Pandemiretorikk, tillit og sosiale medier – PAR-TS

• Ihlen, Øyvind; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2024). Uncertainty Communication in a High-Trust Society: Source Type, Political Preference, and Trust. International Journal of Communication. 18, s. 219–247. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Studies of uncertainty communication have produced mixed results concerning the consequences for trust. In this article, we focus on uncertainty communication as it concerns trust in a message about vaccine effectiveness and safety, seeing source type and political preference as mediators. These factors have become increasingly important as public health issues are becoming politicized in several countries. To test these relationships, we conducted a survey experiment in Norway—a high-trust society. Our results show a consistent tendency that statements expressing certainty were trusted more, especially when the source of the statement was the government or public health authorities. Importantly, however, the differences between statements expressing certainty and uncertainty were small. Also, when asked about their trust in messages from the public health authorities, respondents’ political beliefs played a minor role. The relatively high acceptance of uncertainty communication may be interpreted in the light of generally high levels of trust in authorities, as well as low levels of polarization in the Norwegian context, in general, and in the context of the pandemic.

• Fiskvik, Jannicke; Bjarkø, Andrea Vik & Ihlen, Øyvind (2023). Trustworthiness Over Time on Twitter: Three Critical Periods for the Norwegian Health Authorities and Political Leadership During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Social Media + Society. 9(April-June). doi: 10.1177/20563051231179689. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Public health authorities and political leaders need to come across as trustworthy in their handling of a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. There is, however, little knowledge about how the affordances and dynamics of social media influence perceptions of trustworthiness, especially during a protracted crisis. In this article, we study how Twitter users were discussing the trustworthiness of the Norwegian health authorities and political leadership throughout three periods of partial lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across all the periods, there was a substantial number of positive comments, but these were outweighed by negative ones. Ability was clearly the most discussed factor for trustworthiness, and many users offered up their lay expertise. Discussions of integrity and benevolence were less frequent and mostly negative when they occurred. An increase in negative comments during the last period might be read as an expression of fatigue, and there was a noted dissatisfaction with the ability of the political leadership. Taken together, the study suggests Twitter to be an arena where users are exposed to arguments and counterarguments in negotiations over ability in particular. Such discussions can intensify as a crisis drags on and are important to grasp for health authorities and political leadership alike. Thus, the study sheds light on the contribution that a socio-technical platform like Twitter makes to the discursive formation of trustworthiness over time, which in turn might function to strengthen or erode public trust in public authorities and political leadership.

• Fiskvik, Jannicke; Bjarkø, Andrea Vik & Grøtan, Tor Olav (2023). Vaccine rhetoric, social media, and dissensus: An analysis of civic discourse between Norwegian health authorities and citizens on Facebook and Twitter during crisis. I Johansson, Bengt; Ihlen, Øyvind; Lindholm, Jenny & Blach-Ørsten, Mark (Red.), Communicating a Pandemic: Crisis Management and Covid-19 in the Nordic Countries. Nordicom. s. 241–260. doi: 10.48335/9789188855688-11. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  To shed light on the rhetorical aspects of communication during crisis, we examined the Norwegian discourse on Facebook and Twitter related to the issue of Covid-19 vaccines. Based on our review of recent Nordic studies, we compare our findings with existing studies on social media and Covid-19 in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. We apply the conceptual frame of rhetorical citizenship in our analysis of the rhetorical practices by Norwegian health authorities and how citizens perceived, supported, or contested information about Covid-19 vaccines between July 2020 and March 2021. The analysis shows a change over time and a shift of moods and arguments reflecting the unfolding of the crisis, going from scepticism to optimism, to disappointment and critique of the health authorities. Observing that social media dynamics may further unproductive dissensus, we argue that rhetorical practices are an essential aspect of communication strategies to maintain civic deliberation and trust during crisis management.

• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Politisk påvirkning i det algoritmevridde samfunnet. I Friis, Karsten & Bergsjø, Håkon (Red.), Digitalisering og internasjonal politikk. Universitetsforlaget. s. 61–84. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  I en tid der polarisering og manipulasjon av demokratiske valg på sosiale plattformer trekkes frem som alvorlige trusler mot demokratiets fremtid bør vi få mer innsikt om algoritmenes funksjoner og politiske implikasjoner. Det er viktig å skjønne hvordan algoritmene kan påvirke på både individ- og samfunnsnivå. En klassisk forståelse av portvokterfunksjonen er ikke lenger nok. Vi trenger kunnskap om hva det vil si når intelligente maskiner får mer makt over menneskenes ytringer - om algoritmenes sorterings- og utvelgelsesprosesser. Det som beskrives i dette kapittelet er skifte fra de tradisjonelle medienes rolle som portvokter til bruk av algoritmer. Jeg omtaler denne utviklingen som overgangen fra det media-vridde samfunn til det algoritmevridde samfunn. Jeg vil belyse ikke bare hvordan det algoritmevridde samfunnet fungerer, men hvordan det påvirker og skaper helt nye rammer for politisk påvirkning.

• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2022). Tillit, følelser, normer og sosial distansering: En longitudinell studie av den norske befolkningen under Covid-19-pandemien. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. 38(3), s. 63–80. doi: 10.18261/nst.38.3.1. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Artikkelen undersøker forklaringer på etterlevelse av råd om sosial distansering under Covid-19-pandemien i dennorske befolkningen, med vekt på tillit, følelser og sosiale normer. I tråd med teoretiske forventninger er tillit til myn-dighetene viktig for etterlevelse av råd. Den sosiale tilliten mellom mennesker ser derimot ut til å ha vært svakt nega-tivt assosiert med etterlevelse. Også det å føle frykt eller håp i tilknytning til pandemien, og oppfatninger om at andrepersoner i ens sosiale nettverk også etterlever smittevernråd, bidrar til å forklare sosial distansering. Funnene er i trådmed hovedtrekkene i den internasjonale forskningen fra pandemien og viser at de samme forklaringene som er funneti andre land, også gjør seg gjeldende her. Analysene er basert på longitudinelle surveydata i fire runder i perioden mars2020 – januar 2022.

• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Ihlen, Øyvind (2022). Right-wing ideological constraint and vaccine refusal: The case of the COVID-19 vaccine in Norway. Scandinavian Political Studies. 45(2), s. 253–278. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12224. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Research has shown a correlation between votes for populist parties and the belief that vaccines are not important or effective. More recent investigations in the United States and France have similarly shown that attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine have been politicized. In this article, we show a similar pattern analyzing survey data from Norway, a country relatively mildly hit by the pandemic and characterized by high trust and a consensual political culture. We find that refusal to vaccinate is associated with right-wing ideological constraint, even when considering a wide array of control variables (e.g., lack of confidence, complacency), and sociodemographic characteristics. The results imply that vaccine refusal latch onto established political cleavages, particularly among the most ideologically consistent. Thus, polarization in the form of increasing ideological constraint may represent a mounting challenge for vaccine uptake, suggesting that vaccine communication should go beyond “explaining the science” and factor in ideology.

• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2022). ‘You can’t be careful enough’: Measuring interpersonal trust during a pandemic. Journal of Trust Research. 11(2), s. 75–93. doi: 10.1080/21515581.2022.2066539. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Empirical results regarding the role of interpersonal trust in the pandemic setting have been inconsistent. We argue that one explanation may be an inherent weakness in the standard measure of generalised trust, requesting respondents to choose between the options ‘most people can be trusted' and ‘you can't be careful enough in dealing with people'. The item measures two inter-related yet separate dimensions - trust and caution. A sense of caution is likely to be activated within the pandemic; some respondents may interpret ‘being careful’ as avoiding infection or spreading the virus. This may lead to 1) exaggerated negative trends in trust after the pandemic outbreak and 2) misrepresentation of the relationship between trust and compliance with guidelines. This is more likely to occur if respondents are primed to think about the pandemic. Analyses of several survey data sets from Norway confirmed that the standard question showed a decline in trust levels after the pandemic outbreak and a weakly negative correlation with social distancing. Alternative operationalisations without reference to caution suggested a small increase in trust and neutral or a weakly positive correlation with social distancing. Our results imply that the standard question should be used with caution in pandemic research.

• Offerdal, Truls Strand; Ihlen, Øyvind; Just, Sine Nørholm & Rasmussen, Joel (2022). “We Do Not Have Any Further Info to Add, Unfortunately”–Strategic Disengagement on Public Health Facebook Pages. International Journal of Strategic Communication. 16(3), s. 499–515. doi: 10.1080/1553118X.2022.2041021. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, communication with the public has been a central concern for state actors. One important question has been how to best use social media to ensure the sufficient uptake of their advice and recommendations to the public. With regard to such strategic communicative aims, a significant amount of attention has been previously devoted to the engagement, interaction, and dialogic forms of strategic communication on social media. This paper, however, focuses on an aspect that has not been discussed much in the literature: the need an organization might have to disengage due to a lack of resources or when a conversation has stalled. Using the communication that Scandinavian public health authorities carried out through their Facebook pages as cases, this paper employs a thematic analysis of the associated posts and qualitative interviews with employees to argue that these institutions use three disengagement strategies: 1) contradiction, 2) meta-discursive disengagement, and 3) disengagement through sympathy/empathy. Based on this, we consider the strategic potential of disengagement and discuss whether disengagement strategies can be considered legitimate tools for public health organizations’ crisis communication that can allow them to achieve the dual aim of ensuring citizens’ support for and compliance with authorities’ recommendations.

• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae & Lüders, Marika (2021). Young people’s use and experience of the Internet during the COVID-19 lockdown: Well-being and social support. First Monday. 26(12). doi: 10.5210/fm.v26i12.11755. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  No studies we are aware of have explored youth’s experiences of the association between their Internet use and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown. To fill this void, we used survey data of a representative sample (N = 734) of young Norwegians (16–26 years old) collected a few weeks into the lockdown in May 2020. Findings show a substantial increase in use of several Internet activities — in particular, video calls and streaming services. Snapchat and Messenger were the most important services used to keep in touch with friends. Online social support significantly predicts higher well-being, while heavy Internet use during a regular lockdown day significantly predicts low well-being, particularly among older females. Analysis of free text responses shows that excessive Internet use during lockdown has led to poor well-being among many, both mentally (38 percent) and physically (17 percent). Many describe purposeless online scrolling or interactions as problematic. We conclude that future research on online well-being should focus more on perceived level of meaningful online activities.

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• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Hvem vil ta koronavaksinen? Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Wollebæk, Dag; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Etterlevelse av smittevernråd. Betydningen av tillit og bekymring. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Wollebæk, Dag; Enjolras, Bernard; Fladmoe, Audun & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Tillit og bekymring. Hva avgjør om folk følger smittevernrådene? Institutt for samfunnsforskning og Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Fake news som teknologi. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Tror nettroll-miljø kan stå bak TikTok-hat. [Journal]. VG. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Resett ble verken relevante, tydelige eller gode nok. Kommentar i Medier24. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Ytringsfrihetskommisjonen burde ha diskutert de teknologiske endringene vi står i. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Er ytringsfrihetens kår egentlig så gode i Norge? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). NRK måtte slette 1700 TikTok-kommentarer. [Journal]. VG : Verdens gang. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Etterlyser diskusjon om kunstig intelligens og algoritmer. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Falske nyheter og deep fakes - nå og i fremtiden. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2022). Vaksineskepsis og fake news. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Flere unge sliter: — Har ført til mye usikkerhet. [Internet]. Khrono. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Rykte om koronasmittede på kjøpesenter spres i sosiale medier: - Veldig trist. [Internet]. Adressa. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Valgpåvirkning på digitale flater. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Paneldebatt: Hvor lett kan stortingsvalget påvirkes? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Gard Steiro (VG), Tove Bjørgaas (NRK), Roar Thon (Nasjonal Sikkerhetsmyndighet) og medieforsker Petter Bae Brandtzæg ved Universitetet i Oslo, stiller til panelsamtale om valgpåvirkning under minifestivalen Universitetsplassen: En ny start onsdag 1. september kl. 17.30. Sammen med ordstyrer førsteamanuensis Sofie Høgestøl, tar panelet for seg utfordringer og trusler norske medier og myndigheter står overfor knyttet til hacking, desinformasjon og påvirkning.

• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Sosial og politisk tillit under pandemien. Et år etter at Norge stengte ned. [Radio]. NRK Nyhetsmorgen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2021). Tillit til myndighetene ved store samfunnskriser Forutsetninger og konsekvenser. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bjarkø, Andrea Vik (2021). Pandemiretorikk, tillit og sosiale medier. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Taushetsspiralen – hvorfor uttrykkes ikke uenighet i offentligheten? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Falske nyheter: Hvordan rammes samfunnet og offentlige aktører som NAV? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Brandtzæg, Petter Bae (2021). Interne dokumenter: Facebooks egne eksperter tviler på at det er mulig å rydde vekk uønsket innhold. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Nyhetsinnslag om sosial tillit under koronakrisen. [Radio]. NRK Nyhetsmorgen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2020). Kampen mot koronatiltakene. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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