{"id":2717,"date":"2018-09-13T17:43:14","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T22:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.home.ona\/newsroom18\/?p=299"},"modified":"2021-06-22T18:26:56","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T22:26:56","slug":"danah-boyd-encourages-journalists-resist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/2018\/09\/13\/danah-boyd-encourages-journalists-resist\/","title":{"rendered":"danah boyd to journalists: resist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
danah boyd addresses ONA 2018. Photo\/ONA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Journalists are being manipulated.<\/p>\n

That’s the message from featured speaker danah boyd, principal researcher at Microsoft, who encouraged reporters in the opening plenary at ONA18 to be more cautious of exploitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur democracy depends on you realizing that you\u2019re being manipulated,\u201d said boyd, who’s also founder and president of Data & Society.<\/p>\n

Wearing a blazer stamped with newsprint at her session, “Media Manipulation, Amplification and Responsibility,” she warned journalists of the dangers posed by extremists.<\/p>\n

boyd, who does not capitalize her name,\u00a0<\/a>cited three strategies that manipulators use to control the news media. The first is creating a spectacle \u2013 often using social media \u2013\u00a0 to attract media attention. By making a scene, manipulators are able to influence news media coverage.<\/p>\n

The second is using key phrases to drive searches. When readers search a phrase that isn\u2019t widely reported, it\u2019s more likely that the results will be populated with conspiratorial information, boyd explained. This is known as a \u201cdata void.\u201d And when journalists use extremist phrases in their reporting, they drive searchers to data voids, said boyd.<\/p>\n

The third strategy, according to boyd, is \u201cbecoming a digital martyr to radicalize others.\u201d She defined digital martyrs as those who don\u2019t follow the rules on social media, pushing the limits until they are banned from a site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to drive a wedge into the public,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen that is the goal, it\u2019s not hard to encourage people to see bias.\u201d<\/p>\n

Language is powerful, boyd said, and the best way to resist extremism is to be mindful of the language used to report on it. She advised journalists not to use keywords spread by extremists. Before using a term, type it into a search engine. If the results are laden with conspiracies, boyd recommends altering the phrasing.<\/p>\n

Journalists don\u2019t need<\/em> to give a voice to extremists, boyd said. She read a line from the First Amendment, emphasizing the word \u201cCongress.\u201d The amendment states that Congress<\/em> shall not make laws abridging freedom of speech, the press, religion, etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first amendment has turned into a colloquial notion that no one \u2013 not the news media, not social media, not teachers, not conference organizers, not universities \u2013 shall engage in any act that in any way limits anyone else\u2019s ability to speak. \u2026 That\u2019s absurd. No one of us is Congress,\u201d boyd said.<\/p>\n

\u201cChoosing what to amplify is not the same as curtailing someone\u2019s ability to speak,\u201d she said, triggering a scattered round of applause.<\/p>\n

boyd also warned the audience to be wary of copycats when reporting on sensitive issues. For example, she doesn\u2019t believe the word \u201csuicide\u201d should be published in headlines or push notifications. In addition, she said, stories should not describe how suicide victims died. Instead, she argued for suicide coverage to be a celebration of life.<\/p>\n

Years ago, software engineers building social media didn\u2019t foresee many of these issues, boyd said. She hopes that understanding manipulation will help journalists combat extremism by being more conscious about their editorial decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t realize that these tools could be used to gaslight publics. And no one was prepared for the degree in which these would become vehicles for cruel harassment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite these concerns, boyd is confident that journalists\u2019 intentions are in the right place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never met a journalist who entered their profession for nefarious reasons. I\u2019ve also never met one of you who entered it to make money,\u201d she said as the crowd chuckled.<\/p>\n

Amanda Bright, a professor at the University of Georgia and ONA first-time attendee, agreed that journalists must be cognizant about the language they use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to hear that, but it\u2019s true,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd as journalists we are all about hearing the hard truths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Bouchard, an online editor and reporter at 5280 Magazine in Denver, also took away that journalists must be more mindful about the phrases they use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never really thought of reporting in that context,\u201d he said, admitting that he is accustomed to using the language that drives the most traffic to his publication\u2019s website. \u201cIt\u2019s going to inform the way I think about keywords.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teaching others to recognize manipulation was one of boyd\u2019s goals for the session.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp people connect to information. Help connect information to each other. Help connect people to each other. Build a social fabric,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the end of the day, this democracy depends on you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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