Social Media and Democracy

by Nathaniel Persily (Editor), Joshua A. Tucker (Editor)

Overview

Over the last five years, widespread concern about the effects of social media on democracy has led to an explosion in research from different disciplines and corners of academia. This book is the first of its kind to take stock of this emerging multi-disciplinary field by synthesizing what we know, identifying what we do not know and obstacles to future research, and charting a course for the future inquiry. Chapters by leading scholars cover major topics – from disinformation to hate speech to political advertising – and situate recent developments in the context of key policy questions. In addition, the book canvasses existing reform proposals in order to address widely perceived threats that social media poses to democracy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108858779
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/03/2020
Series:	SSRC Anxieties of Democracy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Nathaniel Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and the Co-Director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and Stanford Project on Democracy and the Internet. His scholarship focuses on the law and technology of democracy.
Joshua A. Tucker is Professor of Politics, affiliated Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, and affiliated Professor of Data Science at New York University. He is the Director of NYU's Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia, a co-Director of the NYU Center for Social Media and Politics, and a co-author/editor of the award-winning politics and policy blog The Monkey Cage at The Washington Post.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker; 2. Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda Andrew M. Guess and Benjamin A. Lyons; 3. Social Media, Echo Chambers, and Political Polarization Pablo Barbera; 4. Online Hate Speech Alexandra A. Siegel; 5. Bots and Computational Propaganda: Automation for Communication and Control Samuel C. Woolley; 6. Online Political Advertising in the United States Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael M. Franz, and Travis N. Ridout; 7. Democratic Creative Destruction? The Effect of a Changing Media Landscape on Democracy Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Richard Fletcher; 8. Misinformation and Its Correction Chloe Wittenberg and Adam J. Berinsky; 9. Comparative Media Regulation in the US and Europe Francis Fukuyama and Andrew Grotto; 10. Facts and Where to Find Them: Empirical Research on Internet Platforms and Online Speech Daphne Keller and Paddy Leerssen; 11. Dealing with Disinformation: Evaluating the Case for CDA 230 Amendment Tim Hwang; 12. Democratic Transparency in the Platform Society Robert Gorwa and Timothy Garton Ash; 13. Conclusion: The Challenges and Opportunities for Social Media Research Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker.

Editorial Reviews

'Tackling some of the most pressing issues facing the public on the effect of social media on democracy, Persily and Tucker and contributing authors provide a grand tour of what academic research has taught us about digital politics and policy. From hate speech to polarization to misinformation and beyond, this work elucidates what we know about the impact of the Internet on democracy and presses us to think critically about how we can move this body of work forward to best inform policymaking. Social Media and Democracy should be required reading - for policymakers, academics, researchers, students of digital politics, and the general public.' Margaret Roberts, University of California, San Diego

'Democracy is fundamentally about how people connect to determine their collective fate. Social media is changing how we connect, and thus is transforming our democracy - in ways good and bad. This volume offers an impressive compendium of perspectives from some of the leading researchers in the world on the role that social media is and should be playing in contemporary democracy.' David Lazer, University Distinguished Professor, Northeastern University

‘Social Media and Democracy is currently available open access, but it would also be an inexpensive and worthwhile print addition to an academic law library’s collection. … Social Media and Democracy is easy to read and understand. This title would be useful for a researcher studying First Amendment rights, antitrust, administrative law, and the intersection of the law and the media. It would also be helpful to a practicing attorney working on policy and legislation in this area.’ Cynthia W. Bassett, Law Library Journal

‘… invaluable … would be useful to undergraduate and graduate-level students studying politics, sociology, or communications along with researchers and policy analysts. The extensive data analyses and bibliographies make this title worthy of a place on library shelves … Recommended.’ H. L. Katz, Choice Magazine

‘Social Media and Democracy is an excellent book that manages to achieve multiple objectives in a relatively short space. The scholarly quality of the contributors is very high, and the depth of discussion is praiseworthy … [It] is a great reference for both researchers and practitioners working on a wide variety of crucial questions that the volume compels us to examine.’ Cantay Caliskan, Perspectives on Politics

From the Publisher