POSTPONED - NEW DATE COMING MMTC seminar presented by Maria Arango Kure and Marcel Garz.

MMTC seminar presented by Maria Arango Kure and Marcel Garz: “Social Media Gatekeeping: Shadowbanning of Journalists During Political Conflict”.

Digitalization has significantly altered the media landscape, with audiences increasingly using social media platforms for news consumption. This shift has sparked a debate about social media's role when it comes to journalism, where proponents view it as a democratizing force that enhances diversity in opinions, while detractors argue it contributes to misinformation and reduces content quality due to unregulated user-generated content. Shadowbanning, a form of covert censorship where content visibility is selectively reduced, emerges as a controversial tactic used by social media platforms. This practice could skew public opinion and potentially impact democratic processes, especially in politically sensitive contexts. This study aims to explore the implications of shadowbanning in the context of the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in October 2023. Using a mixed-method approach that combines computational content analysis and digital ethnography, our research will investigate how shadowbanning affects journalistic content and discourse, differentially impacts professional versus citizen journalists, and the interplay between journalistic practices and shadowbanning in shaping public discourse. This exploration is crucial for understanding the broader consequences of social media policies on news dissemination and democracy.