Hacking hybrid media : power and practice in an age of manipulation / Stephen R. Barnard.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction: The Mediatized Politics of Manipulation -- 2. Power and Problematic Information in an Era of Hybrid Media -- 3. Channels of Distortion: The End of the Fairness Doctrine and the Resurgence of (Domestic) Information Warfare -- 4. What Are Platforms For? Profit, Persuasion, and (Dis)Information -- 5. Hacking Meaning and Influence in the (Dis)Information Age: The Acosta “Assault” Case -- 6. We Are Trump’s Digital Army! Capital and Practices of Manipulation on The_Donald -- 7. Trouble with Power, Practice, and Information in the Hybrid Media System.

The contemporary public sphere is rife with problematic information, but on what terms are manipulators able to garner attention in the hybrid media system? In Hacking Hybrid Media, Stephen R. Barnard examines how networked media capital is changing the fields of politics and journalism. With a focus on the messaging strategies employed by Donald Trump and his most vocal online supporters, Barnard provides a theoretically oriented and empirically grounded analysis of the ways today's media afford deceptive political communication. Analyzing data from prominent political events, Barnard shows how members of Trump's "digital army" use Facebook groups, Reddit forums, Twitter hashtags, YouTube channels, mass media, and more to shape the flow of disinformation in American media.From the structures of social media platforms to the practices of political actors, Barnard offers a critical appraisal of media power and the capital required to wield it. He reflects not only on the tools and techniques of manipulative media campaigns, but also on the implications they hold for the future of journalism, politics, and democracy in the US and beyond. In striking a balance between social theory and empirical research, Hacking Hybrid Media shows how the emergent structures and practices of the contemporary media system shape how information flows, how meaning is made, and ultimately, how networked social influence works.

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.