General Events

April 2nd, 2025 3:00-4:30 in Room 1000 Lincoln Hall

Reflecting upon more than ten years of research on online rumors during crisis events, this talk reveals how an alternative media ecosystem has taken shape, in large part through the use of social and digital media, and how that ecosystem is reconfiguring information flows and politics around the globe. Focusing initially on the concepts of rumor and rumoring, I will cover several case studies of online falsehoods, from conspiracy theories about the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 to allegations that immigrants were eating pets in 2024. Each provides insight into how the affordances of social media — and the “attention dynamics” that manifest there — have facilitated the spread of falsehoods and have been exploited by some to gain influence and shape political outcomes. I will culminate with a metaphor that helps us understand the participatory dynamics of the alternative media ecosystem as akin to “improv theater” and a warning about how this improvised and participatory propaganda is driving policy in the second Trump administration. And I will end with a call to action to resist the pervasive spread of falsehoods.