Description
The contemporary public sphere is rife with problematic information, but on what terms are manipulators able to garner attention in the hybrid media system? In Hacking Hybrid Media, Stephen R. Barnard examines how networked media capital is changing the fields of politics and journalism. With a focus on the messaging strategies employed by Donald Trump and his most vocal online supporters, Barnard provides a theoretically oriented and empirically grounded analysis of the ways today''s media afford deceptive political communication. Analyzing data from prominent political events, Barnard shows how members of Trump''s digital army use Facebook groups, Reddit forums, Twitter hashtags, YouTube channels, mass media, and more to shape the flow of disinformation in American media.From the structures of social media platforms to the practices of political actors, Barnard offers a critical appraisal of media power and the capital required to wield it. He reflects not only on the tools and techn