The purpose of the research is to examine (a) the age differences in news media usage and, (b) the effects of using different media for political news on different political participation and, (c) whether the political interest plays as a mediator between different media for political news usage on different forms of political participation.
Theory: Political Participation Theory, Users and gratification Theory, Mobilization Theory
Method: Multiple regression analysis, Simply mediation analysis
Result: The findings show that 1) in Australia, both institutionalized and non-institutionalized forms of political participation have increased over time, and the non-institutionalized forms of political participation increased even more. 2) Young citizens use the internet for political news more often than older citizens and on the contrary, old citizens are more likely to use traditional media for political news than younger citizens. Furthermore, the results of multiple regression analyses indicate that 3) using traditional media and the internet for poetical news have positive effects on both institutionalized and non-institutionalized forms of political participation. Besides, the study finds that using traditional media for political news is a stronger predictor for institutionalized forms of political participation compared to the non-institutionalized forms of political participation. And a similar pattern is found in the effects of using the internet for political news on political participation. Moreover, the study also shows that using media for political news increases citizens’ political interest, in other words, 4) political interest mediates the relationship between different news media usage and political participation.

Purpose: To describe and explore the portrayal of strikes in Swedish news media
Theory: Frames, the concept of frame sponsorship and theories on source access were used as an
interpretive framework in analysis of the findings.
Method: Quantitative content analysis, inductive-clustering approach to derive frames from news
content.
Result: Swedish news coverage is dominated by four frames, two emphasizing the role of one
antagonist, one emphasisizing dialogue and one threats to the economy. Source use and
framing of strikes differs considerably from strike to strike.

The CNN and Fox news articles conveyed to us multiple aspects of the situation in Syria. Through the analysis of the media published articles, the magnitude of the Syrian people suffering is evident to be substantial. The media framed many interacting local, regional and international factors that displayed to us the complexity of the conflict. Through this media content analysis, one can realize how the media reported and framed the political communications and interactions between these factors which could infer what formed the main characteristics of the early US foreign policy in the Syrian unrest. Both Fox News and CNN focused on the likelihood of early American military intervention, the American diplomatic fight against Russia in the United Nations, the Republican opposition of the Democratic government policies, and the fear of opposition and radical extremists arming by the west. CNN and Fox News had multiple similarities and differences in reflecting specific parts of the Syrian conflict. By media focusing on the aforementioned areas of the conflict, this study concludes that the two American media sources framed a horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria and a reluctant and probably ineffective early American policy then.

Cultivation effects in a fragmented media environment
Our media environment has changed rapidly since the cultivation theory was proposed by Gerbner in the late ’60s. The amount of news media content has increased to an unprecedented level and the surge of alternative media sites has given news media consumers the option to selectively expose themselves to news that conveys a version of reality which is aligned with their own perceptions. This study aims to examine whether the cultivation theory, as it is currently defined, is still relevant in today’s fragmented media landscape or if it should be redefined to better capture selective reinforcing cultivation effects. This will be done by theoretically synthesising the cultivation theory with the reinforcement spirals model. To address these questions empirically, this study relies on a combination of a quantitative media content analysis (N=904) matched with longitudinal panel survey data (N=1508). Thereby, content differences in violent crimes news reporting can be linked to public perceptions about the development of violent crimes in society. The findings from the content analysis suggest that there are significant differences between violent crimes news content in alternative media and in traditional media. The results from the cross-lagged panel analyses suggest that reinforcing cultivation effects only occur for alternative media use. The theoretical implication of this is that it is no longer reasonable to assume that significant cultivation effects will occur on the large mass. Instead, reinforcing cultivation processes occur on smaller segments of the population where media selectivity is the driving force. Cultivation theory should, thus, be redefined to include the selectivity aspect of media consumption. To synthesise cultivation
theory with the reinforcement spirals model is, as shown in this study, one way of doing this but an even better way would be to develop the original theory to include the aspect of selectivity and exclude the idea of mainstreaming.

This research was inspired by two courageous Finnish women, journalist Jessikka Aro and PhD Saara Jantunen, who shined a light on Russian hostile behaviour on the Internet and started discussions about information operations nationally and
internationally all over the world. Due to personally becoming a target of aggressive
information campaigns, Jessikka Aro had to move abroad from her home as the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service suggested there is nothing to be done to counter the attacks or safeguard her from getting harassed online and ”offline”.
The following paper will take a closer look on Finland and its governmental work towards making the cyber domain securer and safeguarding Finnish society from the potential threat looming in the Internet and social media platforms. Information
operations in the cyber domain are gaining saliency in the national security conversations. The governments and other actors in the civil society are rushing to find policies which would mitigate the harm information operations are causing in elections, healthy public debates and widely in the democracy as we know it. Finland is known for its technologically savvy industries and the society is highly dependent on technological solutions in all aspects of the nation to work efficiently. The Finnish society, including the political leaders, are broadly integrated in social media and therefore potential subjects of information operations.
The thesis argues, that the obstructions in the cyber domain and information operations have caused security environment to expand from the traditional considerations of the securitisation of military and the state. Rather, the cyber security has expanded similarly like other global issues in multiple fronts: climate change, migration, polarisation and
trade. Cyber space offers a domain for the whole global world, where there are basically no boundaries, no governments, no norms of behaviour and in addition, no need for exposing users own identity. The case study of Finland will analyse six governmental texts from the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry for Foreign Affairs from the time period of 2012 and 2020. The years chosen are argued to reflect a change in the Finnish threat environment and policies which have potentially stemmed from the Crimean annexation in 2014. In 2014, Finland and other European countries saw how different hybrid tactics, including information operations, can lead to military conflict which still to this day in 2021, is present in Eastern Ukraine.
The thesis is exploratory in its nature, due to the lack of previous studies which explore the Finnish security environment and policies regarding information operations. The results are argued to reflect and predict a wider change in the international considerations of the threats in the cyber environment and a bigger wave of policies
which are meant to tackle and counter information operations globally. Finland has been considered as a front runner in technology as well as in cyber security matters, which indicates that Finland could be one of the countries driving the change and
demand more governing in the cyber environment. Finland poses an interesting case to study, since it might be one of the countries initiating broader scales of international norms in cyber space and policies for the future regarding cyber environment, ICT, artificial intelligence, data security and beyond.

While most of the world quickly came to terms with covering their noses and mouths in crowded places, people in Sweden have mostly gone without, riding buses and metros, shopping for groceries, and going to school maskless, with only a few rare souls have covered up (Novus, 2021). Officials from the Swedish Public Health Authority (PHA) have repeatedly argued that masks are not effective enough at limiting the spread of the virus to warrant mass use, insisting it is more important to respect social distancing and handwashing recommendations. The current field of sensemaking research related to crises has often left out that the fact that meaning-making is a process embedded in the context of individuals’ social lives (Sandberg & Tsoukas, 2015). Previous research on risk and crisis communication has shown that different social, political, cultural, and economic conditions have created different risk cultures in which expectations about the responsibilities of society and individuals vary when a crisis occurs (Corina et al., 2016).
By revisiting core assumptions related to Sensemaking and Risk Cultural perspectives, the purpose of this thesis was to analyse how people, depending on their ethnic background and citizenship, have made sense of facemasks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In essence, this thesis addressed people’s collective experiences, expectations, and attitudes to the broader meanings of facemask wearing beyond (just) preventing the spread of infection. This present thesis applied a social constructionist interpretive approach and used qualitative semi-structured focus group interviews to collect empirical material. The respondents were recruited using convenience sampling and were categorized into three groups based on (a) being born in Sweden with Swedish-born parents, (b) being born in Sweden or abroad with foreign-born parents, and (c) being born abroad, residing in Sweden, and holding citizenship other than Swedish. In total, five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted, involving altogether 29 respondents.
The main results of this present thesis found that personal practices of wearing (or not wearing) facemasks are influenced by (1) the initial responses of the respondents first noticing’s of facemasks in ”in the outside world,” (2) the extent to which the respondents relied on information on masks provided from public authorities, (3) meaning-making outcomes of public spaces, and on perceived notions of social responsibilities and, and peer pressure, and (4) different kinds of risk-cultural norm and values.
Based on the previous research on risk cultures and Corina et al.’s (2016) typology, the empirical material distinguished two risk cultural divisions among the respondents. The first risk culture found, which was especially prominent among the respondents with foreign backgrounds (b) and citizenship in other countries (c), was the state-oriented risk culture. The second risk culture, most prominent among respondents with Swedish background (a), was characterized as a convergence between state-oriented and individualistic risk cultures. The dividing line between the two risk cultures was, i.e., the state-oriented risk culture and the ”state-individualistic” risk culture, the cultural anticipations and responsibilities directed towards the Swedish authorities. More concretely, the state-oriented risk culture demanded that the state, by almost all means, should protect its citizens from hazardous situations and risks. However, it may involve certain limitations of individual freedoms and rights. On the other hand, the state-individualistic risk culture argued that the state is responsible for leading, mitigating crises, and providing survival capabilities but should simultaneously also maintain/guarantee certain individual rights and freedoms. These empirical findings raise questions on whether Sweden theoretically should remain classified as state-oriented risk culture, an issue which future research should address more deeply.

The rally effect arises at times of international crisis affecting the confidence of the prime minister. During the pandemic, the planet has faced a health crisis that each country has managed with different measures. This research aims to study the duration of the rally effect in the case of Spain, one of the most affected countries and with the worst management according to some organizations. In addition, the relationship between the measures that the Spanish government has taken to fight the coronavirus with the trust of the public in the president of the government will be studied. The results show the existence of the rally effect after the emergence of the pandemic, and a positive relationship of confidence in two of the three states of alarm announced by the government.

The thesis investigates to what extent corporations engage with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement on Twitter. The purpose is to facilitate a better understanding of corporate communication on social media in general, and around social movements in particular. This aim is approached through a textual analysis of 20 corporation’s communicative practices around the BLM movement on Twitter. In more detail, each corporate utterance is subjected to an operationalization of Kent and Taylor’s five components of engagement to investigate to what extent corporations engage with the BLM movement on Twitter. This method is supplemented by the normative theoretical framework of dialogue theory which accentuates a public-centered approach to corporate communication.
The investigation shows that corporations have primarily engaged with the BLM movement to an extent to which they demonstrate positive regard for the Black community’s input, experiences, and needs, and to an extent to which they communicate specific actions such as donations and policy change that benefit the Black community and the BLM movement. Corporations have generally neither engaged with the BLM movement to an extent to which they communicate whether they have engaged in an effort to understand the socio-cultural circumstances related to the BLM movement before communicating around it on Twitter, nor to an extent to which they demonstrate openness towards public feedback on ways to improve their conduct with regard to the Black community and the BLM movement.
The findings demonstrate that corporations increasingly disregard traditional norms such as control and persuasion within their communicative practices on social media. Instead, there are signs of a development towards communicative norms such as empathy, listening and mutuality. Hence, the thesis argues that corporations have not entirely adapted a public-centered approach to communication on social media, but that there are signs of a gradual development towards said direction.

Misinformation has always existed, though research suggests that their prevalence has increased in recent years in different forms (post-truth and alternative facts, for instance). Experts claim that it is now a global phenomenon regardless of their financial condition or advanced technology. Given this, it is no surprise that media and communication scholars have devoted increasing attention to investigating questions such as who the creators of misinformation are, how misinformation is disseminated, why misinformation is created and propagated, and which media platforms are used to disseminate misinformation. However, the recent research about misinformation is focused mainly on the Western perspectives. We know a little from underdeveloped countries’ context, especially where the freedom of expression is in poor condition, the state of democracy follows a backsliding trend. One such country is Bangladesh. Against this background, this study investigates patterns of misinformation in both social and mainstream media in the country. Previous studies have been reviewed to understand the theoretical perspectives on misinformation, and theories such as motivated partisan reasoning, human decision-making process, online echo chambers, and filter bubbles have been applied. The study has been conducted mainly a descriptive analysis based on the fact check reports done by BD FactCheck during 2020. The study also investigated how people interact with political and non-political issues such as health and medicare, law, crime, and education. The results suggest that the politicians, both mainstream and social media are the active actors in disseminating misinformation. Also, there is significant amount of misinformation related to political issues.

The use of new information- and communication technologies, and social media platforms in particular, has rapidly increased from 2010-2012, when social media ‘boomed’ in Sweden. Thereafter, these platforms have become integrated in all aspects of everyday life – in the social as well as the functional, e.g. communicating with friends or performing tasks at work. Yet, some people choose not to participate in the online community, for various reasons (political standpoints, life-style choices, et cetera). These are, in this thesis, referred to as ‘digital disconnecters’. Previous research on digital disconnection has mostly dealt with motivations to disconnect, or the consequences of disconnecting (e.g. health implications or social implications), but it is a rather small field as of today, and not much research has dealt with the discourse surrounding disconnection, in contrary to ‘constant connection’. The purpose of this thesis is to examine media representations of digital disconnection, as portrayed in Swedish legacy news media (Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Expressen), and furthermore to describe how digital disconnection is ‘talked and written about’ in Sweden during 2010-2012, when social media boomed, and 2018-2020, when social media platforms – and Facebook in particular – have received a fair amount of criticism from experts and Silicon Valley ‘insiders’. The theories used to explain the results are ‘media representations’, ‘media discourse’ and ‘political consumerism’, and a critical discourse analysis has been undertaken to examine and describe the phenomenon. The study moreover showed that digital disconnection is mostly represented as healthy and authentic, while constant connection is represented as harmful (to relationships and one’s mental health) and addictive. Those who disconnect are framed as ‘enlightened’ and firm in their values, e.g. by boycotting Facebook for political reasons. However, no clear difference could be seen between the two time periods (2010-2012 and 2018-2020).