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- Arnesson, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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Behind-the-scenes of the parliament : influencer genres and political authenticity on Swedish politicians’ youtube channels
- 2024
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Ingår i: Convergence. The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. - : Sage Publications. - 1354-8565 .- 1748-7382.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Affordances and aesthetics of digital media platforms have given politicians new ways to connect with potential voters and actively manage their own self-image. Digital political communication is also often influenced by current trends in PR or commercial marketing; for example, the tools and tactics of social media influencers. Based on qualitative case studies of YouTube channels belonging to two Swedish party leaders, this article examines the adaptation of influencer practices in the politicians’ online presence, and what impact it has on the presentation of themselves and their politics. It analyses how different genres of beauty and lifestyle influencers are embraced and adapted to a political context, as well as the ways in which specific audio-visual elements are used to construct the mediated performance of political authenticity, giving viewers ‘behind-the-scenes’ access to the politicians’ personal as well as professional life. The analysis shows how the adaption of videos in confessional genres such as story time, Q&A, and vlog, which feature personal expressions of emotions and experiences, is illustrative of an increased personalisation of political communication, where the dimension if intimacy is emphasised.
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| 3. |
- Arnesson, Johanna
(författare)
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‘Endorsing a dictatorship and getting paid for it’ : Discursive struggles over intimacy and authenticity in the politicisation of influencer collaborations
- 2024
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Ingår i: New Media and Society. - : Sage Publications. - 1461-4448 .- 1461-7315. ; 26:3, s. 1467-1483
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Politically motivated criticism of influencer collaborations with certain brands or organisations is a recurring feature on social media today. This article is based on a case study of followers’ reactions to collaborations between two popular Swedish influencers and Visit Dubai, the governmental tourism agency of the United Arab Emirates. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, the article takes a sociocultural approach to influencer marketing and examines how and why politicisation happens in comments to sponsored posts. The analysis focuses on discursive struggles over the construction of political issues and the role of influencers, as well as expressions of perceived interconnectedness and authenticity work among followers. It offers a qualitative understanding of audience perceptions of influencers’ political power and responsibilities, and argues that this is connected to how the role of influencers is constructed – as a friend or as promotional professional.
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| 4. |
- Arnesson, Johanna, 1980
(författare)
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FASHIONABLE POLITICS The discursive construction of ethical consumerism in corporate communications, news media, and social media
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates the discursive construction of ethical consumerism – a notion that encompasses both ‘conscious’ consumption choices and responsible’ corporate activities – in mediated discourses about fashion and clothing consumption in Sweden. Drawing on the discourse-historical approach within critical discourse analysis, the study provides an empirical examination of discursive elements in corporate communications, newspapers, and social media, which construct the market as the best solution to social injustice and climate change. The analysis focuses on how specific identities or practices are established as ethical, authentic, and legitimate, and investigates both the promises and the limits of discursive ethical consumerism in late capitalism. The thesis shows how corporate and journalistic discourses can be depoliticising, as they focus on consensus and collaboration rather than on conflicts of interest, and on individual responsibility and consumption choices rather than on political policy. However, the convergence of consumption and politics also becomes highly political when these issues are discussed by the audience. The approach places the thesis within a tradition of critical studies of branded politics and the neoliberalisation of contemporary societies, while still taking the reflexive awareness of politically motivated consumers into account.
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| 5. |
- Arnesson, Johanna
(författare)
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Influencers as ideological intermediaries : promotional politics and authenticity labour in influencer collaborations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Media Culture and Society. - : Sage Publications. - 0163-4437 .- 1460-3675. ; 45:3, s. 528-544
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Though politics and promotion have never been completely separate, the convergence between the two spheres is increasingly prominent in today's digital culture. To broaden our understanding of such promotional politics in social media, this paper examines commercial collaborations between four Swedish influencers and two private companies that offer services enabled by specific neoliberal reforms during recent decades, and how they strive to present these services in a way that attracts an affluent but socially conscious middle-class. It argues that the political potential of influencers might not always be as spokespersons for a cause or party, but rather as ‘ideological intermediaries’ who promote a lifestyle to be inspired by, and aspire to. The analysis identifies the discourses that influencers draw on to achieve the promotional and ideological outcomes of commercial collaborations, as well as the authenticity labour that they perform in the texts. Further, the paper analyses how notions of authenticity also impact audiences' interpretation and politicization of the collaborations, in the comment sections to the sponsored blogposts
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| 10. |
- Arnesson, Johanna, 1980
(författare)
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Shopping for Change: Commodifying Practices in Non-profit Fundraising Discourse
- 2014
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Ingår i: ISTR Working Papers Series. ; IX
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Drawing on theories of marketized philanthropy and identity politics, this article strives to explore nonprofit fundraising as a discursive practice, connected to political, economic, and cultural processes of individualization and marketization. Fundraising texts from six Swedish aid organizations are analyzed, using critical discourse analysis, focusing on the representations of donors, and the act of giving. The research shows that fundraising messages are mainly configured around the act of donating as a form of transaction, where the donor buys a commodified version of the idea or efforts of the organization. Through the transaction of symbolical goods the organizations provide a form of participation that is quick and easy, a concrete way of ‘making change’. This suggests that the donation becomes a form of commodity activism which situates the donor in the position of customer, rather than citizen.
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