EXPOSING: The Public Value of Socio-Mediated Scandals in the Digital Age

The project first maps current scandals with significant public attention and participation – e.g. notorious influencer Andrew Tate starting a feud with environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter; literary critic and influencer Katherine Diez being exposed in plagiarism by Redditors; or Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling expressing her views on transgender issues on social media, stirring outcry among fans and making other stars react online. This scandal mapping illuminates the themes, network structures, key players and their communication. Second, the project investigates what motivates citizens to engage in the scandal communication, and what value they attribute to this communication, if any. Finally, we turn to traditional scandal actors – journalists, pundits, politicians, celebrities, other public figures – who used to be main drivers of scandals, and how they see their own and citizens’ role in the changed socio-mediated scandal dynamics and scandalization processes.

The main research question are:

• RQ1: What are socio-mediated scandals and how do they develop?
• RQ2: How do different actors communicate in socio-mediated scandals?
• RQ3: Why do citizens engage in scandal communication?
• RQ4: How do traditional scandal actors assess the changed dynamics of socio-mediated scandals?

Read more about the project.

• Ester Pollack, Professor, Department of Media Studies, Stockholm University
• Göran Bolin, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Södertörn University
• Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Professor of Journalism and University Dean of Environment and Culture, Cardiff University
• Mia-Marie Hammarlin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication and Media, Lund University