Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate<\/b><\/p>\n
The contemporary digital platform landscape is marked by an intricate mix of public, semi-public, and private spaces. These spaces vary in terms of visibility, regulation, and audiences, yet they are interconnected through mutual migration dynamics between fringe and mainstream environments. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for comprehending the current deterioration of the debate and the surge in political incivility.\u00a0 Such processes are enhanced by citizens\u2019 participation in online alternative or \u201cfringe\u201d platforms, which have been correlated with disinformation ecosystems, the spread of conspiracy myths and the normalization of populist thinking and political extremism (Schwarzenegger, 2022). Recent literature has shown how there is an interdependent relationship between the rise of alternative online spaces and the growth in far-right forms of extremism (Holt, 2018; Walther & McCoy, 2021), thus stressing a rising concern that \u201csecluded online spaces can function as laboratories that develop extremist talking points that then find entry into the mainstream\u201d (Lewandowsky et al., 2020, p.84). At the same time, these spaces \u201cprovide voices to marginalized and disadvantaged communities\u201d (ibid.), so they can also represent new resources for public debate.<\/span><\/p>\nThis paper lays out the theoretical and methodological foundations of the CORIT research project, funded by the Next Generation EU Program. The project focuses on the development of fringe narratives, groups and patterned actions with the capacity to \u201cintoxicate\u201d the Italian hybrid media system. In more specific terms, we will outline the key conceptual, technical, and ethical considerations in the study of the Italian Telegramsphere. This includes an examination of its influence on mainstream discussion platforms, along with its dynamics that indicate a shift towards fringe platforms and communities.<\/span><\/p>\nSince its inception in 2013, Telegram has positioned itself as an ideal space for individuals seeking privacy and security\u2014an affordance that appeals to those envisioning a free internet and those compelled to utilize such a space as the only secure means of coordination (Urman and Katz 2022). Telegram, in this sense, appears to be an optimal environment for tracking information and contexts where conspiracy narratives tend to thrive (Schulze et al. 2022, Herasimenka et al. 2022). Telegram channels have quickly become popular for alternative news broadcasting (Wijermars 2021), recruiting for extremist groups (Urman & Katz 2022), coordinating alt-right conspiracist groups (Walther and McCoy 2021), and, more broadly, spreading disinformation (Herasimenka et al. 2022). However, what remains unclear and lacks sufficient exploration is the relationship between such fringe spaces and cultures on Telegram and the more visible and mainstream web spaces, as well as legacy media. In other words, it is crucial to comprehend how practices and languages developed in fringe platforms extend beyond them, navigating between upstream and downstream dynamics (Gursky et al. 2022).<\/span><\/p>\nThe paper relies on a scoping review and critical evaluation of sources collected via Scopus and Scholar around the key terms \u201cfringe platform\/social media\/online spaces\u201d and \u201cdeplatforming\u201d. Expanding upon this review, the presentation has two primary objectives. Firstly, it seeks to explore how the academic literature construct the concept of \u201cfringe\u201d platforms, practices, and online groups, aiming to critically analyse how the imperative to characterize potentially dangerous behaviours has to confront with the risk of contributing to the othering of such groups. Secondly, the presentation will delve into the methodological considerations that arise in this field of study, particularly in relation to the examination of \u201cbelow the radar\u201d spaces (Boccia Artieri et al. 2021) and \u201cunethical movements\u201d (T\u00f6rnberg and T\u00f6rnberg 2024).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We participate at VI Convegno Nazionale SISCC \u201cPossiamo ancora capire la societ\u00e0. Comprensione, previsione, critica.\u201d \/ Roma, 20-21 giugno 2024 with the paper: Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":256965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Comprensione, previsione, critica.\u201d \/ Roma, 20-21 giugno 2024 with the paper: Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Countering Online Radicalization and incivility in ITaly: from fringe to mainstream - CORIT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-20T15:05:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-15T15:13:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-15-alle-17.04.20.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Giovanni Boccia Artieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Scritto da\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Giovanni Boccia Artieri\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tempo di lettura stimato\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minuti\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/\",\"name\":\"Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate\/\/SISCC 2024 - Countering Online Radicalization and incivility in ITaly: from fringe to mainstream - CORIT\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-20T15:05:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-15T15:13:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/#\/schema\/person\/7b270f5ea3bbfe5af96dafe56382a606\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/256964-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate\/\/SISCC 2024\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/\",\"name\":\"Countering Online Radicalization and incivility in ITaly: from fringe to mainstream - CORIT\",\"description\":\"Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society \u2014 Trust in democracy is restored through the expansion of active and inclusive citizenship.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/#\/schema\/person\/7b270f5ea3bbfe5af96dafe56382a606\",\"name\":\"Giovanni Boccia Artieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff404d2f67b0c955aaeb33e923f821f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff404d2f67b0c955aaeb33e923f821f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Giovanni Boccia Artieri\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/project.uniurb.it\/corit\/author\/giovanni-bocciaartieri\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate\/\/SISCC 2024 - Countering Online Radicalization and incivility in ITaly: from fringe to mainstream - CORIT","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"it_IT","og_type":"article","og_title":"Incivility at the margins: studying the impact of fringe practices and platforms on the public debate\/\/SISCC 2024 - Countering Online Radicalization and incivility in ITaly: from fringe to mainstream - CORIT","og_description":" We participate at VI Convegno Nazionale SISCC \u201cPossiamo ancora capire la societ\u00e0. 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