Social Media Images and Conflicts

Description

This collection considers how digital images and social media reconfigure the way conflicts are played out, represented and perceived around the globe. Devoted to developing original theoretical frameworks and empirical insights, the volume addresses the role of user images and social media in relation to urgent subjects such as public opinion and emotion, solidarity, evidence and verification, censorship and fake news, which are all central to the ways current conflicts are represented and unfold. Essays include a unique range of case studies from different regional and political contexts (Middle East, Europe, Asia, North America) and in connection with different conflict types (war, terror, riots, everyday resistance, etc.). They also consider performative genres such as memes, selfies and appropriations as well as images conforming to the realism and authenticity of conventional photojournalism. In this way, the collection responds to the challenges of swiftly evolving image genres as well as to the continually shifting policies and algorithms of commercial digital platforms. Together, the essays offer innovative theories and exemplary case studies as a resource for teaching and research in media, journalism and communication programmes. It is also relevant to students, teachers and researchers within sociology, political science, anthropology and related fields. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Tables Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction: Social Media Images and Conflicts: Power, Proximity and Performativity Actors, Images, Platforms Proximity and Precarity in Taking, Sharing and Assessing Images Mobilising Social Media Images: In Between Realism and Performativity Infrastructural Dynamics: Platforms, Policies and Regulation Conclusion: The Interplay of Actors, Images and Platforms Bibliography 1 Relational Labour Or Digital Resistance: Social Media Practices of Non-Western Women Photographers Digitalisation and Its Impacts On Photographic Labour Relational Labour of Visual Journalists and Photographers The Potential of Social Media to Offer Alternative Visual Expressions Methodology Social Media Content Analysis Relational Labour of Women Photographers On Social Media Photographers’ Perception of Social Media as Platforms for Alternative Visuals Photographers’ Use of Instagram for Relational Labour and Providing Alternative Visuals Image-Building Through Image-Sharing Notes Bibliography 2 The Unfolding of a Proxy Profession: Evidence, Verification and Human Dignity On Social Media A Brief Overview of the Proxy Profession How the Proxy Profession Navigates the Social Media Landscape Evidentiary Standards Investigative Protocols Information Policy How the Proxy Profession Responds to Broader Challenges to Human Dignity Note Bibliography 3 Incendiary Images: Visual Reportage of Syria’s Civil War Targeting Truth Digital Visibilities Weaponizing Imagery Conclusions Bibliography 4 Social Media Icons: Evidence and Emotion Social Media Icons The Evidence and Emotion Framework Social Media Icons as Evidence Social Media Icons and Emotion Social Media Icons of Children Emotion Taken as Lack of Evidence: Omran Daqneesh (2016) Iconic Actors Arguing Through Evidence and Emotion: Bana Alabed (2016–) Conclusion: Patterns of Consent and Dissent Notes Bibliography 5 Embodied Protests On Social Media: The Visual Political Discourses of Vulnerability and Endurance in the Cases of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and #IRunWithMaud Protest Images and Publics Embodiedness and Political Acts Artifacts of Engagements “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “#IRunWithMaud” Vulnerability Endurance Concluding Discussion Notes Bibliography 6 Image Censorship On Chinese Social Media: Image Deletion On Weibo During the 2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement Internet Censorship in China: A Critical Review Censoring Image Posts: Theories and Hypotheses Methods Case Selection Data Collection and Analysis Findings and Discussion Hypothesis Testing Theoretical and Pragmatical Implications Conclusion and Further Studies Funding Information Acknowledgements Bibliography 7 #PrayForAriana: Ritual Solidarity, Redirected Grief and Fan Commemoration On Instagram After the Manchester Arena Attack Mediatised Mourning Rituals and Fan Participation The Platform: Instagram The Case: Manchester Arena Methodology Incongruent Images: Everyday Engagement Meets Violent Conflict Branding the Black Ribbon? Ritual Solidarity and Cross-Fandom Community Conclusion Notes Bibliography 8 Seeing Images From Conflict Through Computer Vision: Technology, Epistemology and Humans Technology: From Computer Vision to Violence in Images From Protests Epistemology: Computers Seeing Images From Conflict Humans: The People in Images From Conflict and in Computer Vision Conclusion Bibliography Index