Rajash Rawal and Paul Nixon
Therefore we could argue that gossip has two consequences; one political which is to mobilise and stimulate; the other social which may result in ridicule and ostracisation( Besnier, 2009, p. 17).
2.1 Gossip in the internet age
As we have moved forward the realms available for gossip and rumour have abounded. The Internet has afforded new luxuries and freedoms which were previously inconceivable. One need only consider work of Dutton and his presentation of the Internet as“ the fifth estate”( Dutton, 2009) in modern politics to see its impact.
However, the authors of this paper would like to warn of the pending dangers that this has on democracy and democratic development. As identified by Stanyer, there is a growing trend to use gossip‐based websites as source material for not only journalists, but also watchdog investigations( Ken Starr covered a dearth in his evidence by using gossip websites as source material( Stanyer, 2007)). Berinsky( 2013) gives us numerous examples of how gossip has been spread using online means and the ways in which such gossip is believed by some people, particularly in times of national stress. See for example his outline of people’ s understanding of where Barak Obama was born as a salient political issue( ibid p. 5)
The ways in which news organisations have sought to provide information mixed with the notion of entertainment or infotainment is a growing trend. This juxtaposition of politics with popular culture is an ongoing trend and has also spawned a rise in videos which seek to parody politicians or political views and can be a useful tool to challenge campaign rhetoric.( Tryon, 2008) Thus this is a further example of the democratising nature of online communication as it affords an individual with relatively limited resources the ability to subvert the communicative hegemony of powerful candidates during campaigns. A seminal example of this was“ Vote Different” in which Phil De Vellis used his skills to created mash up of a Hilary Clinton 1998 Presidential Campaign video and the 1984 American Football Superbowl advertisement. The subsequent you tube clip( http:// www. youtube. com / watch? v = 6h3G‐lMZxjo) alludes to Clinton as a‘ Big Brother / Sister figure and, by linking with that pre‐existing cultural connection, demonises her in the mind of the viewer.
Whilst Allport and Postman( 1946) argue that rumours tend not to make people adopt new political standpoints but to be used as a mechanism to confirm existing attitudes, more recent evidence( Rainee, L. & Smith, A, 2012) seems to suggest that this is a changing perspective. With the plethora of media messages bombarding the citizen growing there is the question of how much influence does it actually have on people? Certainly information is viewed differently by different individuals and that media consumption affects people’ s political attitudes( Hetherington, 1996) with education levels and media literacy being important determinants of how they do so( Miles, 2013). Also the ability to become not just a consumer but as producer of information is changing the landscape of political discourse.
Richardson, Parry & Corner( 2013), have alluded to a rise of so called‘ mischievous blogging’ which is based on pure speculation and has allowed responsible journalists to use‘ private’ blog space to air their rumour and gossip and personal opinion. An example of this was the emergence of the Gordon Brown‘ Bullygate’ in 2010. Where evidence which in a court of law would be dismissed as hearsay was levelled at the then Prime Minister in all media forms( Richardson, Parry, & Corner, 2013).
Specific online sites are set up to transmit stories prior to their possible adoption by and emergence in the more traditional forms of media news outlets. Examples of such platforms are Before It’ s News( http:// beforeitsnews. com /), The Spin Doctor Section of Wales Online( http:// www. walesonline. co. uk / news / columnists / 2011 / 03 / 13 / spin‐doctor‐politics‐news‐views‐and‐insidergossip‐91466‐28326479 /) and London spin online( http:// www. londonspinonline. com /
Another of this type of website that has sprung to global prominence is the Drudge Report. This site, started by Matt Drudge, focussed initially on Hollywood and Washington D. C. and aimed to provide an insight into events before they hit mainstream news. Drudge broke for example, albeit unverified, the first stories on the Clinton‐Lewinsky scandal. He has openly admitted that his stories may be based solely on rumour and many are later dismissed as having little or no foundation.( Harris, 2009). Drudge depicts his website to be a news aggregator and, according to some, thus helps shape the media’ s political coverage( Halperin, 2006).
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