Suchergebnisse

SFRH/BPD/75715/2011 ; The Internet has created new "dialogical spaces"1 where issues of common concern can be discussed, serving to democratize the public sphere. However, some scholars express doubts about the quality of the debates that occur in the online environment, pointing out the fragmentation, the incivility or even the anonymity as major problems that may undermine the expansion of the online public sphere. As a potential deliberative section and a civic forum, readers' comments in newspapers' websites constitute a locus for public debate and ideas exchange provided by the mainstream media. As a case study, this article intends to assess the quality of audience participation in online news sites, by analysing the readers' comments in the news about the Brazilian presidential campaign (September- November 2010) in the online versions of two Portuguese newspapers. ; publishersversion ; published

UID/CCI/04667/2016 MPM 2016 PTDC/IVC-COM/4968/2014 ; This article addresses the current "state of the art" in Portuguese media diversity policy, focusing on the social inclusiveness domain within public service media. The indicators assess regulatory and policy safeguards for community media, access to media by minorities, local and regional communities, women and people with disabilities, as well as the country's media literacy environment. Although the majority of these indicators have legal safeguards or benefit from specific policies, we concluded there is still considerable work to be done, particularly in the realms of media literacy and the representation of minority groups and women in the media. This article results from an on-going research, gathering data and literature review from the following projects: Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) project, implemented by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute and funded by the European Commission; and DIVinTV - Public Television and Cultural Diversity in Portugal, funded by FCT. ; publishersversion ; published

UID/CCI/04667/2016 ; This article investigates the news industry's perceptions of letters to the editor and online comments in the context of the digital world and of the challenges journalists face. Using a sample of 11 semistructured interviews with journalists and ombudsmen in Portugal, we analyse the news industry's views on readers' ability to comment on the news and on the industry's possible contributions to creating critical and engaged publics. The interviewees express concern about harmful behaviours in online environments and point to differences in online and offline contexts of participation. The results, however, do not reveal a proactive attitude in the news industry as the news professionals focus on their daily work activities as a form of media education and argue that schools and the public, instead, should take the lead in these activities. To support their statements, the interviewees cite factors such as the possibilities of digital culture, the promotion of media education, the need to foster a reciprocal relation between learning and the existing forms of journalism newsroom culture. ; publishersversion ; published

UIDB/05021/2020 UIDP/05021/2020 ; This study investigates to what extent specific features of news articles about election campaigns impact reader engagement and civility in news comments. Using content analysis of articles (N = 830) and comments (N = 29,421) published during the 2015 Portuguese Legislative elections, we test the impact of negative coverage, issue coverage and game coverage (politics as a game) on the number of comments that an article receives and the level of civility thereof. Additionally, we explore how affective polarisation of a commenter may moderate the effects on incivility. Findings show that negativity towards political actors in an article is tied to both an increase in the number of comments and their level of incivility. Game coverage only led to a significant increase in the number of comments, while actor-related positivity was also related to an increase in incivility. Issue coverage had neither positive nor negative effects. The results inform newsrooms and academics about the implications of different types of election reporting, while accounting for features of news articles that are typically not integrated in a single study. ; publishersversion ; published

This study investigates to what extent specific features of news articles about election campaigns impact reader engagement and civility in news comments. Using content analysis of articles (N = 830) and comments (N = 29,421) published during the 2015 Portuguese Legislative elections, we test the impact of negative coverage, issue coverage and game coverage (politics as a game) on the number of comments that an article receives and the level of civility thereof. Additionally, we explore how affective polarisation of a commenter may moderate the effects on incivility. Findings show that negativity towards political actors in an article is tied to both an increase in the number of comments and their level of incivility. Game coverage only led to a significant increase in the number of comments, while actor-related positivity was also related to an increase in incivility. Issue coverage had neither positive nor negative effects. The results inform newsrooms and academics about the implications of different types of election reporting, while accounting for features of news articles that are typically not integrated in a single study. ; POCH Programa Operacional Capital Humano, participated by the European Social Fund and by national funds by the MCTES by an individual doctoral scholarship granted by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/103335/2014). Text revision funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through project UIDB/00736/2020

This report was co-funded by the European Commission ; Two versions available: English and Portuguese

Hateful content online is a concern for social media platforms, policymakers, and the public. This has led high-profile content platforms, such as Facebook, to adopt algorithmic content-moderation systems; however, the impact of algorithmic moderation on user perceptions is unclear. We experimentally test the extent to which the type of content being removed (profanity vs hate speech) and the explanation given for its removal (no explanation vs link to community guidelines vs specific explanation) influence user perceptions of human and algorithmic moderators. Our preregistered study encompasses representative samples ( N = 2870) from the United States, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest that algorithmic moderation is perceived as more transparent than human, especially when no explanation is given for content removal. In addition, sending users to community guidelines for further information on content deletion has negative effects on outcome fairness and trust.

UIDB/05021/2020 UIDP/05021/2020 ; Hateful content online is a concern for social media platforms, policymakers, and the public. This has led high-profile content platforms, such as Facebook, to adopt algorithmic content-moderation systems; however, the impact of algorithmic moderation on user perceptions is unclear. We experimentally test the extent to which the type of content being removed (profanity vs hate speech) and the explanation given for its removal (no explanation vs link to community guidelines vs specific explanation) influence user perceptions of human and algorithmic moderators. Our preregistered study encompasses representative samples (N = 2870) from the United States, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest that algorithmic moderation is perceived as more transparent than human, especially when no explanation is given for content removal. In addition, sending users to community guidelines for further information on content deletion has negative effects on outcome fairness and trust. ; publishersversion ; epub_ahead_of_print

UID/CCI/04667/2016 Projeto Europeu MPM 2016 - Media Pluralism Monitor ; This report presents the results and the methodology of the 2016 implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) in EU-28 countries and in Montenegro and Turkey (MPM2016), carried out by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, EUI. The Media Pluralism Monitor is a comprehensive and balanced tool for assessing risks for media pluralism, composed of 200 variables organized within 20 main indicators and, finally, structured in four thematic areas, encompassing pertinent legal, economic, political and socio-cultural considerations. The results of the MPM2016 implementation confirm again, as a general trend and in line with MPM2015 and MPM2014, that no EU country is immune from risks that are related to media freedom and pluralism. ; publishersversion ; published