Executive summary
Football is one of the most popular sports in the world, where many people play, or at least watch the sport. Originally, the sport has been mostly played by men, which has contributed to an unequal football industry. Mainly, the industry is unequal when it comes to gender,
ethnicity, sexuality, etcetera. There are multiple cases where football players have been exposed to racism, homophobia, and gender related discrimination.

During live broadcasting of football games, commentators have a big role and influence on the audience. The commentators participate in the broadcast with a purpose to entertain and inform, sometimes, without considering the actual influence they have over the audience. This includes, expressing any possible stereotypes that they have regarding players. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether commentators are expressing any stereotypes during football
broadcasts. Firstly, we are investigating if men and women are portrayed differently by the commentators. Secondly, if other factors, such as ethnicity, intersect with gender in the commentary. Lastly, the study also examines the representation of men and women as
commentators, to see if the representation is gender equal or not.

The methodology of the study was carried out through inspiration from a qualitative language analysis. This included, watching, transcribing, and analyzing six different football games on an international level, with Swedish commentators. At some points during the examination,
we also use quantitative methods, which helped us analyzing the material in an effective way. While the material was analyzed, we looked for any potential stereotypes and sayings that were related to the purpose and contributing to answering the research questions. These
findings were then presented through highlighting different patterns that had been observed, where a conclusion was drawn.

The results we found through our examination was that football, as of today, is still not gender equal. For instance, there are many more men than women commentating the games, which contributes to men having the most power to influence the audience. There are also overall
many more words given during a football broadcast of man playing compared to women. Furthermore, there are more positive comments during men’s games and more negative comments during women’s games. This contributes to the facts that there is a masculine
standard in football and if women are not as good, fast, and strong as men, they will receive more negative comments. These comments are for instance, “weak”, “bad”, and “slow”. Another interesting fact we could see through our study was that men get more comments about their looks than women do. We believe that the reason for this is that the male commentators are afraid to talk about women’s looks because they are scared to get cancelled. One consequence of this is that men and women are not being treated equally.

Our results shows that it is also not equal when it comes to intersectionality. Earlier studies have shown that black players tend to get more comments about their physical qualities meanwhile white players tend to get more comments about their mental qualities. In our
study, we could see a pattern that this is also occurring in the six games we analyzed. These results show that the commentators are using different attributes depending on which player they are talking about. Reoccurring stereotypes we found in the study was that being
masculine within football is a stereotype. The masculine discourse within football is big and the commentators compare women with men a lot. Furthermore, they also compare players with different ethnicity with each other, perhaps subconsciously. Football is yet not equal, even though it has become more equal during the last decades. However, the commentator’s express stereotypes related to both gender and intersectionality.

Executive summary
A challenge for every digital marketing company is reaching out in the so-called “media noise”. Therefore, targeted advertising can be seen as a natural part of all social media user’s everyday life. The digitization has resulted in people being increasingly monitored online where companies and advertising agencies are using their users’ digital footprints to create targeted advertising in order to maximize their revenue. Targeted advertising is a well-studied subject, however there are less studies with a focus on comparing two generations of people
and their attitudes toward this phenomenon with integrity as a perspective. This inspired us to explore how youth and seniors relate to personalized advertising with integrity as a perspective, which is the purpose of this study.

This study will compare a younger and a senior generation’s attitude toward targeted advertising with integrity as a perspective. Our method involved conducting fourteen semistructured interviews with seven respondents in the younger group (ages 15–25), and seven respondents in the older group (ages 60–75). To achieve the purpose of this study we have asked the following questions: 1) Which are the motives for youths and seniors to use social media? 2) Which attitudes do youths and seniors have towards targeted advertising on social media? 3) How do youths and seniors experience advertising on social media from a
perspective of personal integrity?

The theoretical frameworks of this study consists of Uses and Gratifications, Communication Privacy Management Theory and Model of Attitudes toward Web Advertising. As a complement, earlier studies about motives to social media consumption and attitudes towards
advertising in social media and digital integrity were also used.

Our results showed that the youths and seniors have different motives for their social media use. The most central motive is interpersonal utility, in other words having social interactions with friends and family, also to satisfy the need to stay up to date with trends and other
people’s lives. Another motive is the ability to be informed of social events, happenings and other interests. These were all found across both generations, unlike entertainment and passing the time which were unique to the younger generation.

The senior group had a stronger negative attitude towards targeted advertising whereas the younger group preferred it over “general advertising”. To a greater extent, the older generation actively tries to distance themselves from targeted advertising by actively blocking
the advertisements, while the younger generation are instead mostly unbothered or in some cases even welcome the targeted advertising.

For the younger group there is an ambivalence in attitudes towards integrity and personal information being used, being positive to targeted advertising while having a negative attitude towards the collection of personal data. Compared to the senior group which have a uniform negative attitude towards targeted advertising and the collection and usage of personal data.

Executive summary
The purpose of this thesis is to examine if there is a difference in the way Swedish news media reports about refugees depending on their nationality. The purpose of this is to examine if popular orientalist
stereotypes and ideas can be found in news articles that are presented as objective. In the paper, two recent waves of refugees coming Sweden are compared; articles about refugees from Ukraine in Sweden from 2022 are compared to articles about Middle Eastern refugees in Sweden from 2015. In order to compare these, a quantitative content analysis was made of 325 articles.

The thesis is based partly on the orientalism theory by Edward Said. In this theory, it is said that the western world has created its own idea of the Middle East which continuously exotifies och dehumanizes middle eastern people. It is also based on framing theory, specifically Druckmans’ idea of framing theory, in which framing is parted into equivalency framing (what way you choose to frame an issue) and emphasis framing (what matter of an issue you choose to emphasize). For this thesis, articles were coded for both emphasis framing and equivalency framing to compare if the Middle East and Ukrainian refugees were framed differently by news media. For equivalency framing, articles could vary from positive, neutral, negative or both. For emphasis framing, a number of themes were chosen, for which each article was coded depending on if it contained the theme or not. These
themes were economy, culture, national safety, crime, integration, distribution, labor market integration, humanitarian, victimization, and other emphasis. With this, the thesis seeks to quantitatively explore if there is a correlation between media framing of refugees and the nationality of said refugees, and if so is the case also contribute to understanding what this correlation may be.

The results show that there is no significant correlation between types of equivalency framing and the nationality of the refugee. That means that neither Ukraine nor the Middle East are systematically portrayed more positively or negatively than the other in Swedish news media. Concerning emphasis framing, the results show that articles about Ukraine usually are around the themes of humanitarian actions, victimization and distribution, while articles about the Middle East are usually about distribution, victimization and integration. All and all, however, the results show no significant correlation between the refugees nationality and the theme of the article, except for two themes. Distribution was significantly more common for articles about the Middle East, while articles about humanitarian action was significantly more important for articles about Ukraine. Concerning a
combination of emphasis and equivalency framing, the results showed no significant correlation. This, however, may be a methodological issue. The amount of analyzed articles is insufficient for an analysis of that size, which made it hard to find sufficient correlations. Because of this, the entirety of the results of this thesis should be generalized mindfully.

Executive summary
The political strategic communication that involves mapping the opponent’s weaknesses and aiming criticism towards the opponent can be found far back in time. How this criticism has been applied is
something that has varied, but the phenomenon is often referred to as negative campaigning. Negative campaigning is a well studied concept in the US, but despite the fact that the phenomenon also exists in Sweden, it is not yet as researched. Further, political communication via social media platforms, such as Instagram, have become more common throughout the past decade. Despite this, there is a lack of research on political communication on Instagram, including the use of negative campaigning.

Personal attacks have previously been considered to rarely occur during Swedish election campaigns. At the same time, previous research has been able to see an increased affective polarization among voters in Sweden. This gives reason to believe that personal attacks in election campaigns could occur to a greater degree than it previously did. Thus, in addition to researching the extent of negative campaigning in Sweden, it also becomes relevant to examine whether negative campaigns are directed at individual political actors or whether the focus is on political issues.

With a background in previous research, the purpose of this study was to examine and map out the scope and framing of negative campaigning on the parliamentary parties’ Instagram accounts during
the Swedish election campaign in 2022. The time period for the data extends from August 14th, four weeks before the election, to September 11th, the day of the election.

The collected data during the time period includes a total of 590 posts, published by Swedish political parties’ Instagram accounts. Results show that 27 percent of the posts were negative, while 73 percent
of the posts were not negative. Of the 158 posts that were negative, 25 percent were directed at a person, while 87 percent were directed at politics, a post could contain criticism of both a person and politics within the same post. The result also showed that the opposition tends to make more use of negative campaigns than the government. The opposition also tends to use criticism directed at individuals to a greater extent than the government.

Executive summary
Klarna is a Swedish fintech company founded in 2005 by three students at the Stockholm School of Economics. The company’s aim was to make it safer and easier for people to shop online. Today, Klarna’s overall goal is still to make online payments simple, secure and flexible. Among other things, you can choose to pay immediately, pay later or split the
payment monthly. Klarnas head of marketing, David Sandström believes that Klarna has to break norms within the bank and finance industry in order to stand out and be listened to. Hence, Klarnas marketing communication is characterized by controversial approaches. The
company is very successful and has been repeatedly praised for its innovative and conscious marketing communication. They have been talked about for their attention-grabbing collaborations with, among other things, famous gangster rappers, as well as their youthful
attitude. At the same time, Klarna has been in trouble several times due to their controversial communication. The company has multiple commercials that can be seen as ethically problematic, which is why we want to examine their communication and the factors that have
contributed to the attention the company has been getting. Despite Klarna’s risky communication, the company has a good reputation among the Swedish population. This makes it even more interesting to study and get a deeper understanding of how Klarna works with communication in order to position their brand.

This study aims to analyze the strategies behind Klarna’s commercials in order to understand how Klarna has positioned its brand based on product exposure and brand-building marketing, as well as what image they create of themselves through their celebrity collaborations. To fulfill the aim of the study we made a rhetorical analysis with semiotics as a tool. We analyzed four of Klarna’s commercials, to see how a bank can position itself. The analysis extracted important parts of the communication that gained understanding of how Klarna has positioned their brand and strengthened their argumentation by using pathos and celebrities as ethos. By analyzing how they communicate, we gained a deeper understanding of how the small details and
elements can serve a greater purpose, as well as how these attributes contribute to a feeling around Klarna’s services.

The results show that Klarna positions its brand by creating strong and unique feelings and associations around its services and its brand. By collaborating with two celebrities with criminal backgrounds, Klarna position its brand as a rebellious. The commercials reflect unexpected elements, small and large symbols that aim to allude to the emotions of the target audience. This is partly done with the help of strong colors, as well as unique details that together create a strong and unique character for the Klarna brand.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In the early 2000s, the rise of the influencer industry began. An influencer refers to a person with influence and the ability to influence their audience to consume certain products or perform a specific action. The concept of the influencer has enabled individualized marketing where the personal brand includes how ordinary people can conduct profitable activity on their social media channels. These influencers can be found on all different platforms. One of the most popular ones today being YouTube, a platform where individuals can publish their own videos. A popular genre of content are vlogs, meaning blogs in video format. A specific type of vlogs are named family vlogs, where the main content showcases families filming their everyday activities and where the children are frequently exposed. The family vloggers with a large following can also greatly capitalize on the content they publish on YouTube, where exposure of the children is the biggest source of income.

The phenomenon of parents sharing information about their children online and letting them participate in commercial settings has created a major national debate in Sweden about topics regarding ethical and privacy concerns. In 2021, France became the first country to introduce
a law regulating children’s involvement in paid collaborations on their parents’ social media accounts. This only added another depth to the ongoing debate. The topic has also led to research investigating the reasons and motives behind parents including their children in their
social media. Some argue that the motive lies in showcasing parenthood to shape a representation of themselves and build their personal brand on social media. To gain a deeper knowledge about this phenomenon, the aim of this study has been to examine the ways in
which the children are being used in these situations on the social media platform YouTube and how their presence contributes to the emergence of the parent’s self-presentation. The parents investigated are in particular influencers known as family vloggers. The research was
conducted using a qualitative method with a content analysis focusing on two familyvlogger’s published videos with paid collaborations including the children on YouTube.

The theoretical lens of Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective was then used to analyze the findings from the content analysis and to describe how the parent’s self-presentation was created based on the social interaction with the child, the environmental setting and the
personal content shared in the video.

The main results of this study show that the different ages of the children influence how the involvement takes place and fulfills different functions through the verbal and visual communication. Based on the children’s awareness of the situation and ability to communicate verbally, they contribute in different ways to the parents self-presentation. The involvement of the younger child contributes to a positive image of the parent in comparison to the older children where their presence does not contribute as successfully to the impression management of the parent. It also appears that the content presented alludes to authenticity and the portrayal of everyday life, despite its commercial nature.

Executive summary
Over the past few decades, the digital landscape has grown and become increasingly common in our everyday lives. Not least to publish, inspire and update others about our life on social media. And for some, life also includes the role of being a mother, perhaps one who is proud to show off their children on social media. Up to now, France is the only country in the world to have enacted a law to control parents who expose their children to online platforms for financial purposes, which has become a debate all over the world. But the question is – who is then responsible for what content is being published? Who decides what kind of content is morally right or wrong?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude of mothers and how they respond to media content and brands that expose children in their advertisements on Instagram. As we intend to achieve an understanding of how mothers’ morals and ethics stand in relation to the phenomenon of Sharenting and consumption. To fulfill the purpose of this study, the empirical data consisted of seven respondents who required to live in Gothenburg, have at least one child under the age of 18, and are daily users of the media platform Instagram. And through
semi-structured interviews with our respondents, we have obtained the empirical data which we later analyzed. The study is also based on the following four theories; Media ethics, Parasocial relations, Sharenting and the ABC model.

In order to seek the purpose of this study, we stated three questions that guided us throughout
this whole process. The questions we aimed to reach are the following:

● How do the respondents interact with/respond to the phenomenon of Sharenting on the media platform Instagram?
● How do the respondents interact with media content where children are exposed in an advertising context on Instagram?
● What is the respondents attitude towards the brands that publish media content on Instagram where children are exposed?

Based on the results we found that mothers’ attitude, and how they relate to children who are exposed in the context of advertising on Instagram, is a twofold problem when it comes to their media ethics. There is a gray area around their attitude and how they relate to advertising contexts on Instagram. However, the respondents are generally positive about their own exposure of their child or children, hence their mother’s role was significant in their media content. Still, they show an increasingly negative attitude towards mother influencers who exposed their children on the media platform.

Respondents highlighted the risks that come with exposing children to Instagram, but that an interaction and recognition with their media content had a significant role in their attitude and how they relate to the media platform’s posts. Finally, we gained an understanding of how
media content can be an explanatory factor as to whether the respondents motivate their consumption. The result shows that Instagram stretches the morals of the respondents regarding what is right or wrong. For example, privacy online is not as ”important” as offline, as the platform through ongoing small adjustments – such as algorithms and cookies – can normalize the behavior of our respondents. In other words, it is difficult to examine children’s
participation in social media such as Instagram based on only the research field that includes communication, without taking into account both the legal, psychological and philosophical aspects that challenge the respondents’ way of thinking.

Executive summary
Social media has become a huge part of everyday life. With it, editing and manipulation of images to post online has increased. Several studies have proven that retouched images can have a great negative impact on people’s self image and mental health. Noticeable in previous
research is the fact that mainly teenage girls have a drive to pursue a slim body. The ones who are already insecure about themselves, are also more receptive to content with a negative impact.

What’s different with social media and the digital era is the possibility for everyone to be the message sender, or the message receiver. Meaning, everyone can target or be targeted with content about body ideals that can affect people differently. Body activism online usually
arises through a response to an event or happening. The past years, many movements have been given focus on Instagram through hashtags. The hashtag #Instagramvsreality came from a growing trend on social media to counteract the negative effects that comes with filters and editing. Posts containing the hashtag are meant to expose two sides of the same person — one from an idealized portrayal and the other from a more natural one.

The purpose of this study is to analyze images on Instagram published under the hashtag #Instagramvsreality based on how different broadcasters use the hashtag for body activism. Our aim is to examine whether the content associated with the hashtag differs depending on
the sender’s body size. To do so, we’ve carried out a semiotic image analysis inspired by Ronald Barthes’ theory on semiotics. He believes that our way of seeing the world is a matter of our history and experience, and the perspectives are divided into denotation; what we see, and connotation; how we interpret what we see. This was the reason for us beginning to speculate if the posted content online could differ, since the interpretation of ”reality” regarding the hashtag can differ depending on who we are.

Non normative bodies have shown to be exposed in images containing the hashtag. Although, not in a near amount the same as the people with normative bodies. The interpretation of ”reality” also differs between the different body types. Whilst non normative women try to
really show the reality of not posing, not touching up the makeup or fixing their posture, normative women try to ”act ugly” or highlight (non existing) fat on their stomach. Doesn’t that contradict what the hashtag really stands for? In all fairness, yes. A larger variation of body sizes need to be exposed on Instagram in order to reduce the body ideal that society has created. While different body positivity movements have made significant progress in recent years, this study is clear evidence that we still have a long way to go before body positivity truly makes a difference for all types of bodies.

Executive summary
Today Swedish youth are increasingly spending more time on social media meanwhile the degree of book reading is decreasing. This development has led to negative consequences like inferior performance amongst Swedish students. Campaigns to promote reading have been put to action by educational institutions and other authorities without much success. Youth seem to connote book reading with schoolwork and it is seen as an activity rewarded by adults. It is
therefore possible that campaigns created by youth themselves might be more effective, and a phenomenon that can be seen as such a campaign is BookTok.

BookTok is a digital community centered around books and book reading that sprung to life on the social media TikTok in the year of 2020. TikTok has grown continuously since its launch in 2018 and it can for sure be said to play an important role in today’s media landscape. The platform provides users with the opportunity to record, edit, share and consume short videos, and the content that reaches the user is heavily ruled by algorithms. The content mainly reaches the user through the platforms For You Page (FYP) which consists of an endless flow of personalized videos. When it comes to Swedish TikTok users
the main group are adolescents and young adults born in the decade of 2000.

Reading is of great importance for adolescents’ cognitive developments and it can also be seen as enriching through a cultural perspective. We therefore believe that it is of importance to research new ways through which book reading can be promoted amongst adolescents.
Further, it is of high relevance for media- and communication studies to research new media technology and its effects on users’ consumption and habits, as well as how new media can replace others.

Earlier research about BookTok and digital book-communities in general state that an important aspect of the phenomenon is its social functions, and BookTok can be seen as a social venue where individuals interact through a shared interest. Earlier research also emphasized that individuals, through participation in the BookTok-community, can create their own BookTok-identities. We feel that the existing research lacks a deeper analysis of how BookTok functions as a breeding ground for a sense of community and creation of the identity amongst adolescents. Furthermore, none of the studies were performed in a Swedish or even European context. The aim of this study is therefore to research BookTok through a Swedish context in order to understand how it, as a community, contributes to promote and portray book reading as attractive among Swedish youth. Our hope is that the study will help broaden the knowledge about digital communities mediated through social media, and the following research questions were created based on the purpose of the study: (1) Which type of content do Swedish BookTokers post?, (2) How does content posted by Swedish BookTokers portray book reading as attractive?, (3) How do the participants present themselves as BookTokers?, (4) How is the BookTok-community constructed and maintained?

Two theories were applied in order to answer the third and fourth research question: Performativity Theory and Social Worlds. The use of performativity theory was inspired by Dezuanni et al. (2021) who applies its framework in their research of digital book-communities. Dezuanni et al. (2021) suggests that performative actions constitute reader
identities and that individuals can position themselves through participation and sharing of content. Accordingly, Performativity Theory is applied in order to help us answer how users portray themselves as BookTokers. Social Worlds, on the other hand, is instead applied in
order to help us identify the actions that construct and maintain the community. The theory origins from Shibutani (1986) who describes that communities in modern society stem from shared interests rather than a shared geographic location, and these social worlds are
constituted by human relations and communicative actions.

Through the approach of a qualitative content analysis we are able to research and understand the content of a media text. We therefore chose to apply the method of thematic analysis, a flexible and adaptable qualitative method that is neither attached to a specific design nor
theory, and that can contribute with detailed and rich descriptions through identification and analysis of patterns and themes. The study was divided into two parts, a general thematization and an in-depth analysis of chosen aspects. A guide for the study’s research process and a schedule for analysis was created in order to ensure that all writers based their interpretations on the same conditions. The general thematization was performed through an analysis of 120 videos collected from TikTok under the hashtag #swedishbooktok. After defining common themes in the content produced by Swedish BookTokers a closer analysis of how the content under each theme portrays book reading as attractive was performed. Lastly, the in-depth
analysis of two chosen themes was performed with the help of the theoretical framework and the schedule for analysis.

Five common and recurrent themes were found through the general thematization: recommendations, reading experiences, inviting content, textual content and dramatized content. The two most common themes were found to be recommendations and reading experiences. Content categorized as recommendations is made up of book recommendations
mediated through different formats like reviews and hauls. Content categorized as reading experiences is made up of portrayals of experiences related to books and reading, often communicated with a comical touch. Through analyzing how the content under each theme
contributes to portray book reading as attractive it became clear that a majority of the creators put in a lot of work when it comes to the aesthetic design of the content. The videos are consequently produced, often follow a distinct structure and the implementation of visual
elements like text, digital stickers and props create an aesthetically satisfying expression.

Recommendations and reading experiences were chosen to be researched further in the second part of the study, the in-depth analysis. The results of this analysis show a number of shared performative actions through which Swedish users present themselves as BookTokers. Physical books are shown, hashtags that include the word BookTok are used and a love for reading is expressed. Hashtags were also shown to play an important role for the community’s
existence, since it is through them that participants are able to find each other. We also found a number of factors that construct and maintain the BookTok-community, for example content created by youth, appreciation of young adult literature, relatable content and appreciation of books’ physical form.

The in-depth analysis allowed us to identify different BookTok identities, amongst them the feminine BookToker who positions themselves as feminine through including typically feminine features in their content. We also observed a strong majority of female participation,
which might stem from the fact that Swedish girls read more than boys in general. We also found that the feminine BookToker often discusses feelings a specific book might produce and how books have made an impact on their emotional life, which goes in line with earlier
research that indicates that many adolescents mainly connect with books through emotional response. Further we believe that BookTok promotes book reading as attractive in a more effective way than campaigns created by adults and institutions since it is created by youth
themselves and mediated in ways familiar to individuals that have grown up with social media. The community also works as a social venue where book reading is applied in a larger context. In line with earlier research we found that BookTok provide youth the opportunity to engage in book reading in ways that both include development of the identity and social interaction.

BookTok and digital book-communities in general are still relatively unexplored in the European context, which means that further research is required in order to make more general statements. To increase the understanding of adolescents’ motives for participation in digital book-communities and book reading in general further research should focus on participants’ and recipients’ own experiences and perceptions of the BookTok-community. Another aspect we consider to be of interest to investigate further is that a strong majority of the community´s participants are women, this in order to gain more knowledge about how to increase the rate of book reading amongst young men. But also to research further how the community might work as a safe space for young women.

Executive summary
Different media outlets have a big role in shaping our perception of reality, perhaps even more so for children. They have fewer reference points with real life than us adult, what they see in various channels is more or less all they know of the outside world. Therefore, when it
comes to equality between the sexes and other differences – such as class, sexuality, and ethnicity – media can be considered to play an important part in driving equality forward, but also potentially slowing it down.

The purpose of this study is to examine representation in the content on the digital platform Youtube consumed by children aged 9 to 12 in Sweden. Three popular Swedish Youtube channels in the age group have been selected, and one video from each channel have been
analysed using the ethnographic content analysis (ECA) according to Altheide and Schneider (2013). The study includes theories of representation, gender, and intersectionality, and is focused on different visible norms and stereotypes in the content, both reinforced and opposed. The study ends with a discussion of what meaning making processes that possibly could occur for children consuming these particular Youtube channels.

The questions that this study set out to answer are who is portrayed in the videos, how much space are they allowed, how are they portrayed in regard to different norms and stereotypes correlated to gender and ethnicity, and lastly what relationships are observed between the
individuals in the videos and what sort of power dynamics exist within these relations?

The results show that the content consist mainly of white people and that the majority of all portrayed individuals are men. This goes in line with the current statistical representation in
traditional media as well. It is also more common with upholding of various norms than opposing them, and some stereotypes can be seen as prominent. The hierarchy which places the man before the woman can also be considered salient, this being visible in discourse and
areas of responsibility. Overall, the content can be seen as reproducing a certain way of being and living, and therefor create a perception of right and wrong, for both women and men.