CLACSO-UNQ Call for Essays: Political Communication, Fake News and Democracy
Open convocatory
The right to information is now a fundamental part of building citizenship. Since the media plays a central role in the exercise of democracy, the media cannot remain detached from public debate, especially in the current context of monopolized ownership of multimedia outlets by private companies and interests that normalize the dissemination of fake news , propaganda based on lies , and media campaigns as instruments for destabilizing progressive democratic processes.
Fake news consists of two main characteristics: on the one hand, it is based on an apparent reality and, on the other hand, it feeds on a widespread belief of democratic common sense: that which dictates that the truth always triumphs and that it is not possible to lie in such a scandalous or unscrupulous way.
In a global context where internet access is increasingly widespread, the dividing line between the democratization of information, freedom of expression, and communication increasingly dominated by hate speech, denialism, disinformation, and fake news is becoming ever thinner. While these phenomena were not foreign to traditional media, the massive use of the internet and information overload have exacerbated them. The growing radicalization of ideological positions among the population goes hand in hand with an ever-accelerating circulation of fake news, which is shared on average up to six times more than real news, leading to a blurring of the boundaries between truth and falsehood.
Similarly, the mechanical operation of the algorithms that govern the logic of social media platforms and networks encourages the spread of fake news by creating a kind of ideological echo chamber around users, prioritizing the exclusive display of content that aligns with their prejudices, opinions, and interests. Furthermore, these algorithms commonly give precedence to content linked to anger and hatred, which in turn tends to accumulate the most likes and shares . Thus, instead of serving the democratization and dissemination of information and the critical exchange of opinions, these applications end up fostering increasing digital misinformation.
This form of communication, based on the addition of lies and hate, constitutes a particular version of what is known as "post-truth," which seeks to alter reality by appealing to a psychological component that emotionally connects with certain groups of people through their likes and dislikes. It also encourages the use of dangerous strategies such as buying followers, creating fake accounts, and purchasing packages of likes , which are increasingly being employed by far-right groups with anti-democratic principles.
The spread of fake news on social media and its replication in mainstream media is, today, one of the main threats to democracy in our region. It highlights the power of the media in fostering new forms of coups against states, orchestrated through lies and the creation of "hate cabinets." From the very beginning of the first cycle of progressive governments in Latin America, the right wing began developing destabilization strategies through media campaigns coordinated with the complicity of judicial systems co-opted by vested interests. These systems jeopardize the rule of law by using fake news as incriminating evidence.
In this context, critical questioning of the ethical role of the media becomes essential, as well as a deep reflection on the need for regulatory frameworks and public policies that encourage the digital education of a citizenry committed to checking sources and instructed in good practices for using new information technologies.
The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the National University of Quilmes (UNQ, Argentina) are launching this open call for submissions of single-author essays on the challenges of communication, politics, and rights in the digital age. This initiative aims to develop a book collection that reflects on fake news and democracy.
In this first edition, the topics associated with the following thematic areas will be of particular relevance:
-Political communication
-Technopolitics and network movements
– Fake news and democracy
-Disinformation
-Cyberactivism
-Lawfare
Deadline for submitting proposals: August 16, 2023
Estimated date of publication of results: October 2023
Deadline for submission of completed books: 120 days from the date of publication of the results
- The overall objective of the call is to start a collection of books that involves approaches to the problem of political communication in the digital age and the challenges it poses to democracy, with a Latin American focus.
- The fields or areas of knowledge should preferably be the subject of trans, inter and multidisciplinary studies and be addressed by researchers belonging to CLACSO Member Centers and associates.
- Those interested should register on the CLACSO website. To do so, they will have access to an online form where they must complete the minimum information required for the evaluation of the publishing project.
- The application must present an editorial proposal consisting of an introduction to the subject addressed, main research questions, objectives, theoretical-methodological framework, working hypothesis and a tentative index with the topics. The complete book is not expected to be submitted during the application process.
- The selected projects will have 120 days from the date of publication of the results to deliver the finished books.
- The project must be by a single author, who must be linked to centers associated with CLACSO. Undergraduate and graduate theses will not be accepted. If the manuscript is the product of undergraduate, master's, or doctoral research, it must be revised to fit the book format and the proposed collection structure (see below).
- The complete book may have a maximum of 240 Word pages and a minimum of 160 in Times New Roman 12 format, with 1.5 spacing, and 2,5 cm margins (top, bottom, right, left).
- The texts included in the selected editorial proposals must be original and must not have been published in other media.
- Both proposals and final versions of the texts are accepted only in Spanish.
To ensure the unity of the collection, each publishing project must submit a proposal that respects the following structure:
- A preliminary study that aims to provide a broad overview of the topic, the main questions, objectives, and hypotheses of the book. This study should consider the theoretical, methodological, and thematic transformations that the problem under study has undergone in recent years.
- A minimum of 3 (three) and a maximum of 5 (five) sections in which thematic approaches to the studied problem are organized.
- The selected books must be submitted in their complete and final version, adapted to the editorial standards that will be communicated in due course.
- The proposals submitted will be reviewed for their formal and administrative aspects to ensure compliance with the call for proposals. Proposals that do not meet the established requirements will be disqualified.
- Proposals that advance to the next stage will be evaluated by an International Editorial Committee comprised of four specialists who will assess the quality and relevance of the proposals. To ensure impartiality, all proposals will be submitted under a pseudonym.
- The call may select up to three works or be declared void if the proposals submitted do not meet the required quality standards.
- Situations not covered by this call for applications will be resolved by the convening institutions.
- The ruling will be final.
- The authors declare that all rights to the winning works of this competition belong to them entirely and exclusively, and they assign and transfer to CLACSO and UNQ all exclusive worldwide rights of publication and sale in all languages and in the format that CLACSO and UNQ deem appropriate. The authors will not receive any royalties.
- ISBN and Legal Deposit registrations will be processed by CLACSO and UNQ. CLACSO reserves the right to include the final digital book in its Virtual Library and Latin American Bookstore, as well as to make it available for free and unrestricted distribution and download.
- Likewise, CLACSO and UNQ may use the work to establish publishing partnerships that allow for a greater and wider circulation of the material through print and digital media.
OPINION – First edition of the CLACSO-UNQ essay competition “Political communication, fake news and democracy”
The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the National University of Quilmes, Argentina (UNQ) announce the results of the call for essays “Political communication, fake news and democracy”, a proposal aimed at the presentation of essays by a single author on the challenges of communication, politics and rights in the digital age, organized jointly.
This initiative aims to develop a book collection that reflects on fake news and democracy. In this first edition, special emphasis was placed on topics related to the following themes:
-Political communication
-Technopolitics and network movements
– Fake news and democracy
-Disinformation
-Cyberactivism
-Lawfare
We congratulate the authors who responded to this call and submitted their essay proposals.
Twenty-six applications were received, of which, after technical and formal review, 16 were in a position to be qualitatively evaluated by an International Editorial Committee to consider the quality, relevance, timeliness and coherence of the proposals according to the call.
The evaluation process was carried out by an International Committee made up of the following experts: Amparo Marroquin (El Salvador), Gissela Dávila (Ecuador), Alejandra Cebrelli (Argentina) and Claudia Villamayor (Argentina).
The evaluation, based on anonymized work and ensuring double-blinding at all times, assessed the quality of the essay proposals submitted, as well as their soundness and intellectual contribution to the issues addressed in the call.
In light of the quality and relevance of most of the works, the organizing institutions decided to award 2 honorable mentions , in addition to the 4 proposals selected to be published as an open access digital book as established in the call for submissions.
Within 120 days of this notification of results, the authors of the four selected proposals must submit their final essays according to the guidelines defined in the call for papers, which will be communicated to them in due course via private message. Once submitted, the essays will undergo a further review for inclusion in the digital publications, which will be a joint publication between CLACSO and UNQ and will be available in open access, free of charge.
According to the evaluation carried out, the list of the 4 essay proposals selected to be published as an open access digital book co-edited by CLACSO and UNQ and the 2 special mentions is presented below.
|
Researchers |
Central country that endorses |
Essay title |
Category |
|
Andrea Ximena Holgado |
Argentina |
The fabricated normality of neoliberal rationality: fake news and democracy |
Selected project |
|
Edgar Baltazar Landeros |
Mexico |
Disinformation and autocracy. El Salvador under the regime of Nayib Bukele |
Selected project |
|
Pablo Pellegrini |
Argentina |
Ways of thinking about truth: crossroads of information, knowledge, and trust |
honorable mention |
|
Sara Isabel Pérez |
Argentina |
Gender, anti-rights and the right wing. Discourse analysis of anti-rights groups in Latin America |
Selected project |
|
Silvina María Romano |
Argentina |
Lawfare and communication: the war by other means |
Selected project |
|
Yuri Fernando Torrez Rubín de Celis |
Bolivia |
Coup conspiracy in the digital age. Fake news on citizen platforms and in the press opposed to the MAS government before and during the 2019 coup in Bolivia |
honorable mention |
