Adversarial Influences: Erosion of Societal Norms and Institutions from Influences in Digital and social Media
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/112444
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Item type: Item , The Architects of Narrative Evolution: Actor Interventions Across the SAGES Framework in Information Campaigns(2026-01-06) Ng, Lynnette Hui Xian; Zeng, Yukai; Ponmani, MuthiahNarratives in digital spaces are not merely organic phenomena—they are strategically shaped by a range of actors to influence public perception, behavior, and sociopolitical outcomes. This paper offers an actor-oriented expansion of the SAGES Framework, a five-stage model that traces the evolution of narratives from digital inception to real-world impact: Seeding, Amplification, Galvanization, Expansion, and Stickiness. Unlike prior models that emphasize platform dynamics or automation, this framework maps how adversarial and constructive actors intervene at each stage to accelerate, redirect, or counter narrative trajectories. Through comparative case studies of the 2021 Myanmar military coup and the 2022 Russia–Ukraine war, we show how narrative manipulation campaigns unfold and how targeted interventions can mitigate their effects. The SAGES framework contributes a practical lens for analyzing influence operations and developing countermeasures in an era of contested information ecosystemsItem type: Item , Anxious and Disengaged: How Social Media's Engagement Model Has Disrupted Student Capacity to Engage in School(2026-01-06) Hoffman, Will; Welser, Howard; Sammons, MiracleEducation stakeholders in reddit groups describe how emerging cohorts of students are increasingly disengaged from learning. For many, the change seems unprecedented, and a key culprit may be the social media apps on your cellphone. Our mixed methods study drew on data gathered from over 500,000 comments distributed across 2383 education centered reddit threads. Narratives displayed cohorts that reflected their social media behaviors into real world actions. These behaviors then amplify preexisting anti-intellectual normative expectations, creating a generation of apathetic and anxious students unwilling to take risks out of their fear of sanctions. Analysis of the temporal distribution of disengagement discussion shows that disengagement is growing as an issue in teacher discussions and diminishing in student discussions, suggesting its normalization for students. Implications and limitations are discussed.Item type: Item , Introduction to the Minitrack on Adversarial Influences: Erosion of Societal Norms and Institutions from Influences in Digital and social Media(2026-01-06) Wood, Zena; Harnasch, Raul; Glasgow, Kimberly; Davison, TimothyItem type: Item , Echoes of Toxicity: The Spiral of Toxicity in Twitter Immigration Discourse During the Biden Era(2026-01-06) Li, Yiqi; Yang, AimeiDrawing from the conspiracy spiral theory, this research explores how the toxic immigration issue debates on Twitter escalated. Immigration has generated controversial and often hostile discussion on social media. Using a longitudinal Twitter immigration-related dataset that covers more than three years of Biden’s administration, this research explores how toxicity level between pro-, neutral, and anti-immigration publics evolves and diffuses. Toxicity is conceptualized as a symptom reflecting communication conflicts exacerbated by the clustering of echo chambers and social media algorithms. Employing large language models and machine learning to model influence dynamics of Twitter mention networks, findings inform how toxicity travels and evolves within and between network clusters. This research deepens the understanding of how public conflict evolves in polarized issue publics.