Project Description

The use of an exemplar refers to the use of the narrative of a concrete person who is personally affected by the issue – to make otherwise complex social problems more understandable and interesting. In my project at AIAS, I will investigate why some types of social media exemplars are so powerful in triggering digital engagement and shaping factual perceptions of social problems and attributions of government responsibility, while other types of exemplars are uninfluential. How can the impact of misleading unrepresentative social media exemplars be mitigated? The results from the project advance knowledge of a) the degree of diversity in how societal problems are illustrated with social media exemplars, b) how social media exemplars shape democratic engagement on social media, and c) the digital sources of mobilization, factual (mis)perceptions, and democratic responsibility attributions in the mass public.