. His initial research sought to deconstruct creativity management policies within public service broadcasters such as the BBC. Thereafter he focused his attention on the impact of communications policy upon strategic communication. His current research explores the intersection of communications policy, digital disinformation and the public interest. He has contributed in book chapters and has published extensively in peer-review journals. He is on the editorial boards of The Institute for Mass Media Journal of Digital Media & Policy and Journal of Media Business Studies and has acted as a national expert and science communications manager on European projects.

‘This is a wide-ranging book which gives valuable insights on emerging contemporary debates on digital democracy, social media and disinformation. The authors have dug deep into the underlying theories while never ignoring everyday empirical evidence. They engage with issues of policy and regulation which are now under scrutiny in democracies around the world. Their analysis is up to date, noting the impact of the digital platforms on disinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a necessary and timely text.’Professor Leighton Andrews, Cardiff Business School, UK‘The urgency of critical analysis of misinformation and fake news has become even more apparent in the context of COVID-19. Iosifidis and Nicoli offer a very nuanced analysis of this phenomenon from a socio-political perspective, recognising that the circulation of misinformation and conspiracy theories online is not simply a supply-side product of digital affordances, but is grounded in social phenomena such as the rise of populism. They are very much attuned to policy and regulatory issues, as well as technological options, that can address these urgent contemporary challenges.’Professor Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology, Australia‘This book could not be more timely or relevant to the contemporary struggles with the effects of disinformation on society. The book explores why and how it poses dangers to democratic society and offers and reviews concrete solutions to them.’Professor Robert G. Picard, Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, UK

• 1. Introduction SECTION I: MARKET TRENDS, INTERNET INTERMEDIARIES AND THEORIES 2. Democracy, Public Sphere and Citizenship in a Network Society 3. Social Media, Populism and Regulatory Action SECTION II: THE CURRENT STATE OF ART OF DIGITAL DISINFORMATION 4. Digital Disinformation and Ways of Addressing It 5. European Policy Strategies in Combating Digital Disinformation SECTION III: COUNTRY CASES AND DIGITAL DISINFORMATION 6. Russia and Digital Disinformation 7. Ukraine and Digital Democracy 8. Conclusion