In 2015 Europe experienced its most severe refugee crisis since the second world war. The crisis has accelerated public discussions and debates on multiculturalism, tolerance, human rights and racism in unpreceded ways. This research project explores public debates and understandings of the refugee crisis in digital media environment.
The hybrid media environment is characterized by interdependence of old and new media, uncontrollable flow of information, manipulation, affectivity and global circulation of information. The project investigates this production and movement between different media platforms as well as between different political and journalistic agents: we analyse how debates on refugees are organized in the media; who are the agenda setters and primary definers of the public debates and what kind of political and social significance these debates carry.
The project explores:
1) Understandings of refugees produced in hybrid media environment with big data sets
2) Significance of circulation of rumours and false information in the public discussion
3) Emotions and affectivity in refugee debates
The research project is conducted in co-operation with University of Helsinki (CRC).
The project is funded by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.
Duration: 1.6. 2016–31.12. 2017
Research team
Directors: Professor Kaarina Nikunen (University of Tampere) and professor Mervi Pantti (University of Helsinki)
Post-doctoral Researcher Reeta Pöyhtäri (University of Tampere)
Post-doctoral Researcher Markus Ojala (University of Helsinki)