Philip N. Howard

Last updated

Philip N. Howard
Born (1970-12-09) December 9, 1970 (age 53)
Montreal, Canada
Occupations
Known for
Academic work
Discipline Social Science
Website www.philhoward.org/

Philip N. Howard (born December 9, 1970) is a sociologist and communication researcher who studies the impact of information technologies on democracy and social inequality. He studies how new information technologies are used in both civic engagement and social control in countries around the world. He is Professor of Internet Studies at the Oxford Internet Institute and Balliol College at the University of Oxford. [2] He was Director of the Oxford Internet Institute from March 2018 to March 26, 2021. [3] He is the author of ten books, including New Media Campaigns and The Managed Citizen, The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, and Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up. [4] [5] His latest book is Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives. [6]

Contents

Research

His research has demonstrated that the diffusion of digital media has long-term, often positive, implications for democratic institutions.[ citation needed ] Through information infrastructure, some young democracies have become more entrenched and durable; some authoritarian regimes have made significant transitions towards democratic institutions and practices; and others have become less authoritarian and hybrid where information technologies support the work of particular actors such as state, political parties, journalists, or civil society groups.

Astroturf campaigns and fake news

Howard was one of the first to investigate the impact of digital media on political campaigning in advanced democracies, and he was the first political scientist to define and study "astroturf" political movements as the managed perception of grassroots support through astroturfing in his research on the Gore and Bush presidential campaigns. New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen (2005) is about how politicians and lobbyists in the United States use the internet to manipulate the public and violate privacy. [7] His research on technology and social change has been prescient. The subject's study of the 2016 U.S. presidential election did not identify the Russian sources of disinformation that other investigations have alluded to, [8] though Howard later studied the disinformation campaigns launched by the Internet Research Agency. [9]

Digital media and the Arab Spring

Howard wrote presciently about the role of the internet in transforming Political Islam, and is the author of The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (2010) which argues that how states respond to new information technologies has become a defining feature of both democracy and authoritarianism. Howard demonstrated that the internet was having an important impact on political Islam. The book was published before the Arab Spring, and shows how new social movements in North Africa and the Middle East were using social media to outmaneuver some of the region's dictators, partly because these regimes lacked effective responses to online evidence of their abuses. [10] Using Charles Ragin's method of "qualitative comparative analysis" Howard investigated technology diffusion and political Islam and explained trends in many countries, with the exception of Tunisia and Egypt. But very shortly the trends in social activism and political Islam he had identified appeared in those two countries as well in the "Arab Spring."

Democracy's Fourth Wave? (2013), with Muzammil M. Hussain, suggests that turning off the Internet, as the Mubarak regime did on January 28, 2011, actually strengthened the revolution by forcing people into the streets to seek information. [11] It sees events like the Arab Spring as "early signs of the next big wave of democratization. But this time, it will be wrestled into life in the digital living room of the global community." [12] His research and commentary is regularly featured in the media, including recent contributions about media politics in the US, Hungary and around the world the New York Times and Washington Post. [13] [14] [15]

Politics and the Internet of Things

In Pax Technica (2015) he argues that the Internet of Things will be the most important tool of political communication we have ever built. He advocates for more public input in its design and more civic engagement with how this information infrastructure gets used. [16]

Computational propaganda

In the book Lie Machines (2020) Howard surveys the extent to which large-scale misinformation campaigns have shaped politics. He highlights the roots these developments have in propaganda but mobilizes contemporary data to argue that a host of technologies, techniques, and actors (e.g., AI bots, political activists, conspiracy theorists, national governments, and so forth) are innovating at a rapid pace. Lie Machines extends Howard's 2014 hypothesis that political elites in democracies would soon be using algorithms over social media to manipulate public opinion, a process he called "computational propaganda." Evidence from Russia, Myanmar, Hungary, Poland, Brazil, and of course the United States, documented in Lie Machines and scholarly articles and policy reports, further substantiate this hypothesis. [17]

For example, his research on political redlining, astroturf campaigns and fake news inspired a decade of work and became particularly relevant during the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign. [18] [19] His research has exposed the global impact of bots and trolls on public opinion.

Impact

As Director of the Democracy and Technology Programme at the Oxford Internet Institute, Howard has contributed to more than 130 reports [20] on computational propaganda, political communication, election interference, and the abuse of social media by politicians and foreign governments. [21] [22] Like fellow Canadian researcher Ronald Deibert of the Citizen Lab, Howard's work is often critical of authoritarian regimes and the use of technology for political manipulation. Howard has testified before the UK Parliament, European Commission, and US Senate on election interference. [23] [24]

Howard is sometimes critiqued by the subjects of his research and investigations. After a reporter presented one of the research findings from a report that Howard was listed as the Primary Investigator on, President Rodrigo Duterte said: “Oxford University? That’s a school for stupid people.” [25] Erik Wemple in The Washington Post and Elizabeth Harrington in The Washington Free Beacon argue that his research is biased against those who voted for President Donald J. Trump . [26]

Books

Essays and journalism

Related Research Articles

Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals. Disinformation is implemented through attacks that "weaponize multiple rhetorical strategies and forms of knowing—including not only falsehoods but also truths, half-truths, and value judgements—to exploit and amplify culture wars and other identity-driven controversies."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media manipulation</span> Techniques in which partisans create an image that favours their interests

Media manipulation refers to orchestrated campaigns in which actors exploit the distinctive features of broadcasting mass communications or digital media platforms to mislead, misinform, or create a narrative that advance their interests and agendas.

Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of hiding the sponsors of an orchestrated message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from, and is supported by, unsolicited grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source's financial backers.

New media are communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for the influx of interactive CD-ROMs for entertainment and education. The new media technologies, sometimes known as Web 2.0, include a wide range of web-related communication tools such as blogs, wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds, and other social media platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E-democracy</span> Use of information and communication technology in political and governance processes

E-democracy, also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is credited to digital activist Steven Clift. By using 21st-century ICT, e-democracy seeks to enhance democracy, including aspects like civic technology and E-government. Proponents argue that by promoting transparency in decision-making processes, e-democracy can empower all citizens to observe and understand the proceedings. Also, if they possess overlooked data, perspectives, or opinions, they can contribute meaningfully. This contribution extends beyond mere informal disconnected debate; it facilitates citizen engagement in the proposal, development, and actual creation of a country's laws. In this way, e-democracy has the potential to incorporate crowdsourced analysis more directly into the policy-making process.

Internet activism involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular information to large and specific audiences, as well as coordination. Internet technologies are used by activists for cause-related fundraising, community building, lobbying, and organizing. A digital-activism campaign is "an organized public effort, making collective claims on a target authority, in which civic initiators or supporters use digital media." Research has started to address specifically how activist/advocacy groups in the U.S. and in Canada use social media to achieve digital-activism objectives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Internet Institute</span> Research institute at the University of Oxford

The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, combining social and computer science to explore information, communication, and technology. It is an integral part of the University of Oxford's Social Sciences Division in England.

Internet studies is an interdisciplinary field studying the social, psychological, political, technical, cultural and other dimensions of the Internet and associated information and communication technologies. The human aspects of the Internet are a subject of focus in this field. While that may be facilitated by the underlying technology of the Internet, the focus of study is often less on the technology itself than on the social circumstances that technology creates or influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media</span> Virtual online communities

Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content amongst virtual communities and networks. Common features include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merlyna Lim</span> Indonesian blogger

Merlyna Lim is a scholar studying ICT, particularly on the socio-political shaping of new media in non-Western contexts. She has been appointed a Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Global Network Society in the School of Journalism and Communication Carleton University. Formerly she was a visiting research scholar at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy and a distinguished scholar of technology and public engagement of the School of Social Transformation Justice and Social Inquiry Program and the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. She previously held a networked public research associate position at the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD, with distinction, from University of Twente in Enschede, Netherlands, with a dissertation entitled @rchipelago Online: The Internet and Political Activism in Indonesia.

Mediatization is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, including politics, business, culture, entertainment, sport, religion, or education. Mediatization is a process of change or a trend, similar to globalization and modernization, where the mass media integrates into other sectors of the society. Political actors, opinion makers, business organizations, civil society organizations, and others have to adapt their communication methods to a form that suits the needs and preferences of the mass media. Any person or organization wanting to spread messages to a larger audience have to adapt their messages and communication style to make it attractive for the mass media.

Brian D. Loader is currently Co-Director of the Centre for Political Youth Culture and Communication (CPAC) at the University of York, UK. Brian joined the Department of Sociology at York in January 2006 to pursue his scholarly interests into digital media communication and democratic governance. His overarching interest is in new media communications technologies, and the social, political and economic factors shaping their development and diffusion, and their implications for social, economic, political and cultural change. He has published widely in these areas and is the founding Editor of the international journal Information, Communication and Society whose aim and scope is to critically explore these issues in depth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesh Srinivasan</span> American academic (born 1976)

Ramesh Srinivasan is an American academic who is a professor of Information Studies and Design/Media Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Open-source political campaigns,open-source politics, or Politics 2.0, is the idea that social networking and e-participation technologies will revolutionize our ability to follow, support, and influence political campaigns. Netroots evangelists and web consultants predict a wave of popular democracy as fundraisers meet on MySpace or Facebook, YouTubers crank out attack ads and bloggers do opposition research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zizi Papacharissi</span> Greek-American communications researcher

Zizi Papacharissi is a Greek-American social scientist and professor. She is a UIC Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Chicago. She also serves as the editor-in-chief of the journal Social Media + Society.

Blogging is increasingly used in many countries around the globe, including those with oppressive and authoritarian regimes. In many Arab countries with oppressive and authoritarian regimes, where the government conventionally has controlled print and broadcast media, blogs and other forms of new media provide a new public sphere where citizens can obtain information they are interested in and exchange their personal opinion concerning several topics, including politics, economics, culture, love, life and religion.

Andrew Chadwick is a British political communication researcher. His work focuses on the fields of political communication, including mobilisation, news and journalism, political engagement, and deception and misinformation. He is Professor of Political Communication at Loughborough University, where he is also director of the Online Civic Culture Centre (O3C). His latest book The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power was released in 2013 and in a second edition in 2017.

Politics and technology encompasses concepts, mechanisms, personalities, efforts, and social movements that include, but are not necessarily limited to, the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs). Scholars have begun to explore how internet technologies influence political communication and participation, especially in terms of what is known as the public sphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-truth politics</span> Political culture where facts are considered irrelevant

Post-truth politics, also described as post-factual politics or post-reality politics, amidst varying academic and dictionary definitions of the term, refer to a recent historical period where political culture is marked by public anxiety about what claims can be publicly accepted facts.

Internet manipulation is the co-optation of online digital technologies, including algorithms, social bots, and automated scripts, for commercial, social, military, or political purposes. Internet and social media manipulation are the prime vehicles for spreading disinformation due to the importance of digital platforms for media consumption and everyday communication. When employed for political purposes, internet manipulation may be used to steer public opinion, polarise citizens, circulate conspiracy theories, and silence political dissidents. Internet manipulation can also be done for profit, for instance, to harm corporate or political adversaries and improve brand reputation. Internet manipulation is sometimes also used to describe the selective enforcement of Internet censorship or selective violations of net neutrality.

References

  1. ↑ IPIE (2024b), Philip Howard, IPIE Co-founder and CEO, Wikidata   Q124713098
  2. ↑ "Professor Philip Howard".
  3. ↑ "Announcing the OII's next Director".
  4. ↑ "About". 26 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Philip N. Howard". Amazon UK.
  6. ↑ Aziz Huq (2020-06-26). "Political lies aren't new, but the methods of spreading them are". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   1330888409.
  7. ↑ "Howard - Department of Communication, University of Washington". Com.washington.edu. Archived from the original on December 9, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  8. ↑ Stone, Peter and Gordon, Greg. (20 March 2017). "FBI’s Russian-influence probe includes a look at Breitbart, InfoWars news sites". McClatchy DC website Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Howard, Philip; Ganesh, Bharath; Liotsiou, Dimitra; Kelly, John; François, Camille (2019-10-01). "The IRA, Social Media and Political Polarization in the United States, 2012-2018". U.S. Senate Documents.
  10. ↑ Rothman, Wilson. "Technolog - How the Internet brought down a dictator". MSNBC. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Egypt Cuts Off Communication amid Crisis". CBS News. January 29, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ "In Libya, perfecting the art of revolution by Twitter". CSMonitor.com. May 10, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Hungary's Crackdown on the Press". New York Times. September 8, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ "#HashtagActivismMatters: Some experts see online-to-IRL change in police protests". Washington Post. December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Millennials and the Age of Tumblr Activism". New York Times. December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Review: Pax Technica, by Philip Howard". Financial Times. May 20, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  17. ↑ Huq, Aziz (June 25, 2020). "Political lies aren't new, but the methods of spreading them are". Washington Post. Retrieved September 17, 2021. a new tool kit for Web-based public lies has been tested by Russia and China, for use first at home and then against foreign foes. It is diffusing quickly to more nations. Howard counts five other countries — India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela — that are using the same tool kit against overseas democratic publics. In 2020, there were 'organized social media misinformation teams' working for parties and governments in some 70 countries.
  18. ↑ "One in four debate tweets comes from a bot. Here's how to spot them". Washington Post. October 19, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Automated Pro-Trump Bots Overwhelmed Pro-Clinton Messages, Researchers Say". New York Times. November 17, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ "DemTech | Research".
  21. ↑ Bradshaw, Samantha; Howard, Philip N.; Kollanyi, Bence; Neudert, Lisa-Maria (2020). "Sourcing and Automation of Political News and Information over Social Media in the United States, 2016-2018". Political Communication. 37 (2): 173–193. doi: 10.1080/10584609.2019.1663322 . S2CID   210452697.
  22. ↑ Elswah, Mona; Howard, Philip N. (2020). ""Anything that Causes Chaos": The Organizational Behavior of Russia Today (RT)". Journal of Communication. 70 (5): 623–645. doi: 10.1093/joc/jqaa027 .
  23. ↑ "Hearings | Intelligence Committee". Intelligence.senate.gov. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  24. ↑ Preserving Democracy in the Digital Age, 22 February 2018
  25. ↑ "Oxford University is 'for stupid people', claims Philippines president" . Washington Post. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Study bashes Trumpites for promoting 'junk' news. But what's that?". Washington Post. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
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