Yingying Chen

This study investigates how U.S. Fortune 500 corporate social advocacy (CSA) discourse on multiple contentious issues is associated with public attention on Twitter/X. Our theoretical framework elucidates three discourse types and conceptualizes the diversity, structure, and stability of discourse coalition networks. Utilizing computational methods and dynamic network analysis of 43,791 corporate tweets over two years, findings reveal a prevalent use of aspirational communication in addressing climate change and healthcare disparities. Functional discourse is predominantly employed in tweets on racial equality and COVID-19 vaccination, while localization discourse is concentrated in tweets about gender/sexuality. Network analysis shows that discourse coalitions exist across industries, with a convergence in discourse types and low temporal stability in network compositions. Most discourse types and features of discourse coalition networks are positively associated with public attention to CSA tweets, though these associations vary across different issues.

Former comedian Zelenskyy successfully became the president of Ukraine through the comedy series “Sluga narodu.” It is worth exploring the public meaning of this pop culture phenomenon for people suffering similar structure searching for a paradigm for salvation. This article uses concepts of public sphere such as forums, private citizens, connection, public opinion, authoritative representatives, Academic Paper published by IAFOR under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Attribution Non Commercial International

Anti-intellectualism (resentment, hostility, and mistrust of experts) has become a growing concern during the pandemic. Using topic modeling and supervised machine learning, this study examines the elements and sources of anti-Fauci tweets as a case of anti-intellectual discourse on social media. Based on the theoretical framework of science-related populism, we identified three anti-intellectual discursive elements in anti-Fauci tweets: people-scientist antagonism, delegitimizing the motivation of scientists, and delegitimizing the knowledge of scientists. Delegitimizing the motivation of scientists appeared the most in anti-Fauci tweets. Politicians, conservative news media, and non-institutional actors (e.g. individuals and grassroots advocacy organizations) co-constructed the production and circulation of anti-intellectual discourses on Twitter. Anti-intellectual discourses resurged even under Twitter’s content moderation mechanism. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for building public trust in scientists, effective science communication, and content moderation policies on social media.

Topic modeling has become an effective tool for communication scholars to explore large amounts of texts. However, empirical studies applying topic modeling often face the critical question of making meaningful theoretical contributions. In this study, we highlighted the importance of theoretical underpinning, the research design, and the methodological details of topic modeling studies. We summarized five normative arguments that address critical issues in theory building and testing, research design, and reliability and validity assessments. Using these normative arguments as criteria, we systematically reviewed 105 communication studies that applied topic modeling. We identified gaps and missed opportunities in previous studies and discussed potential pitfalls for the field.

Although an increasing amount of aggressive and polarized tweets about climate change are being observed, little is known about how they spread on Twitter. This study focuses on how different types of network gatekeepers use aggressive styles and how the styles affect their propagation. The current study employed a computational method and identified 951 influential accounts from 7.25 million tweets about climate change in 2019 and 2020. We analyzed their use of aggression and politicized cues, and the relationship with the volume of retweets. Results showed that even though aggressive tweets were a small portion of the overall tweets about climate change, aggressive tweets were more likely to be politicized and retweeted. Specifically, aggressive tweets from politicians received the most retweets and news media amplified the aggression. The findings of this study build upon the current knowledge of the use of aggression online and provide practical implications for environmental communicators.

Digital platforms are transforming practices of political information production and circulation in local communities. We develop the theoretical concept of local political information infrastructure to draw attention to (1) the broadening array of actors who are producing political information in local communities, in addition to local news media, and (2) the role of network media logics in shaping everyday practices of political information production and circulation. We combine a computational analysis of Facebook posts from news and non-news community actors in a mid-sized Midwestern U.S. city with interviews with communication managers at local non-profits, libraries, local government, and city service organizations in that same case community. Our findings illustrate the ways in which local news media are increasingly displaced from the centre of local political information infrastructures, while Facebook moves to take up a central infrastructural role. We consider the consequences of these shifts for the circulation of politics and policy information in communities.