Download This PaperThe Politics of Labels: How Tech Platforms Regulate State Media
Radsch, Courtney C. “The Politics of Labels: How Tech Platforms Regulate State Media.” In 2020 Annual Report: Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media, edited by Edited Daniel O’Maley, Hesbon Hansen Owilla, and Courtney C. Radsch, 37–49, 2020. https://gfmd.info/h-content/
67 Pages Posted: 23 Nov 2022 Last revised: 7 Apr 2023
Date Written: November 1, 2020
Abstract
Figuring out which news media are propaganda arms of the states that fund them, and which ones provide a public service and are insulated from editorial interference by government has become the latest flashpoint in the debate over content moderation on social media. Over the past two years, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have all implemented new policies for state-linked media outlets that they say are aimed at improving transparency amid growing calls for regulation of the social media platforms and concerns about foreign influence operations. This paper analyses how thee major platforms have enacted labeling as a self-regulatory intervention that affects content moderation, algorithmic curation, and monetization and has significant implications for disinformation, media sustainability, and platform power.
Keywords: platforms, platformatization, state-media, labeling, AI, journalism, news media
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